Immunology, Oncology, Biotechnology, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
28
Scopus Publications
2167
Scholar Citations
19
Scholar h-index
26
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Activated ATF6α is a hepatic tumour driver restricting immunosurveillance Xin Li, Cynthia Lebeaupin, Aikaterini Kadianaki, Clementine Druelle-Cedano, Niklas Vesper, et al. Nature, 2026 Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fastest growing cause of cancer-related mortality and there are limited therapies 1 . Although endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR) are implicated in HCC, the involvement of the UPR transducer ATF6α remains unclear 2 . Here we demonstrate the function of ATF6α as an ER-stress-inducing tumour driver and metabolic master regulator restricting cancer immunosurveillance for HCC, in contrast to its well-characterized role as an adaptive response to ER stress 3 . ATF6α activation in human HCC is significantly correlated with an aggressive tumour phenotype, characterized by reduced patient survival, enhanced tumour progression and local immunosuppression. Hepatocyte-specific ATF6α activation in mice induced progressive hepatitis with ER stress, immunosuppression and hepatocyte proliferation. Concomitantly, activated ATF6α increased glycolysis and directly repressed the gluconeogenic enzyme FBP1 by binding to gene regulatory elements. Restoring FBP1 expression limited ATF6α-activation-related pathologies. Prolonged ATF6α activation in hepatocytes triggered hepatocarcinogenesis, intratumoural T cell infiltration and nutrient-deprived immune exhaustion. Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) 4 restored immunosurveillance and reduced HCC. Consistently, patients with HCC who achieved a complete response to immunotherapy displayed significantly increased ATF6α activation compared with those with a weaker response. Targeting Atf6 through germline ablation, hepatocyte-specific ablation or therapeutic hepatocyte delivery of antisense oligonucleotides dampened HCC in preclinical liver cancer models. Thus, prolonged ATF6α activation drives ER stress, leading to glycolysis-dependent immunosuppression in liver cancer and sensitizing to ICB. Our findings suggest that persistently activated ATF6α is a tumour driver, a potential stratification marker for ICB response and a therapeutic target for HCC.
Secretogranin II influences the assembly and function of MHC class I in melanoma Tamara Steinfass, Juliane Poelchen, Qian Sun, Giovanni Mastrogiulio, Daniel Novak, et al. Experimental Hematology and Oncology, 2023 Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer showing rising incidence over the past years. New insights into the mechanisms of melanoma progression contributed to the development of novel treatment options, such as immunotherapies. However, acquiring resistance to treatment poses a big problem to therapy success. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms underlying resistance could improve therapy efficacy. Correlating expression levels in tissue samples of primary melanoma and metastases revealed that secretogranin 2 (SCG2) is highly expressed in advanced melanoma patients with poor overall survival (OS) rates. By conducting transcriptional analysis between SCG2-overexpressing (OE) and control melanoma cells, we detected a downregulation of components of the antigen presenting machinery (APM), which is important for the assembly of the MHC class I complex. Flow cytometry analysis revealed a downregulation of surface MHC class I expression on melanoma cells that showed resistance towards the cytotoxic activity of melanoma-specific T cells. IFNγ treatment partially reversed these effects. Based on our findings, we suggest that SCG2 might stimulate mechanisms of immune evasion and therefore be associated with resistance to checkpoint blockade and adoptive immunotherapy.
Targeting the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) with BAY 2416964: A selective small molecule inhibitor for cancer immunotherapy Christina Kober, Julian Roewe, Norbert Schmees, Lars Roese, Ulrike Roehn, et al. Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, 2023 Background The metabolism of tryptophan to kynurenines (KYN) by indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase or tryptophan-2,3-dioxygenase is a key pathway of constitutive and adaptive tumor immune resistance. The immunosuppressive effects of KYN in the tumor microenvironment are predominantly mediated by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a cytosolic transcription factor that broadly suppresses immune cell function. Inhibition of AhR thus offers an antitumor therapy opportunity via restoration of immune system functions. Methods The expression of AhR was evaluated in tissue microarrays of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and colorectal cancer (CRC). A structure class of inhibitors that block AhR activation by exogenous and endogenous ligands was identified, and further optimized, using a cellular screening cascade. The antagonistic properties of the selected AhR inhibitor candidate BAY 2416964 were determined using transactivation assays. Nuclear translocation, target engagement and the effect of BAY 2416964 on agonist-induced AhR activation were assessed in human and mouse cancer cells. The immunostimulatory properties on gene and cytokine expression were examined in human immune cell subsets. The in vivo efficacy of BAY 2416964 was tested in the syngeneic ovalbumin-expressing B16F10 melanoma model in mice. Coculture of human H1299 NSCLC cells, primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells and fibroblasts mimicking the human stromal-tumor microenvironment was used to assess the effects of AhR inhibition on human immune cells. Furthermore, tumor spheroids cocultured with tumor antigen-specific MART-1 T cells were used to study the antigen-specific cytotoxic T cell responses. The data were analyzed statistically using linear models. Results AhR expression was observed in tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating immune cells in HNSCC, NSCLC and CRC. BAY 2416964 potently and selectively inhibited AhR activation induced by either exogenous or endogenous AhR ligands. In vitro, BAY 2416964 restored immune cell function in human and mouse cells, and furthermore enhanced antigen-specific cytotoxic T cell responses and killing of tumor spheroids. In vivo, oral application with BAY 2416964 was well tolerated, induced a proinflammatory tumor microenvironment, and demonstrated antitumor efficacy in a syngeneic cancer model in mice. Conclusions These findings identify AhR inhibition as a novel therapeutic approach to overcome immune resistance in various types of cancers.
