03305-A: TRAF3 as a Novel Prognostic Biomarker in Canine Tumor-associated Macrophages

Macrophages are important immune cells that help keep us safe from viruses, bacteria, and precancerous cells. However, when a few pre-cancerous cells manage to evade macrophages and other immune cells, they can develop into a tumor. Once that happens, the tumor actually recruits those same immune cells to do the opposite job - namely, helping the tumor evade our immune system, grow, and spread. Therefore, identifying and targeting the tumor-supporting immune cells has become a promising new way of improving cancer treatment, called immunotherapy. 

 

Tumor-supporting macrophages are the most abundant immune cells found in tumors, making them an important immunotherapy target. In people, there are many ways to distinguish the tumorsupporting macrophages from the tumor-destroying macrophages, and several clinical trials are looking at ways of re-teaching the tumor-supporting macrophages to instead destroy cancer cells. 

 

While it is easy to identify macrophages in dogs, the ability to distinguish the different subsets is poor. This project has identified a novel marker of tumor-supporting macrophages, a protein called TRAF3. The researchers aim to validate TRAF3 as a marker of canine tumor-supporting macrophages, with the intent to better identify and target this subset of macrophages. The goal of the project is to help close the gap that currently exists in macrophage-targeted cancer therapy between people and dogs, as well as potentially identify new ways to target macrophages in human and canine cancer.