ERC Starting Grant · 2025
Deconstructing the immunomodulatory checkpoints in metastasis to the cerebrospinal fluid
While the healthy brain is largely devoid of lymphoid cells, the surrounding cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is normally populated by lymphocytes. CSF hosts an array of threatening pathologies, including leptomeningeal metastasis with unusually poor prognosis. Despite the presence of immune cells, including CD8 T lymphocytes, this metastasis site does not respond to immunotherapy. My preliminary data demonstrate that the molecular profile and phenotypic behavior of these CSF CD8 T cells is inconsistent with conventional immune exhaustion. I hypothesize that CSF is an inherently immunosuppressive environment, protecting the brain from inflammatory insults directly by its composition. In CSFcheck,…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.