Spatiotemporal dynamics of CD8+ T cell responses to hepatocellular carcinoma

ended

CD8+ T cells have a key role in eliminating tumors that affect the liver. The protective capacity of these cells relies on their ability to migrate to the liver, recognize antigens and deploy effector functions. While some of the rules that characterize CD8+ T cell behavior in the cancerous liver have been characterized at the population level, we have only limited knowledge of the precise dynamics of intrahepatic CD8+ T cell conduct at the single-cell level. In preliminary data for this project we have developed advanced imaging techniques that allow us to dissect the interactive behavior of CD8+ T cells within the mouse liver at an unprecedented level of spatial and temporal resolution. We predict that this approach, combined with a new model of hepatocellular carcinoma created ad hoc, will generate novel mechanistic insights into the spatiotemporal determinants that govern the capacity of CD8+ T cells to home and function in the tumor-bearing liver.