Publications by authors named "Katherine Walwyn-Brown"

γδ T cells stimulated by phosphoantigens (pAg) are potent effectors that secrete Th1 cytokines and kill tumor cells. Consequently, they are considered candidates for use in cancer immunotherapy. However, they have proven only moderately effective in several clinical trials.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates how inflammation affects cancer growth and treatment response, specifically by studying inflammatory tumor microenvironments (TMEs) in mice.
  • - Researchers discovered that natural killer (NK) cells producing interferon gamma (IFN-γ) can reshape TMEs, leading to the elimination of tumors through cytotoxic T cell (CTL) activity, but tumor-derived prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) can hinder this process.
  • - Analysis of various human cancer datasets revealed different inflammatory TME types, helping to create a gene-expression signature that predicts patient survival and responses to immunotherapy, thereby identifying crucial factors for cancer control.
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Cross-talk between NK cells and dendritic cells (DCs) is important in Th1 immune responses, including antitumor immunity and responses to infections. DCs also play a crucial role in polarizing Th2 immunity, but the impact of NK cell-DC interactions in this context remains unknown. In this study, we stimulated human monocyte-derived DCs in vitro with different pathogen-associated molecules: LPS or polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid, which polarize a Th1 response, or soluble egg Ag from the helminth worm , a potent Th2-inducing Ag.

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Background & Aims: Kupffer cells (KCs), the resident tissue macrophages of the liver, play a crucial role in the clearance of pathogens and other particulate materials that reach the systemic circulation. Recent studies have identified KCs as a yolk sac-derived resident macrophage population that is replenished independently of monocytes in the steady state. Although it is now established that following local tissue injury, bone marrow derived monocytes may infiltrate the tissue and differentiate into macrophages, the extent to which newly differentiated macrophages functionally resemble the KCs they have replaced has not been extensively studied.

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