Rgs16 promotes antitumor CD8+ T cell exhaustion Nina Weisshaar, Jingxia Wu, Yanan Ming, Alaa Madi, Agnes Hotz-Wagenblatt, et al. Science Immunology, 2022 T cells become functionally exhausted in tumors, limiting T cell–based immunotherapies. Although several transcription factors regulating the exhausted T (T ex ) cell differentiation are known, comparatively little is known about the regulators of T ex cell survival. Here, we reported that the regulator of G protein signaling 16 (Rgs-16) suppressed T ex cell survival in tumors. By performing lineage tracing using reporter mice in which mCherry marked Rgs16-expressing cells, we identified that Rgs16 + CD8 + tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were terminally differentiated, expressed low levels of T cell factor 1 (Tcf1), and underwent apoptosis as early as 6 days after the onset of Rgs16 expression. Rgs16 deficiency inhibited CD8 + T cell apoptosis and promoted antitumor effector functions of CD8 + T cells. Furthermore, Rgs16 deficiency synergized with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade to enhance antitumor CD8 + T cell responses. Proteomics revealed that Rgs16 interacted with the scaffold protein IQGAP1, suppressed the recruitment of Ras and B-Raf, and inhibited Erk1 activation. Rgs16 deficiency enhanced antitumor CD8 + TIL survival in an Erk1-dependent manner. Loss of function of Erk1 decreased antitumor functions of Rgs16 -deficient CD8 + T cells. RGS16 mRNA expression levels in CD8 + TILs of patients with melanoma negatively correlated with genes associated with T cell stemness, such as SELL , TCF7 , and IL7R , and predicted low responses to PD-1 blockade. This study uncovers Rgs16 as an inhibitor of T ex cell survival in tumors and has implications for improving T cell–based immunotherapies.
2-heteroaryl-3-oxo-2, 3-dihydropyridazine-4-carboxamides for the treatment of cancer I GUTCHER, U Röhn, N Schmees, L Zorn, L Röse, B Bader, C KOBER, ... US Patent App. 19/402,587 , 2026 2026
Activated ATF6α is a hepatic tumour driver restricting immunosurveillance X Li, C Lebeaupin, A Kadianaki, C Druelle-Cedano, N Vesper, C Rennert, ... Nature, 1-12 , 2026 2026 Citations: 5
2-heteroaryl-3-oxo-2, 3-dihydropyridazine-4-carboxamides for the treatment of cancer I GUTCHER, U Röhn, N Schmees, L Zorn, L Röse, B Bader, C KOBER, ... US Patent 12,522,594 , 2026 2026 Citations: 3
Employing RNA editing to engineer personalized tumor-specific neoantigens (editopes) R Pecori, B Casati, R Merdler-Rabinowicz, N Landesman, K Sanghvi, ... bioRxiv, 2023.03. 16.532918 , 2025 2025
P2RY2 is a purinergic immune checkpoint linking extracellular ATP to immune evasion and adaptive resistance to immunotherapy Z Hu, H Matsuo, S Du, C Berzain Battioni, L Jassowicz, R Carretero, ... bioRxiv, 2025.10. 09.681049 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Anti-cecam6 antibodies with reduced side-effects M Trautwein, J Willuda, WD Döcke, P Buchmann, R CARRETERO, ... US Patent App. 18/688,693 , 2024 2024
Discovery of BAY-405: An azaindole-based MAP4K1 inhibitor for the enhancement of T-cell immunity against cancer J Mowat, R Carretero, G Leder, N Aiguabella Font, R Neuhaus, S Berndt, ... Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 67 (19), 17429-17453 , 2024 2024 Citations: 16
Pericyte phenotype switching alleviates immunosuppression and sensitizes vascularized tumors to immunotherapy in preclinical models ZJ Li, B He, A Domenichini, J Satiaputra, KH Wood, DD Lakhiani, ... The Journal of Clinical Investigation 134 (18) , 2024 2024 Citations: 18
