Research

The following projects are currently ongoing:

Oncogenesis of malignant mesothelioma: mechanisms and therapies

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a cancer associated with very poor prognosis mainly induced by occupational exposure to asbestos fibers. Despite the ban or limitation of asbestos use, incidence of MM is still increasing worldwide due to the long latency time between exposure and diagnosis. Therapeutic standard options include conventional treatments (surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy) and, more recently, immunotherapy.

Ongoing projects include:
(1) Immunoediting by tumor associated macrophages
(2) The role of eosinophils in tumor development and response to therapy
(3) Metronomic activation of DNA damage tolerance pathways to improve chemo-
immunotherapy

Mechanisms and novel therapies of retrovirus-induced diseases

It is estimated that 20 million people are infected with human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) worldwide. Among them, 2-5% will develop one of the major HTLV-1 associated diseases (ATLL Adult T cell leukemia/lymphoma or HAM/TSP HTLV-associated myelopathy / Tropical Spastic Paraparesis). Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is a closely related retrovirus infecting B lymphocytes and inducing leukemia/lymphoma in cattle. A major feature of the infection induced by both viruses is transcriptional silencing which allows proviruses to escape recognition and destruction by the host immune response.

Ongoing projects include:
(1) The role of viral non-coding RNAs in oncogenicity
(2) The interplay between host restriction factors and viral oncoproteins
(3) The development of a vaccine against BLV