Research and Advanced Education
Bruno Silva-Santos wins Pfizer Clinical Research Prize
Bruno Silva-Santos, director of the Unit of Molecular Immunology of the Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM) and Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon, has been awarded the Pfizer Prize 2009 for Clinical Research for his work in the area of cancer immunotherapy.
The prize-winning project aims at contributing towards the design of more efficient immunotherapies to be applied above all in situations of resistance to more conventional treatments, such as chemo- or radiotherapy. In order to do this his research team studied a population of cells of the immune system (lymphocytes T gamma-delta) which have the capacity to destroy tumour cells (of lymphomas and leukaemias).
The work was on two essential phases for this anti-tumour activity of the lymphocytes: activation of lymphocytes and recognition of the tumours by the lymphocytes.
According to Bruno Silva Santos, “In the first phase we made a detailed characterisation of the activating effect of a microbe compound (called HMB-PP) which particularly stimulates this population of lymphocytes with which we work. We showed the great potential of this compound for the activation of the anti-tumour properties of the T gamma-delta lymphocytes. This compound is already undergoing clinical tests. However, we observed that even when very activated, the lymphocytes T gamma-delta can only kill (in test-tube tests) some of the lymphomas and leukaemias we studied, which is consistent with data obtained in clinical tests with patients. We then tried to find out why some tumours are efficiently destroyed by the T gamma-delta lymphocytes, while others are extraordinarily resistant. We discovered that there is a protein that determines this susceptibility to the action of the T gamma-delta lymphocytes. Thus, tumours that express this protein on the surface of their cells are destroyed, while the tumours without it are resistant. In manipulating the expression of this protein in the laboratory we managed to significantly alter their susceptibility to the action of the T gamma-delta lymphocytes (in vitro). “
“The identification of this protein opens up new horizons for cancer immunotherapy. On the other hand, the great challenge that we are facing, and on which we are still working, is that of trying to manipulate the expression of this protein on (resistant) tumours in patients, trying to increase the expression of the protein so the tumour becomes susceptible (“visible”) to the T gamma-delta lymphocytes. This would be a very important advance for cancer immunotherapy”, he adds.
Bruno Silva Santos shared the Pfizer Clinical Research Prize with Mafalda Bourbon, a researcher at the Dr. Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute, who was distinguished ex aequo for her work in Family Hypercolosterolemy. The researchers Miguel Godinho Ferreira and Miguel Soares, from the Gulbenkian Science Institute, received, also ex aequo, the Pfizer Basic Research Prize for their work in telomeres and malaria respectively.
The Pfizer Prize is an annual award that the Pfizer Laboratories and the Society of Medical Sciences grant to the best work in Basic and clinical research carried out totally or partially in Portugal. Each winner receives the sum of 20 thousand Euros.
Communication and Training Unit
Institute of Molecular Medicine
ucom@fm.ul.pt
The prize-winning project aims at contributing towards the design of more efficient immunotherapies to be applied above all in situations of resistance to more conventional treatments, such as chemo- or radiotherapy. In order to do this his research team studied a population of cells of the immune system (lymphocytes T gamma-delta) which have the capacity to destroy tumour cells (of lymphomas and leukaemias).
The work was on two essential phases for this anti-tumour activity of the lymphocytes: activation of lymphocytes and recognition of the tumours by the lymphocytes.
According to Bruno Silva Santos, “In the first phase we made a detailed characterisation of the activating effect of a microbe compound (called HMB-PP) which particularly stimulates this population of lymphocytes with which we work. We showed the great potential of this compound for the activation of the anti-tumour properties of the T gamma-delta lymphocytes. This compound is already undergoing clinical tests. However, we observed that even when very activated, the lymphocytes T gamma-delta can only kill (in test-tube tests) some of the lymphomas and leukaemias we studied, which is consistent with data obtained in clinical tests with patients. We then tried to find out why some tumours are efficiently destroyed by the T gamma-delta lymphocytes, while others are extraordinarily resistant. We discovered that there is a protein that determines this susceptibility to the action of the T gamma-delta lymphocytes. Thus, tumours that express this protein on the surface of their cells are destroyed, while the tumours without it are resistant. In manipulating the expression of this protein in the laboratory we managed to significantly alter their susceptibility to the action of the T gamma-delta lymphocytes (in vitro). “
“The identification of this protein opens up new horizons for cancer immunotherapy. On the other hand, the great challenge that we are facing, and on which we are still working, is that of trying to manipulate the expression of this protein on (resistant) tumours in patients, trying to increase the expression of the protein so the tumour becomes susceptible (“visible”) to the T gamma-delta lymphocytes. This would be a very important advance for cancer immunotherapy”, he adds.
Bruno Silva Santos shared the Pfizer Clinical Research Prize with Mafalda Bourbon, a researcher at the Dr. Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute, who was distinguished ex aequo for her work in Family Hypercolosterolemy. The researchers Miguel Godinho Ferreira and Miguel Soares, from the Gulbenkian Science Institute, received, also ex aequo, the Pfizer Basic Research Prize for their work in telomeres and malaria respectively.
The Pfizer Prize is an annual award that the Pfizer Laboratories and the Society of Medical Sciences grant to the best work in Basic and clinical research carried out totally or partially in Portugal. Each winner receives the sum of 20 thousand Euros.
Communication and Training Unit
Institute of Molecular Medicine
ucom@fm.ul.pt