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Research

Making a Killer: Selecting the Optimal Natural Killer Cells for Improved Immunotherapies

Over the past 20 years natural killer (NK) cell-based immunotherapies have emerged as a safe and effective treatment option for patients with relapsed or refractory leukemia. Unlike T cell-based therapies, NK cells harbor an innate capacity to eliminate malignant cells without prior sensitization and can be adoptively transferred between individuals without the need for extensive HLA matching.

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Timing of excision after a non-severe burn has a significant impact on the subsequent immune response in a murine model

Early excision of the wound, during the phase of immune down-regulation initiated by the burn, maintains an innate and adaptive immune cell response

Research

Kids are not small adults, Identifying age-dependent drug targets in paediatric oncology

Cancers in children are very different to cancers in adults. However, most therapeutic strategies are designed explicitly for adult cancers, and then used in children if proven safe.

Research

Tissue resident memory T cells: putting cancer cells to sleep and a target for therapy

Alison McDonnell BSc (Hons), PhD Early Career Fellow alison.mcdonnell@thekids.org.au Early Career Fellow Dr Alison McDonnell is a post-doctoral

Research

Potassium Ion Channels in Malignant Central Nervous System Cancers

Malignant central nervous system (CNS) cancers are among the most difficult to treat, with low rates of survival and a high likelihood of recurrence. This is primarily due to their location within the CNS, hindering adequate drug delivery and tumour access via surgery. Furthermore, CNS cancer cells are highly plastic, an adaptive property that enables them to bypass targeted treatment strategies and develop drug resistance.

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The dystroglycan receptor maintains glioma stem cells in the vascular niche

These findings reveal a central role of the DG receptor, not only as a structural element, but also as a critical factor promoting mesenchymal-like GBM

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Accumulation of CD103+ CD8+ T cells in a cutaneous melanoma micrometastasis

Results support the emerging concept that CD103+ CD8+ tissue‐resident memory T cells are key mediators of cancer surveillance

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Tissue-resident memory T cells orchestrate tumour-immune equilibrium

Our findings provide insight into the immune cell populations important for maintaining long-term tumour dormancy in peripheral tissues

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PI3K activation in neural stem cells drives tumorigenesis which can be ameliorated by targeting the cAMP response element binding protein

Our findings present a novel mouse model for glioma demonstrating that the PI3K pathway is important for initiation of tumorigenesis

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Dendritic cells and influenza A virus infection

Influenza A virus (IAV) is a dangerous virus equipped with the potential to evoke widespread pandemic disease.