International Day of Immunology: Immune defect predisposes for cancer

(Vienna, 29.4.2023) Today is International Day of Immunology – a day to raise awareness for the importance of immunology. A recent study from St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute reveals the association between an impaired immune system and the susceptibility to viral infections and cancer in a young patient.

The group of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kaan Boztug at St. Anna CCRI, discovered a novel type of immunodeficiency linked to defective function of DNA polymerase delta, an enzyme involved in replication of the DNA. At this point in time, the scientists had already assumed that this new disease entity may be associated with predisposition to develop cancer later in life (Conde, Petronczki, Baris, et al., J Clin Invest 2019). Indeed, at the age of 27, one of the affected patients developed multiple skin lesions, one of which turned out to be squamous cell carcinoma.

Viral infections can facilitate cancer evolvement

Analyzing the skin lesions, the scientists in a scientific collaboration with Assoc.-Prof. Georg Stary’s group at LBI-RUD and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Reinhard Kirnbauer’s group at MedUni Vienna, identified Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection (Strobl et al., BJD 2023). Viral infections are a major threat to immuno-compromised patients – as the impaired immune system cannot cope with this infection – and can facilitate cancer evolvement. “Our recent findings confirm the suspected predisposition to cancer upon cutaneous infection with Human Papillomavirus as part of the immunodeficiency, due to reduced functionality of the enzyme complex polymerase-δ. The subtype HPV63 may be considered as potentially oncogenic in the setting of immunosuppression. Our findings warrant effective sun-protection measures and close monitoring for viral skin oncogenesis in individuals with polymerase-δ deficiency. Immunocompromised patients may benefit from immunization with a vaccine targeting oncogenic β-HPV or common skin types with the aim of suppressing viral load”, summarizes Kaan Boztug.

Cancer Treatment with Innovative Cell-Based Therapies

At St. Anna Children’s Cancer Research Institute, two other research groups also dedicate their work to a better understanding of immunological processes. Their ultimate goal is to improve treatment of cancer by developing improved cellular immunotherapies using natural killer (NK) cells and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells.

“NK cells are at the forefront of the fight against tumor cells and are very effective at recognizing and killing degenerate cells,” explains Eva König, head of the Tumor Immunediting Group. Her goal is to find new mechanisms to increase the efficiency of NK cells, as they can trigger programmed cell death in diseased cells. This would stimulate the natural fight against leukemia and other tumor entities.

Manfred Lehner’s Christian Doppler Laboratory focuses on a different type of cell: T cells. “In their normal role as immune cells, T cells protect us from infections,” Lehner says. But these cells can also be used to cure the body of cancer if they are appropriately modified. The so-called CAR-T-cell therapy has already been established as a successful treatment method for many patients with highly aggressive B-cell tumors. The CD Laboratory aims to optimize this form of therapy for other cancers as well. Therefore, new molecular tools are being developed to minimize the destruction of healthy tissue and to enable precice control of CAR T cell activity in the patient.

Learn more about these research teams:

Boztug Group

König Group

Christian Doppler Laboratory