IFI Faculty Members appointed to editorial board of new journal

Institute for Immunology faculty members Robert Vonderheide, MD and Carl June, MD have been appointed to the editorial board of a new journal, Cancer Immunology Research (CIR). Dr. Vonderheide has been appointed Deputy Editor and Dr. June has been named Senior Editor of the new publication. Cancer Immunology Research plans to publish outstanding original articles reporting major advances in cancer immunology that span the discipline from basic investigations in host–tumor interactions to developmental therapeutics in model systems, early translational studies in patients, and late-stage clinical trials. The journal's special features will include "Masters of Immunology"—primers by leading immunologists—and "Cancer Immunology at the Crossroads"—perspectives that highlight the intersection of immunology with other areas of cancer research and allied disciplines. More

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Leukemia Patients Remain in Remission More Than Two Years After Receiving Genetically Engineered T Cell Therapy December 9, 2012

Nine of twelve leukemia patients who received infusions of their own T cells after the cells had been genetically engineered to attack the patients’ tumors responded to the therapy, which was pioneered by scientists in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Penn Medicine researchers will present the latest results of the trial today at the American Society of Hematology’s Annual Meeting and Exposition. The clinical trial participants, all of whom had advanced cancers, included 10 adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) and two children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated at the Children's Hopsital of Philadelphia. Two of the first three patients treated with the protocol at HUP remain healthy and in full remissions more than two years after their treatment, with the engineered cells still circulating in their bodies. The findings reveal the first successful and sustained demonstration of the use of gene transfer therapy to turn the body’s own immune cells into weapons aimed at cancerous tumors. More

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Penn Team Identifies Molecular Root of "Exhausted" T Cells in Chronic Viral Infection November 29, 2012

When you get an acute infection, such as influenza, the body generally responds with a coordinated response of immune-cell proliferation and attack that rapidly clears the pathogen. Then, their mission done, the immune system stands down, leaving a population of sentinel memory cells to rapidly redeploy the immune system in the event of reinfection. But what about chronic infection? In the case of such pathogens as hepatitis C, HIV, and malaria, the body and the pathogen essentially fight to a prolonged stalemate, neither able to gain an advantage. Over time, however, the cells become “exhausted” and the immune system can collapse, giving the pathogen the edge. Now, a new study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania is showing just how that happens. The findings also suggest a novel therapeutical approach that might be used to shift the balance of power in chronic infections. The study appears in the November 30 issues of Science. The team, led by E. John Wherry, PhD, associate professor of Microbiology and Director of the Institute for Immunology, used a mouse model of chronic viral infection to map the T-cell response that arises when the immune system is on an extended war footing. More

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