On Monday 3 February at 13:00, Stine Høvring Godsk defends her PhD dissertation entitled "Restoring STING and IFNλ signaling for anti-tumoral immunity using CRISPR activation". 

The cGAS-STING pathway is an immunological signaling pathway essential in th prevention of cancer. Activation of the pathway leads to the production of signaling molecules including interferons (IFNs), which can enhance antitumor immunity. However, suppressed STING expression is a common immune evasion mechanism in tumors, leading to reduced immune cell infiltration and weakened antitumor response. We developed a novel approach of increasing antitumor immunity by upregulating levels of the STING protein itself using CRISPR activation (CRISPRa). Although type I IFNs are commonly associated with STING activation, emerging research highlights the role of type III IFNs (IFNλ) in cancer immunity. IFNλ only affect a subset of cells and are thought to have fewer systemic side effects than type I IFNs which affect basically all cells. In lung cancer cell lines, we found that cGAS-STING pathway activation preferentially induced IFNλ. However, IFNλ signaling was impaired due to reduced expression of the receptor subunit IFNLR1. Using CRISPRa to restore IFNLR1 expression, we enhanced IFNλ signaling, leading to decreased cell viability and increased chemotherapy-induced apoptosis.

The summary is written by the PhD student.

The defence is public and takes place in Auditorium A (1162-013), Aarhus University. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Stine Høvring Godsk
Mail: shg@biomed.au.dk
Phone: (+45) 23480036

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