The Pereira Lab published an experimental method entitled “Tractable In Vivo Reprogramming of Tumor Cells to Type 1 Conventional Dendritic Cell-like Cells” in the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE)

Last year, Ascic et al. (Science) demonstrated the potential of a new cancer immunotherapy modality: in vivo reprogramming of cancer cells into immunogenic type 1 conventional dendritic cell (cDC1)-like cells by the overexpression of transcription factors PU.1, IRF8, and BATF3 (PIB). As the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy relies on the action of cytotoxic T cell-activating cDC1s, there is a collective need to develop new methods to effectively generate this cell type. Our technology provided an alternative to generate cDC1s, enabling cancer cells to present antigens and promoting cytotoxic T cell responses and durable anti-tumor immunity.  

First-authored by the PhD students Ervin Ascic and Gaia Fontanari, this protocol paper offers a step-by-step guide to apply the cDC1 reprogramming technology and understand mechanisms of cDC1-mediated immunity. By overexpressing PIB in cancer cells and generating cDC1s within the tumor microenvironment, this protocol provides a tractable and robust method to understand cDC1 reprogramming-mediated transitions from “immune-cold” to “immune-hot” tumors.

For the full paper and related video, click here.