Prof. Dr. Thomas Blankenstein
Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC)
Robert-Rössle-Str. 10
13125 Berlin, Germany
tblanke [at] mdc-berlin.de
www.mdc-berlin.de/blankenstein
Secretary:
Sylvia Klahn
House 31.1, Room 4012
Phone: +49 30 9406 2310
Fax: +49 30 9406 2453
klahn [at] mdc-berlin.de
Molecular Immunology and Gene Therapy
Most of the current experimental cancer models do not reflect the pathophysiology of real-life cancer. Cancer usually occurs sporadically and is clonal in origin. Between tumor initiation and progression clinically unapparent pre-malignant cells may persist for years or decades in humans. More recently, mouse models of sporadic cancer have been developed. The mouse germ-line can be engineered with high precision so that defined genes can be switched on and off in the adult organism, ideally in a locally and timely controlled fashion. However, analysis of the immune response against sporadic tumors requires the knowledge of a tumor antigen.
Publications
Kruschinski A; Moosmann A; Poschke I; Norell H; Chmielewski M; Seliger B; Kiessling R; Blankenstein T; Abken H; Charo J: Engineering antigen-specific primary human NK cells against HER-2 positive carcinomas, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 105 (45): 17481-17486 (2008-11-11)
Willimsky G; Czeh M; Loddenkemper C; Gellermann J; Schmidt K; Wust P; Stein H; Blankenstein T: Immunogenicity of premalignant lesions is the primary cause of general cytotoxic T lymphocyte unresponsiveness, Journal of Experimental Medicine 205 (7): 1687-1700 (2008-07-07)
Kieback E; Charo J; Sommermeyer D; Blankenstein T; Uckert W: A safeguard eliminates T cell receptor gene-modified autoreactive T cells after adoptive transfer, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 105 (2): 623-628 (2008-01-15)
Blankenstein T: Do autochthonous tumors interfere with effector T cell responses? Seminars in Cancer Biology 17 (4): 267-274 (2007-08)
Willimsky G; Blankenstein T: The adaptive immune response to sporadic cancer, Immunological Reviews 220 (1): 102-112 (2007-12)
Cayeux S; Bukarica B; Buschow C; Charo J; Bunse M; Doerken B; Blankenstein T: In vivo splenic CD11c cells downregulate CD4 T-cell response thereby decreasing systemic immunity to gene-modified tumour cell vaccine, Gene Therapy 14 (20): 1481-1491 (2007-10)