(611h) Biomaterials - an Immunometabolism Modulating Tool

Immunometabolism reprogramming is an emerging and exciting new field that is involved in progression, induction and therapy of several diseases such as cancer, infections, autoimmune disorders, among others. Notably, modulation of immunometabolism can be performed by delivery of cell permeable metabolites, enzymatic inhibitors or through gene editing. For example, metabolites provided via dietary interventions may improve immune cell function in pro-inflammatory applications such as cancer. Importantly, these strategies can be targeted toward the adaptive branch of the immune system to generate effector function.

In this presentation I will introduce strategies for modifying immunometabolism of dendritic cells for supporting the induction of immune responses in melanoma (skin cancer). Specifically, these projects are geared toward developing vaccines by directly modulating the metabolism of immune cells to develop robust immune responses in young immunocompetent and even in aging mmuno-defective melanoma models. Overall, these projects will demonstrate the importance of metabolite modulation in reprogramming the immune responses in cancer.