Publications by authors named "Alberto Carturan"
Numerous cutting-edge immunotherapy approaches have been developed for hematological malignancies, such as immune-checkpoint inhibitors for lymphomas, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T-cell treatments for B-cell cancers, and monoclonal antibody therapies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, achieving similar breakthroughs in MPNs has proven challenging. The key obstacles include the absence of universally expressed and MPN-specific surface markers, significant cellular and molecular variability among both individual patients and across different MPN subtypes, and the failure of treatments to stimulate an anti-tumor immune response due to the immune system disruptions caused by the myeloid neoplasm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Many patients treated with FDA-approved CAR T cells see their disease progress, especially with solid cancers and certain types of blood cancers like T cell lymphomas.
- A major challenge in adoptive T cell therapies is the dysfunction of CAR T cells, which struggle to expand and last after being infused.
- The study reveals that knocking out the CD5 gene using CRISPR-Cas9 can improve the antitumor abilities of CAR T cells by enhancing their function and persistence, suggesting CD5 as a key target for improving T cell therapies.
Article Synopsis
- - The study identifies the interaction between BTLA on T cells and HVEM on regulatory T cells as a major factor limiting the effectiveness of T cell-based immunotherapies in tumors.
- - High levels of BTLA in CAR T cells are linked to poorer treatment outcomes, prompting researchers to delete BTLA to improve the T cells' tumor-fighting abilities.
- - By removing BTLA, T cells show enhanced signaling and function, suggesting that targeting the BTLA-HVEM interaction could boost the success of CAR T cell therapies.
Article Synopsis
- This study focuses on the need for efficient and cost-effective methods to measure important characteristics of CAR T cells during their manufacturing process, as the popularity of these therapies is rising.
- Researchers compared a new device called the Moxi GO II with established devices, the Multisizer Coulter Counter and BD LSRFortessa, to evaluate cell number, size, viability, and basic features of CAR T cells.
- Findings show that the Moxi GO II can accurately provide these measurements and is comparable to the gold standard instruments, making it a promising tool for monitoring CAR T-cell characteristics in both research and clinical settings.
Article Synopsis
- - Researchers hypothesized that developing a novel anti-CD19 scFv, h1218, could improve the efficacy of CAR T-cell therapies for patients with relapsed B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, addressing issues linked to the commonly used FMC63 variant.
- - The new h1218-CART19 product demonstrated superior performance in preclinical studies, effectively targeting lymphoma cells that had developed resistance to FMC63 and showing enhanced anti-cancer activity due to reduced cell death and better cell expansion.
- - A phase I clinical trial was initiated to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of h1218-CART19 in patients with relapsed or refractory NHL, building on promising preclinical findings.
Article Synopsis
- Immunotherapy has changed the landscape of cancer treatment, with methods like immune checkpoint blockade and T-cell transfer showing great success in fighting various cancer types.
- A major challenge is that cancer cells often resist apoptosis (programmed cell death), making them harder to eliminate; improving their susceptibility to apoptosis is crucial for effective treatment.
- The review highlights current strategies to enhance T-cell therapies by increasing cancer cell apoptosis sensitivity while also addressing how apoptosis affects the survival of T-cells in the tumor environment.
Article Synopsis
- The case discusses a 78-year-old woman with severe leukocytosis and anemia who initially appeared asymptomatic and was hospitalized for a routine check-up.
- After an abdominal ultrasound showed mild splenomegaly, further examinations revealed a significant decline in her cognitive function and multiple brain lesions a week later.
- An autopsy confirmed extreme infiltration of leukemia in various organs, indicating a complex condition potentially classified as an overlap syndrome between atypical chronic myeloid leukemia (aCML) and myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm (MDS/MPN), making diagnosis challenging.