Immune cells of cancer patients are often affected by immunosuppressive mechanisms developed by the tumor. Therefore, cancer vaccines may function suboptimal, as the potency of antigen presenting cells is hampered. This prompted the Figdor lab to exploit its extensive background in tumor immunology and our knowledge of chemical-immunology at Radboudumc, to develop synthetic immunofilaments for the direct activation of immune cells.

Antigen-presenting cells, such as dendritic cells, form an intimate contact with T cells to transfer antigenic signals (1), co-stimulatory signals (2) and paracrine cytokine signals (3). In this so-called immunological synapse, a variety of immunomodulating molecules aggregate to drive signaling that leads to activation and proliferation of immune effector cells such as T cells and NK cells.