The Vanderbilt Center for Immunobiology (VCI) has relaunched its mission with a greater focus on human immunology, an endeavor supported by additional researchers, more funding support and designation as a Center of Excellence.
An international team involving Vanderbilt researchers has discovered that a new “checkpoint” protein on immune system cells is active in tumors, and that blocking it — in combination with other treatments — is a successful therapeutic approach in mouse models of cancer.
The study focused on antibody-producing white blood cells called B cells. These cells bear Y-shaped receptors that, like microscopic antenna, can detect an enormous range of germs and other foreign invaders.
