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Krebsforschungszentrum

A novel immunization system allows the generation of protective antibodies against almost any molecule: This achievement by DKFZ researcher Nina Papavasiliou has been honored by the ‚Friends of the German Cancer Research Center' association with the first-ever DKFZ Innovation Award.

Rare cancers are often difficult to treat. Scientists from the German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK), led by NCT Heidelberg and NCT/UCC Dresden, have demonstrated for the first time that patients with rare tumor diseases benefit from comprehensive molecular analysis.

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is funding the Collaborative Research Center "Mechanisms and Functions of the Wnt Signaling Pathway" (SFB 1324), founded in 2017, for another four years with approximately 11.5 million euros. The SFB researchers are investigating the network of Wnt signaling proteins, the misregulation of which can result in serious diseases such as cancer.

Blood vessels control the function of organs. Vessel-lining endothelial cells perform important control and safeguarding functions. Yet, the underlying molecular mechanisms are hitherto poorly understood. Scientists at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and at the European Center for Angioscience (ECAS) at Heidelberg University have now succeeded for the first time in generating a high-resolution, multidimensional map of gene and protein expression of endothelial cells in the liver. This allows precise insights into the mechanistic understanding of liver function and the control of liver regeneration.

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Brain tumor cells with a certain common mutation reprogram invading immune cells. This leads to the paralysis of the body's immune defense against the tumor in the brain. Researchers from Heidelberg, Mannheim, and Freiburg discovered this mechanism and at the same time identified a way of reactivating the paralyzed immune system to fight the tumor. These results confirm that therapeutic vaccines or immunotherapies are more effective against brain tumors if active substances are simultaneously used to promote the suppressed immune system.

A particular type of dendritic cell is responsible for the tissue damage that occurs in non-alcoholic steatohepatits (NASH) in mice and humans. The dendritic cells cause aggressive, proinflammatory behavior in T cells, as now discovered by researchers from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in collaboration with colleagues from Israeli research institutes. Blocking these dendritic cells alleviates symptoms in mice. This type of approach might also prevent the development of serious liver damage in NASH patients.

How do tumor cells manage to spread through the body via the blood and lymph vessels? Mahak Singhal made outstanding discoveries on this topic in his doctoral thesis at the German Cancer Research Center. The aim of his work was to identify new ways of reducing tumor metastasis. In recognition of this excellent achievement, the Helmholtz Association has awarded him the Doctoral Prize 2020 in the field of health.

Genetically enhancing a patient's immune cells by adding therapeutic genes to them outside the body is regarded as a promising new treatment approach in oncology. However, the production of these therapeutic cells using viruses is not only expensive but time-consuming. Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have developed an innovative non-viral vector that can efficiently introduce therapeutic genes into immune cells. At the National Center of Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, therapeutic T cells produced with the novel vector were able to target and fight cancer more efficiently than conventionally produced cellular therapies.