Research project The immune response against early stages of tumor development
We study the immune reaction against tumors in Drosophila models.
In this project we study how the innate immune reacts against tumors. For this we also rely on Drosophila melanogaster as a model system. There are a number of mutant fly strains, which develop tumors and we also induce a tumorigenic state genetically. We find that both natural- and experimentally-induced tumors activate immune responses and we have characterized this response both at the cellular and humoral level. Genome-wide transcriptional profiling and single-cell sequencing reveal similarities to the mammalian immune response against tumors, which are being functionally characterized using molecular genetics.