Hierarchical assembly of building blocks via competing, orthogonal interactions is a hallmark of many of nature's composite materials that do not require highly specific ligand-receptor interactions. To mimic this assembly mechanism requires the development of building blocks capable of tunable interactions. In the present work, we explored the int...
Blood vessels support tumours by providing nutrients and oxygen, while also acting as conduits for the dissemination of cancer1. Here we use mouse models of breast and lung cancer to investigate whether endothelial cells also have active 'instructive' roles in the dissemination of cancer. We purified genetically tagged endothelial ribosomes and the...
Although pyroptosis is critical for macrophages against pathogen infection, its role and mechanism in cancer cells remains unclear. PD-L1 has been detected in the nucleus, with unknown function. Here we show that PD-L1 switches TNFα-induced apoptosis to pyroptosis in cancer cells, resulting in tumour necrosis. Under hypoxia, p-Stat3 physically inte...
Myeloid cells orchestrate the antitumor immune response and influence the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies. We and others have previously shown that IL-32 mediates DC differentiation and macrophage activation. Here, we demonstrate that IL-32 expression in human melanoma positively correlates with overall survival, response to ...
Tumor organoids are promising tools for cancer biology investigations and preclinical drug screenings because they are often representative of the histology and drug responses of patients. Here, we introduce a facile protocol to overcome technical limitations by generating patient-derived tumor organoids using a simplified ring-like geometry. This ...
Little is known about the role of epithelial membrane protein-2 (EMP2) in breast cancer development or progression. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that EMP2 may regulate the formation or self-renewal of breast cancer stem cells (BCSC) in the tumor microenvironment. In silico analysis of gene expression data demonstrated a correlation of EM...
The next-generation antiandrogen drugs, XTANDI (enzalutamide), ZYTIGA (abiraterone acetate), ERLEADA (apalutamide) and NUBEQA (darolutamide) extend survival times and improve quality of life in patients with advanced prostate cancer. Despite these advances, resistance occurs frequently and there is currently no definitive cure for castration-resist...
Malignant diseases can cause tumor-associated cachexia (TAC). Supplementation with prebiotic non-digestible carbohydrates exerts positive metabolic effects in experimental oncologic diseases. The aim of this project was to assess the effect of prebiotic supplementation with OMNi-LOGiC® FIBRE on intestinal microbiome, bacterial metabolism, gut perme...
Almost all pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDA) develop following KRAS activation, which triggers epithelial transformation and recruitment of desmoplastic stroma through additional transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, but only a few of these regulatory mechanisms have been described. We profiled dysregulated miRNAs starting with the earli...
Cetuximab, an mAb targeting EGFR, is a standard of care for the treatment for locally advanced or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, despite overexpression of EGFR in more than 90% of HNSCC lesions, most patients with HNSCC fail to respond to cetuximab treatment. In addition, there are no available biomarkers to pred...
