Epigenetic and immunologic aspects of neuroendocrine cancers

Division Of Basic Sciences - Nci

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

My current research is focused on understanding the relationship between Notch signaling, cell fate and tumor immunity. In a manuscript recently published in Nature Communications (June 2021), we show that elevated Notch signaling, which positively correlates with low NE differentiation, most significantly predicts response to immune checkpoint inhibitors in relapsed small cell lung cancer. Moreover, activation of Notch signaling in small cell lung cancer cell lines induces a low NE phenotype, marked by increased expression of antigen presentation machinery genes, demonstrating a mechanistic link between Notch activation, low neuroendocrine differentiation, and increased intrinsic tumor immunity. My group is expanding on work described above to further understand the relationship between Notch signaling, neuroendocrine differentiation and tumor immunity both in small cell lung cancer and other neuroendocrine tumors. I am particularly interested in how particularly components of Notch signaling may regulate cell differentiation/cell fate and, ultimately, drive tumor immunity through potentially epigenetic mechanisms.