Immunotherapies are revolutionizing cancer treatment, but they are only effective in a minority of patients. Current therapies usually target T lymphocytes, while manipulation of other immune cell types will create additional therapeutic opportunities. Understanding the interaction between T lymphocytes and other immune cells as well as the interaction of immune cells with other stromal cells or directly with cancer cells is essential for the development of new therapeutic strategies. Advancements in high-throughput technologies such as CRISPR targeted in vivo genome editing, multidimensional imaging, single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics/proteomics, the epigenetic landscape of immune cells states (e.g., ATAC/scATACseq), soluble factor screening (cytokines, chemokines, antibodies, etc.), metabolomics, etc. have put cancer immunology under the microscope, enabling ground-breaking discoveries in the field and proposing new targets for therapy.
Studies published in high-impact journals and widely accepted by the scientific community that describe an innovative technology or use advanced techniques to tackle difficult questions about mechanisms of action in the tumor microenvironment did not necessarily start out as success stories. For example, immune cells in the tumor microenvironment are difficult to image or manipulate in vivo because of the inherent limitations of these studies (rare cells, short lifespan, low transcriptional activity, etc.) and their extraordinary phenotypic and functional heterogeneity in the tumor and across organs. In this research issue, we aim to focus on impactful published stories that have struggled to make their way to the hill and can help other investigators learn from their failures. In other words, we are interested in the experience of other researchers in developing innovative techniques and exploring the tumor microenvironment at a mechanistic level.
We are interested in articles covering the following subtopics:
• Follow up on published articles in the form of peer-reviewed commentaries or research articles
• The aim is for authors to share their experience and expertise on specific studies; what bottlenecks have they encountered?
• The topic is strictly related to tumor immunology and immunotherapy
• Focuses on advanced techniques and mechanistic studies
• An interview with the principal investigator may be included
Immunotherapies are revolutionizing cancer treatment, but they are only effective in a minority of patients. Current therapies usually target T lymphocytes, while manipulation of other immune cell types will create additional therapeutic opportunities. Understanding the interaction between T lymphocytes and other immune cells as well as the interaction of immune cells with other stromal cells or directly with cancer cells is essential for the development of new therapeutic strategies. Advancements in high-throughput technologies such as CRISPR targeted in vivo genome editing, multidimensional imaging, single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics/proteomics, the epigenetic landscape of immune cells states (e.g., ATAC/scATACseq), soluble factor screening (cytokines, chemokines, antibodies, etc.), metabolomics, etc. have put cancer immunology under the microscope, enabling ground-breaking discoveries in the field and proposing new targets for therapy.
Studies published in high-impact journals and widely accepted by the scientific community that describe an innovative technology or use advanced techniques to tackle difficult questions about mechanisms of action in the tumor microenvironment did not necessarily start out as success stories. For example, immune cells in the tumor microenvironment are difficult to image or manipulate in vivo because of the inherent limitations of these studies (rare cells, short lifespan, low transcriptional activity, etc.) and their extraordinary phenotypic and functional heterogeneity in the tumor and across organs. In this research issue, we aim to focus on impactful published stories that have struggled to make their way to the hill and can help other investigators learn from their failures. In other words, we are interested in the experience of other researchers in developing innovative techniques and exploring the tumor microenvironment at a mechanistic level.
We are interested in articles covering the following subtopics:
• Follow up on published articles in the form of peer-reviewed commentaries or research articles
• The aim is for authors to share their experience and expertise on specific studies; what bottlenecks have they encountered?
• The topic is strictly related to tumor immunology and immunotherapy
• Focuses on advanced techniques and mechanistic studies
• An interview with the principal investigator may be included