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Immunotherapy has become a pillar of cancer treatment and has demonstrated great success in many tumour types including non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma and breast cancer. In particular the “Immune checkpoint inhibitors” have improved outcomes for some of the most dismal cancers. As such, the discovery of the two inhibitory receptors that are primarily targeted (PD-1 and CTLA-4) was awarded the Nobel prize in physiology and medicine in 2018 (Nobel Prize, 2018). While responders t …

Viral Hepatitis Mortality from viral hepatitis continues to rise, with the number of deaths increasing by ~60% in the last 20 years. In chronic viral hepatitis, the immune response fails to control infection and instead triggers tissue damage which can lead to cirrhosis and malignancy. Liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma; HCC) is currently the fastest increasing cause of mortality in the UK, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. As su …

Alessandra Di Grande, PhD Student, RCSI - Antibody Genie Young Researcher Award 2018 (PhD category) Leukaemia is a blood cancer arising from the malignant transformation of the white blood cells. The white blood cells fight infection from bacteria and viruses within the body. The incidence rate of leukaemia in Europe is 82,274 a year with a mortality rate of 5.1, leading to 53,773 deaths(1). Ireland has the second highest incidence rate, per population, of …

Key Points T-cell viability and activity can be assessed using assays that are specific for different functions and states (eg. infiltration, exhaustion, cytotoxicity, and proliferation). T-cells are an important lymphocyte for anti-tumour activity but are also implicated in certain autoimmune diseases. This makes an accurate understanding of their viability and effector function critical across multiple physiological contexts. …

Katherine Edwards, PhD Student, Queen’s University Belfast Cytokines play a vital role in immune responses enabling cross-talk between different cell types and inducing activation, differentiation, proliferation and cell migration by altering gene expression in target cell types. There are a wide variety of cytokines each with varying roles which when produced in different combinations can lead to various outcomes. Cytokines can promote inflammation and a …