Trial lecture - time and place
23.09.2025, 10.15, Auditorium 1, Pharmacy building
Interplay between antibody-drug conjugates and the immune tumor microenvironment: Mechanisms and therapeutic implications
Conferral summary
Antistoff-legemiddelkonjugater (ADCs) er en lovende klasse av målrettede legemidler som er laget for å levere kjemoterapi direkte til kreftceller. For å virke må de gjenkjenne kreftcellen og deretter bli tatt opp i cellen slik at legemiddelet kan frigjøres. Denne avhandlingen viser at Rab GTPaser, proteiner som styrer opptak og transport inne i cellen, spiller en nøkkelrolle for hvor effektivt ADC-er virker.
Main research findings
Targeted chemotherapy relies on right transport within the cell
Antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) are a new type of cancer treatment designed to deliver chemotherapy directly to cancer cells, reducing harm to healthy tissue. Each ADC consists of three components: an antibody that finds cancer cells, a toxic drug that kills them, and a linker that holds the two together.
Chemotherapy works on the inside of cancer cells, so the ADCs need to get into the cell to work. Finding the cancer cell is therefore not sufficient for effect as the ADC also depends on uptake and navigation in a complex cellular transport system consisting of vesicles. These vesicles act like small delivery trucks inside the cell and are regulated by a group of proteins called Rab GTPases.
Exactly how ADCs travel through this vesicle transport system is not fully understood. In this PhD project, three different ADCs were studied in breast and lung cancer cells. The results show that the design of the ADC and the type of cancer influence which Rab GTPases are involved in its journey inside the cell. These proteins may therefore influence how well the treatment works. Understanding how ADCs are transported within cancer cells, we may be able to better predict which patients are most likely to benefit from this type of therapy.
Read more (in Norwegian)
Fleire vegar til målet for treffsikker kreftmedisin (5. sep. 2025)