PD Dr. med. Antonia Busse

Scientific Scope

One focus of our research is the development of adoptive T cell receptor (TCR)-T-cell therapies for the treatment of lymphomas and solid tumors. We pursue two strategies: 1. Isolation of T-cell receptors (TCRs) against B- and T-cell line-specific antigens from the murine system (cooperation AG Blankenstein and AG Willimsky) and 2. Isolation of TCRs against neoantigens of hematological and solid neoplasms from the human system with the goal to develop precision immunotherapies. Recently, we were able to isolate a high avidity TCR from an HLA-B7+ healthy donor, which is directed against the recurrent oncogenic mutation MyD88 L265P found in B cell lymphomas (Cinar et al., JITC 2021). Moreover, we are currently working on the isolation of further mutation-specific TCRs and on strategies to prevent potential immune escape mechanisms under TCR-T cell therapy.

Another focus of our research is the characterization of the tumor microenvironment of solid tumors and the identification of immunotherapeutic biomarkers or targets for the development of immunotherapeutic combination therapies for tumors for which immunotherapies are not established yet (Busse et al, Cancers 2020, Peuker et al, EJC 2021).

Name and Position of Group Members

Nese Cakmak-Görür, PhD

Corinna Grunert, PhD-Studentin

Caroline Anna Peuker, MD

Ran Li, Cand. med.

Falk Fabian, medical student, Cand med.

Paula Schmid, Cand. med.

Sarah Al-Tabatabaee, Cand. med.

Selected References

• Peuker, C.A., Yaghobramzi, S., Grunert, C., Keilholz, L., Gjerga, E., Hennig, S., Schaper, S., Na, I.K., Keller, U., Brucker, S., Decker, T., Fasching, P., Fehm, T., Janni, W., Kümmel, S., Schneeweiss, A., Schuler, M., Lüftner, D., Busse, A. (2021) "Treatment with ribociclib shows favourable immunomodulatory effects in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer patients – findings from the RIBECCA trial." EJC, Eur J Cancer. 2021 Dec 22;162:45-55.
• Çınar, Ö., Brzezicha, B., Grunert, C., Kloetzel, P.M., Beier, C., Peuker, C.A., Keller, U., Pezzutto, A., Busse, A. (2021) "High-affinity T-cell receptor specific for MyD88 L265P mutation for adoptive T-cell therapy of B-cell malignancies." J Immunother Cancer. 2021 Jul;9(7):e002410. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2021-002410.
• Busse, A., Mochmann, L.H., Spenke, C., Arsenic, R., Briest, F., Jöhrens, K., Lammert, H., Sipos, B., Kühl, A.A., Wirtz, R., Pavel, M., Hummel, M., Kaemmerer, D., Baum, R.P., Grabowski, P. (2020) "Immunoprofiling in Neuroendocrine Neoplasms Unveil Immunosuppressive Microenvironment." Cancers (Basel). 2020 Nov 19;12(11):3448.
• Herda, S., Heimann, A., Obermayer, B., Ciraolo, E., Althoff, S., Ruß, J., Grunert, C., Busse, A., Bullinger, L., Pezzutto, A., Blankenstein, T., Beule, D., Na, I.K.(2021) "Long-term in vitro expansion ensures increased yield of central memory T cells as perspective for manufacturing challenges."  Int J Cancer. 2021 Jun 15;148(12):3097-3110.