K. Ayasoufi

IL-7-mediated expansion of autologous lymphocytes increases CD8+ VLA-4 expression and accumulation in glioblastoma models

This study shows that IL-7-expanded autologous lymphocytes increase VLA-4 expression and accumulate in glioblastoma tumors, enhancing the effectiveness of T cell-based therapies.

Glioblastoma and other intracranial tumors elicit systemic sympathetic hyperactivity that limits immunotherapeutic responses

This study shows that intracranial tumors cause systemic sympathetic hyperactivity, impairing T cell function and limiting immunotherapy, and that beta-adrenergic blockade improves outcomes in mouse models and human patients.

Antigen presentation by tumor-associated macrophages drives tumor-infiltrating T cells from a progenitor exhaustion state to terminal exhaustion

The paper identifies tumor-associated macrophages as key drivers of T cell exhaustion transition, showing their role in shifting progenitor exhausted T cells to terminal exhaustion and impacting immunotherapy response.

Brain resident memory T cells rapidly expand and initiate neuroinflammatory responses following CNS injury and viral infection

This study identifies antigen-specific brain-resident memory T cells that expand rapidly after CNS injury or viral infection and induce neuroinflammation and peripheral immune suppression.

Microglia and perivascular macrophages act as antigen presenting cells to promote CD8 T cell infiltration of the brain

This study identifies microglia and perivascular macrophages as antigen-presenting cells that present MHC class I antigens to CD8 T cells, facilitating their infiltration into the brain during viral infection.

Severe and multifaceted systemic immunosuppression caused by experimental cancers of the central nervous system requires release of non-steroid soluble mediators

This study identifies non-steroid soluble factors released by CNS cancers and injuries that cause systemic immunosuppression by inducing thymic and splenic involution and reducing MHC class II expression.

Conditional silencing of H-2Db class I molecule expression on dendritic cells modulates the protective and pathogenic kinetics of virus-antigen specific CD8 T cell responses during Theiler’s Virus infection

This study shows that CD11c+ antigen-presenting cells are critical for early CD8 T cell responses against TMEV, but not for later responses, using a conditional H-2Db knockout mouse model.