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International Cancer Research Conference

March 24-26, 2025 | Singapore

March 24 -26, 2025 | Singapore
ICC 2022

Giuseppe Ercolano

Speaker at Cancer Conference 2022 - Giuseppe Ercolano
University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Title : Immuno suppressive mediators impair pro inflammatory innate lymphoid cell function in human malignant Melanoma

Abstract:

Innate lymphoid cells (ILC) are a family of immune cells that are emerging as potent orchestrators of immune responses. In cancer, ILCs display both pro- and antitumorigenic functions depending on the nature of the tumor and the involved ILC subset. Little is known about the ILC–tumor cross-talk in human melanoma. Here, we showed that ILC1s were enriched but functionally impaired in cytokine secretion in both peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tumor-infiltrated lymph nodes of melanoma patients. These findings were confirmed in vivo in

murine cutaneous melanoma. Multiple immunosuppressive mechanisms are described in the melanoma microenvironment. Among others, adenosine and kynurenines were shown to suppress antitumor immune responses. By exposing ILCs to adenosine and kynurenines, we observed a similar shift toward the ILC1 subset distribution and impairment in proinflammatory cytokine production to that of patient samples studied ex vivo. Thus, we hypothesized that the immunosuppressive microenvironment of malignant melanoma might shape ILC subpopulations. Hence, we provide a rationale for the use of drugs targeting adenosine and kynurenine pathways in melanoma patients.

Biography:

Dr. Giuseppe Ercolano graduated as Pharmacologist in 2014 at the University of Naples Federico II. In 2015, he started his PhD in Pharmaceutical science, at the Department of Pharmacy in Naples. In 2017, he spent one year at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research of the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) under the supervision of Prof. Pedro Romero. From 2019 to 2020 he worked as post-doctoral fellow at the University of Lausanne and the Department of Pathology and Immunology of the University of Geneva (Switzerland) under the supervision of Prof. Camilla Jandus. After one year as post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Pharmacy of the University of Naples Federico II (Italy), in 2022, he obtained a position as Researcher (RTDA). To date, he has published 25 papers in high-impact journals.

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