Summer kick-off vibes from the #FärkkiläLab: we celebrated the start of the season (and our *brand new t-shirts👕*) with a BBQ party full of good food, laughs, and reflections. Looking back at a productive first half of the year and feeling motivated for what’s next. Let’s go🚀!

@afarkkila.bsky.social, Sara, Ada, and Aleksandra are representing the lab at ESSB in Berlin!
Find them to discuss spatial biology!
🟠 Poster #88: Ada presents a spatial study of the cell cycle in #HGSC
🟠 Poster #155: Aleksandra showcases the use of ML to uncover spatial tumor ecosystems

16/n In summary: our study sheds light on chemotherapy-induced myeloid-driven spatial T-cell exhaustion in #HGSC, opening new avenues for novel immunotherapeutic strategies to unleash CD8+ T-cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity.

14/n 📌TIGIT expression in CD8+ T cells correlates w/NECTIN2+ myeloid cell abundance.
📌TIGIT expression in CD8+ T cells and NECTIN2+ myeloid cell proportion correlated w/ex vivo CD8+ T cell activation after tiragolumab.
📌TIGIT expression predicts ex vivo response to pembro+tira in #iPDCs.

12/n Next, we wondered🤔: What happens if we treat chemo-exposed patient cells with immunotherapy vs. chemo-naive cells? Using #iPDCs (immune-competent patient-derived cultures), we showed that immunotherapy after chemo enhances CD8+ T-cell activity, unlocking new therapeutic potential💥.

9/n To integrate findings from both #t-CycIF and #scRNA-seq, we performed *t-CyCIF-guided spatial transcriptomics (GeoMx)* and deconvolution algorithms.

6/n However, these immune cells gain exhaustion markers, limiting anti-tumor immunity🛑. Notably, chemotherapy drives exhaustion in CD8+ T cells within M1-like myeloid neighborhoods.

2/n Spatial and molecular profiling of 117 #HGSC tumors pre- and post-chemo revealed a dynamic tumor ecosystem🔍. Using a high-plexed (30+🚨) antibody panel and #t-CycIF we identified #myelonets, interconnected networks of myeloid cells, as key drivers CD8+ T cell exhaustion upon chemotherapy.

Hi there👋! We’re the Systems Medicine of Tumor Microenvironment Lab. Our passion? Exploring the #TME through #SystemsOncology. Harnessing the power of our diverse and multidisciplinary team, we use innovative approaches to uncover #Biomarkers and transform these insights into clinical applications.