Project 463166

Immunotherapy for cancer involves using the immune system to fight cancer. One key cell type is a T cell, which is a type of white blood cell that has the potential to kill tumor cells. Another way to kill tumor cells is to develop drugs that are aimed at molecules that are part of the tumor cell. We are interested in understanding molecule known as B7-H3 that is found on tumors cells but also plays an important role in the immune system. Recent studies have shown that targeting B7-H3 with various strategies has lead to a reduction in tumor size and improved patient survival. However, in these types of therapies, treatments that are targeting the tumor that has B7-H3, will also impact the immune system which uses B7-H3 to function properly. Studies have shown that B7-H3 either makes the immune system work better or worse. To add another layer of complexity, we have identified another cell type, called an innate lymphoid cell, that also uses B7-H3. This proposal focuses on understanding the role of B7-H3 on T cells and innate lymphoid cells. This will help understand possibly important side effects if patients were treated with drugs against the tumor's B7-H3.