The Alliance Between the German Cancer Research Center and Bayer: A Retrospective of an Innovative Collaboration Model A Zuccotti, R Carretero, H Hess-Stumpp Public-Private-Partnerships in Drug Research and Development, 83-95 , 2024 2024
Map4k1 inhibitors U Lücking, JS MOWAT, L Zorn, L Wortmann, S Müller, G Leder, S Berndt, ... US Patent App. 18/275,978 , 2024 2024 Citations: 1
Targeting the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) with BAY 2416964: a selective small molecule inhibitor for cancer immunotherapy C Kober, J Roewe, N Schmees, L Roese, U Roehn, B Bader, D Stoeckigt, ... Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer 11 (11), e007495 , 2023 2023 Citations: 93
2-heteroaryl-3-oxo-2, 3-dihydropyridazine-4-carboxamides for the treatment of cancer I GUTCHER, N Schmees, L Röse, B Bader, C KOBER, R CARRETERO, ... US Patent 11,795,164 , 2023 2023 Citations: 3
Secretogranin II influences the assembly and function of MHC class I in melanoma T Steinfass, J Poelchen, Q Sun, G Mastrogiulio, D Novak, M Vierthaler, ... Experimental hematology & oncology 12 (1), 29 , 2023 2023 Citations: 15
3-oxo-6-heteroaryl-2-phenyl-2, 3-dihydropyridazine-4-carboxamides I GUTCHER, U Röhn, L Zorn, L Röse, B Bader, C KOBER, ... US Patent 11,591,311 , 2023 2023 Citations: 1
Secretogranin II influences the assembly and function of MHC class I in melanoma M Vierthaler, S Pardo, A Federico, L Hüser, T Hielscher, R Carretero, ... 2023
T cell-mediated elimination of cancer cells by blocking CEACAM6–CEACAM1 interaction J Pinkert, HH Boehm, M Trautwein, WD Doecke, F Wessel, Y Ge, ... Oncoimmunology 11 (1), 2008110 , 2022 2022 Citations: 48
Sulphur substituted 3-oxo-2, 3-dihydropyridazine-4-carboxamides L Zorn, U Röhn, I GUTCHER, L Röse, B Bader, C KOBER, ... US Patent 11,459,312 , 2022 2022 Citations: 3
Substituted pyrrolopyridine-derivatives JS MOWAT, B Buchmann, NA FONT, G Leder, R CARRETERO, ... US Patent 11,427,578 , 2022 2022
Rgs16 promotes antitumor CD8 + T cell exhaustion N Weisshaar, J Wu, Y Ming, A Madi, A Hotz-Wagenblatt, S Ma, A Mieg, ... Science immunology 7 (71), eabh1873 , 2022 2022 Citations: 64
Substituted pyrrolopyridine-derivatives JS MOWAT, B Buchmann, NA FONT, R Neuhaus, G Leder, ... US Patent App. 17/312,776 , 2022 2022
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Eosinophils orchestrate cancer rejection by normalizing tumor vessels and enhancing infiltration of CD8 + T cells R Carretero, IM Sektioglu, N Garbi, OC Salgado, P Beckhove, ... Nature immunology 16 (6), 609-617 , 2015 2015 Citations: 587
Analysis of HLA class I expression in progressing and regressing metastatic melanoma lesions after immunotherapy R Carretero, JM Romero, F Ruiz-Cabello, I Maleno, F Rodriguez, ... Immunogenetics 60 (8), 439-447 , 2008 2008 Citations: 183
Basophils promote tumor rejection via chemotaxis and infiltration of CD8+ T cells IM Sektioglu, R Carretero, N Bulbuc, T Bald, T Tüting, AY Rudensky, ... Cancer research 77 (2), 291-302 , 2017 2017 Citations: 131
Regression of melanoma metastases after immunotherapy is associated with activation of antigen presentation and interferon‐mediated rejection genes R Carretero, E Wang, AI Rodriguez, J Reinboth, ML Ascierto, AM Engle, ... International journal of cancer 131 (2), 387-395 , 2012 2012 Citations: 116
Targeting the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) with BAY 2416964: a selective small molecule inhibitor for cancer immunotherapy C Kober, J Roewe, N Schmees, L Roese, U Roehn, B Bader, D Stoeckigt, ... Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer 11 (11), e007495 , 2023 2023 Citations: 93
