Seminar cancelled. Linking metabolism and anti-cancer functions of dendritic cells
Stefanie Wculek
IRB Barcelona, Spain
Dendritic cells are fundamental to induce adaptive CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses against cancer. We find that conventional type 1 (cDC1) and type 2 (cDC2) dendritic cell subsets have a distinct potential to control tumour progression and prevent cancer relapse upon adoptive transfer (DC vaccination) in mouse models. This is mediated by
a unique capacity of cDC1s to prime specific and novel T cell subsets, whose intratumoral abundance correlates with improved survival of patients with cancer. We
also discovered a differential metabolic dependence of the immunogenic responsiveness of cDC1s versus cDC2s. Distinct engagement of catabolic pathways regulates the epigenetic state and rapid functional outputs of cDC1s, which is vital for their potency to induce anti-cancer immunity.
Overall, I will present unpublished data on novel functions of dendritic cells in cancer and their metabolic regulation.