Université de Fribourg

Arginase inhibition suppresses lung metastasis in the 4T1 breast cancer model independently of the immunomodulatory and anti-metastatic effects of VEGFR-2 blockade

Secondini, Chiara ; Coquoz, Oriana ; Spagnuolo, Lorenzo ; Spinetti, Thibaud ; Peyvandi, Sanam ; Ciarloni, Laura ; Botta, Francesca ; Bourquin, Carole ; Rüegg, Curzio

In: OncoImmunology, 2017, vol. 6, no. 6, p. e1316437

Tumor angiogenesis promotes tumor growth and metastasis. Anti-angiogenic therapy in combination with chemotherapy is used for the treatment of metastatic cancers, including breast cancer but therapeutic benefits are limited. Mobilization and accumulation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) during tumor progression and therapy have been implicated in metastasis formation and resistance to...

Université de Fribourg

Engineered hybrid spider silk particles as delivery system for peptide vaccines

Lucke, Matthias ; Mottas, Inès ; Herbst, Tina ; Hotz, Christian ; Römer, Lin ; Schierling, Martina ; M.Herold, Heike ; Slotta, Ute ; Spinetti, Thibaud ; Scheibel, Thomas ; Winter, Gerhard ; Bourquin, Carole ; Engert, Julia

In: Biomaterials, 2018, vol. 172, p. 105–115

The generation of strong T-cell immunity is one of the main challenges for the development of successful vaccines against cancer and major infectious diseases. Here we have engineered spider silk particles as delivery system for a peptide-based vaccination that leads to effective priming of cytotoxic T-cells. The recombinant spider silk protein eADF4(C16) was fused to the antigenic peptide...

Université de Fribourg

Reprogramming of TLR7 signaling enhances antitumor NK and cytotoxic T cell responses

Hotz, Christian ; Treinies, Marina ; Mottas, Inès ; Rötzer, Laurin C. ; Oberson, Anne ; Spagnuolo, Lorenzo ; Perdicchio, Maurizio ; Spinetti, Thibaud ; Herbst, Tina ; Bourquin, Carole

In: OncoImmunology, 2016, vol. 5, no. 11, p. e1232219

Toll-like receptor (TLR) 7 agonists are effective in topical application for the immunotherapy of skin cancers, but their performance for the systemic treatment of solid tumors is limited by the development of TLR tolerance. In this study, we describe a novel strategy to overcome TLR tolerance and enhance TLR7-dependent antitumor immune responses through reprogramming of TLR signaling...

Université de Fribourg

TLR7-based cancer immunotherapy decreases intratumoral myeloid-derived suppressor cells and blocks their immunosuppressive function

Spinetti, Thibaud ; Spagnuolo, Lorenzo ; Mottas, Inès ; Secondini, Chiara ; Treinies, Marina ; Rüegg, Curzio ; Hotz, Christian ; Bourquin, Carole

In: OncoImmunology, 2016, vol. 5, no. 11, p. e1230578

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are a heterogeneous population of immature myeloid cells with the capacity to inhibit immunological responses. During cancer progression, MDSC are recruited to the tumor sites and secondary lymphoid organs, leading to the suppression of the antitumor function of NK and T cells. Here, we show that the TLR7/8 agonist resiquimod (R848) has a direct effect...