Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Emily Shaw Sciences

Interrogating mechanisms of a CDN-mediated anti-tumor CD4 response

Scholars Journal

Detection of cytosolic DNA initiates an immune response that hinges on the activation of the protein STING. Preclinical studies have found that STING-agonists (i.e. cyclic di-nucleotides, or CDNs) have immense potential as cancer immunotherapies. CDN-driven tumor control has been primarily attributed to CD8 T cells, but our lab has shown CDN treatment also elicits anti-tumor responses against CD8-resistant tumors through activation of CD4 T cells. The mechanisms of CD4 T cell-mediated tumor clearance remain poorly understood and are an active area of our research. We have found that CD4-derived IFNγ acts on non-hematopoietic cells to drive tumor control. By staining blood vessels and monitoring tumor growth in mice lacking IFNγR on endothelial cells, I will evaluate whether IFNγ signaling on endothelial cells disrupts tumor vasculature to restrict tumor growth.