Project_Liver — Lab Mavilio

Targeting Immune Evasion Mechanisms in Primary and Metastatic Liver Cancers

Liver cancers stand as a predominant contributor to global cancer-related fatalities.

This project is devoted to investigating the intricate interplay between cancer cells and the immune microenvironment, focusing specifically in primary liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and metastatic liver colorectal cancer (CRLM). Our primary objective is to unravel how this interplay influences disease severity and overall survival, paving the way for innovative approaches to enhance diagnostics and treatment strategies.

Employing a comprehensive approach, the project integrates clinical and immunological studies and harnesses cutting-edge technologies, including single-cell resolution analysis through multiparametric flow cytometry and RNA/TCR-seq.

TEAM

Joanna Mikulak PhD - Senior staff scientist

Paolo Marzano - PhD student, bioinformatician

Annalisa Imperiali - PhD student, bioinformatician

Valentina Cazzetta - Post-doctoral fellow

Anna Carletti – Lab manager

FUNDing

PNRR 2023

LANCELOT: Landscape ANalyses of immune CEll signatures associated with early Liver metastatic cOlorecTal cancer

collaborations

Hepatobiliary Immunopathology Unit
IRCCS Humanitas Research Hospital, Rozzano, Milan, Italy

Department of Biomedical Sciences
Humanitas University, Rozzano, Milan, Italy

Department of Health Sciences
Ospedale Universitario Maggiore della Carità, Novara, Italy

related publications

Intrahepatic CD69+Vδ1 T cells re-circulate in the blood of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and limit tumor progression
Bruni E, Cimino MM, Donadon M, Carriero R, Terzoli S, Piazza R, Ravens S, Prinz I, Cazzetta V, Marzano P, Kunderfranco P, Peano C, Soldani C, Franceschini B, Colombo FS, Garlanda C, Mantovani A, Torzilli G, Mikulak J, Mavilio D.
J Immunother Cancer. 2022 Jul;10(7):e004579. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2022-004579.
NKG2A expression identifies a subset of human Vδ2 T cells exerting the highest antitumor effector functions
Cazzetta V, Bruni E, Terzoli S, Carenza C, Franzese S, Piazza R, Marzano P, Donadon M, Torzilli G, Cimino M, Simonelli M, Bello L, Villa A, Tan L, Ravens S, Prinz I, Supino D, Colombo FS, Lugli E, Marcenaro E, Vivier E, Della Bella S, Mikulak J, Mavilio D.
Cell Rep. 2021 Oct 19;37(3):109871. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109871.
Chemotherapy accelerates immune-senescence and functional impairments of Vδ2pos T cells in elderly patients affected by liver metastatic colorectal cancer
Bruni E, Cazzetta V, Donadon M, Cimino M, Torzilli G, Spata G, Leonardi G, Dieli F, Mikulak J, Mavilio D.
J Immunother Cancer. 2019 Dec 11;7(1):347. doi: 10.1186/s40425-019-0825-4.
NKp46-expressing human gut-resident intraepithelial Vδ1 T cell subpopulation exhibits high antitumor activity against colorectal cancer
Mikulak J, Oriolo F, Bruni E, Roberto A, Colombo FS, Villa A, Bosticardo M, Bortolomai I, Lo Presti E, Meraviglia S, Dieli F, Vetrano S, Danese S, Della Bella S, Carvello MM, Sacchi M, Cugini G, Colombo G, Klinger M, Spaggiari P, Roncalli M, Prinz I, Ravens S, di Lorenzo B, Marcenaro E, Silva-Santos B, Spinelli A, Mavilio D.
JCI Insight. 2019 Dec 19;4(24):e125884. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.125884.
Hepatic Natural Killer Cells: Organ-Specific Sentinels of Liver Immune Homeostasis and Physiopathology
Mikulak J, Bruni E, Oriolo F, Di Vito C, Mavilio D.
Front Immunol. 2019 Apr 30;10:946. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.00946. PMID: 31114585; PMCID: PMC6502999.