The B7x pathway in the tumor microenvironment

肿瘤微环境中的B7 x通路 癌症免疫治疗的关键问题之一是确定占主导地位的 肿瘤生长不同阶段的逃逸机制， 来克服它们。我们已经确定B7 x是一个特征不佳的成员， T细胞共刺激和共抑制的B7家族。我们的临床数据 揭示了B7 x的异常表达在多种人类中观察到， 癌症，并且通常与不良临床结果相关。的假设 B7 x是肿瘤内一个关键的免疫逃避途径 微环境和阻断该途径产生治疗性肿瘤 免疫力根据我们发表的癌症患者临床研究和我们的 使用小鼠肿瘤模型获得了强有力的初步数据，将对这一假设进行检验 通过追求三个具体目标：1）阐明的功能后果， 肿瘤表达的B7 x在疾病进展中的作用; 2）确定肿瘤表达的B7 x在疾病进展中的作用机制。 宿主细胞表达的B7 x对肿瘤进展的贡献;和 通过靶向B7 x途径获得治疗性肿瘤免疫。我们已经生成 一些新的工具，并组建了一个多学科的团队， 互补的技能组合，这为我们提供了独特的机会， 挑战，实现目标。这项研究的结果将提供新的 深入了解肿瘤中B7 x通路的免疫逃避机制 微环境，并为未来的临床设计提供基础， 免疫疗法

The B7x pathway in the tumor microenvironment One of the key issues in cancer immunotherapy is to identify the dominant escape mechanisms during different phases of tumor growth and to devise ways to overcome them. We have identified B7x as a poorly characterized member of the B7 family of T cell costimulation and coinhibition. Our clinical data have revealed that aberrant expression of B7x is observed in a variety of human cancers and is often associated with poor clinical outcome. The hypothesis of this project is that B7x is a critical immune evasion pathway within the tumor microenvironment and blockade of this pathway generates therapeutic tumor immunity. Guided by our published clinical research with cancer patients and our strong preliminary data with murine tumor models, this hypothesis will be tested by pursuing three specific aims: 1) Elucidation of the functional consequence of tumor-expressed B7x in disease progression; 2) Determination of mechanistic contribution of host cell-expressed B7x to tumor progression; and 3) Generation of therapeutic tumor immunity by targeting the B7x pathway. We have generated a number of novel tools and have assembled a multi-disciplinary team with complementary skill sets, which provides us with unique opportunities to address challenges and realize goals. The outcomes of this research will provide novel insights into immune evasion mechanisms of the B7x pathway in the tumor microenvironment and provide the basis for future clinical design of a new immunotherapy.