Dr Jian-Guo Chai
Cancer Immunotherapy
Vaccination and adoptive T cell transfer are two basic immunological approaches for the treatment of cancer. Although vaccination strategies are highly effective in inducing robust T cell responses in a non-tolerogenic setting, they are only partially effective in tumour-bearing hosts. the relative inefficiency of vaccination approaches has led us to consier the use of genetically modified, antigen-specific CD8 T cells to optimise adoptive T cell immunotherapy.
Genetic modification will be performed by expressing selected exogenous genes or silencing particular endogenous genes. After adoptive transfer into tumour-bearing hosts, modified CD8 T cells would actively disarm pre-existing regulatory T cells, show resistance to tolerance induction and suppression, and have enhanced sensitivity to low ligand density.
Current research publications:
Chai JG, Coe D, Chen D, Simpson E, Dyson J and Scott D (2008). In vitro expansion improves in vivo regulation by CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells. J Immunol. 180: 858 - 869. Weblink
Robertson NJ, Chai JG, Millrain M, Scott D, Hashim F, Manktelow E, Lemonnier F, Simpson E and Dyson J (2007). Natural regulation of immunity to minor histocompatibility antigens. J Immunol. 178(6):3558-65. Weblink
Chai JG, Xue SA, Coe D, Addey C, Bartok I, Scott D, Simpson E, Stauss HJ, Hori S, Sakaguchi S and Dyson J (2005) Regulatory T cells, derived from naive CD4+CD25- T cells by in vitro Foxp3 gene transfer, can induce transplantation tolerance. Transplantation 79(10):1310-1316. Weblink
Chai JG, James E, Dewchand H, Simpson E and Scott D (2004) Transplantation tolerance induced by intranasal administration of HY peptides. Blood 103(10):3951-3959 . Weblink
James E, Chai JG, Dewchand H, Macchiarulo E, Dazzi F and Simpson E (2003) Multiparity induces priming to male-specific minor histocompatibility antigen, HY, in mice and humans. Blood 102(1):388-393. Weblink
James E, Scott D, Chai JG, Millrain M, Chandler P and Simpson E (2002) HY peptides modulate transplantation responses to skin allografts. Int Immunol 14(11):1333-1342. Weblink