Genetic polymorphisms of RANTES, IL1-A, MCP-1 and TNF-A genes in patients with prostate cancer P Sáenz-López, R Carretero, JM Cózar, JM Romero, J Canton, JR Vilchez, ... BMC cancer 8 (1), 382 , 2008 2008 Citations: 92
Association between C13ORF31, NOD2, RIPK2 and TLR10 polymorphisms and urothelial bladder cancer M Guirado, H Gil, P Saenz-Lopez, J Reinboth, F Garrido, JM Cozar, ... Human immunology 73 (6), 668-672 , 2012 2012 Citations: 91
Regressing and progressing metastatic lesions: resistance to immunotherapy is predetermined by irreversible HLA class I antigen alterations N Aptsiauri, R Carretero, A Garcia-Lora, LM Real, T Cabrera, F Garrido Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy 57 (11), 1727-1733 , 2008 2008 Citations: 89
Changes in activatory and inhibitory natural killer (NK) receptors may induce progression to multiple myeloma: implications for tumor evasion of T and NK cells M Bernal, P Garrido, P Jiménez, R Carretero, M Almagro, P López, ... Human Immunology 70 (10), 854-857 , 2009 2009 Citations: 80
Radiotherapy combined with TLR7/8 activation induces strong immune responses against gastrointestinal tumors S Schölch, C Rauber, A Tietz, NN Rahbari, U Bork, T Schmidt, C Kahlert, ... Oncotarget 6 (7), 4663 , 2014 2014 Citations: 77
Bacillus Calmette‐Guerin immunotherapy of bladder cancer induces selection of human leukocyte antigen class I‐deficient tumor cells R Carretero, T Cabrera, H Gil, P Saenz‐Lopez, I Maleno, N Aptsiauri, ... International journal of cancer 129 (4), 839-846 , 2011 2011 Citations: 70
Macrophage-derived nitric oxide initiates T-cell diapedesis and tumor rejection IM Sektioglu, R Carretero, N Bender, C Bogdan, N Garbi, V Umansky, ... Oncoimmunology 5 (10), e1204506 , 2016 2016 Citations: 66
Rgs16 promotes antitumor CD8 + T cell exhaustion N Weisshaar, J Wu, Y Ming, A Madi, A Hotz-Wagenblatt, S Ma, A Mieg, ... Science immunology 7 (71), eabh1873 , 2022 2022 Citations: 64
Antibody therapy to human L1CAM in a transgenic mouse model blocks local tumor growth but induces EMT K Doberstein, PN Harter, U Haberkorn, NP Bretz, B Arnold, R Carretero, ... International journal of cancer 136 (5), E326-E339 , 2015 2015 Citations: 60
A transcriptome-proteome integrated network identifies endoplasmic reticulum thiol oxidoreductase (ERp57) as a hub that mediates bone metastasis N Santana-Codina, R Carretero, R Sanz-Pamplona, T Cabrera, E Guney, ... Molecular & Cellular Proteomics 12 (8), 2111-2125 , 2013 2013 Citations: 55
T cell-mediated elimination of cancer cells by blocking CEACAM6–CEACAM1 interaction J Pinkert, HH Boehm, M Trautwein, WD Doecke, F Wessel, Y Ge, ... Oncoimmunology 11 (1), 2008110 , 2022 2022 Citations: 48
VEGF polymorphisms are not associated with an increased risk of developing renal cell carcinoma in Spanish population P Sáenz-López, F Vazquez, JM Cozar, R Carretero, F Garrido, ... Human immunology 74 (1), 98-103 , 2013 2013 Citations: 46
Impact of interleukin-18 polymorphisms-607 and-137 on clinical characteristics of renal cell carcinoma patients P Sáenz-López, R Carretero, F Vazquez, J Martin, E Sánchez, M Tallada, ... Human immunology 71 (3), 309-313 , 2010 2010 Citations: 37
A polymorphism in the interleukin-10 promoter affects the course of disease in patients with clear-cell renal carcinoma JM Romero, P Sáenz-López, JM Cózar, R Carretero, J Canton, F Vazquez, ... Human immunology 70 (1), 60-64 , 2009 2009 Citations: 23
Pericyte phenotype switching alleviates immunosuppression and sensitizes vascularized tumors to immunotherapy in preclinical models ZJ Li, B He, A Domenichini, J Satiaputra, KH Wood, DD Lakhiani, ... The Journal of Clinical Investigation 134 (18) , 2024 2024 Citations: 18