In a study published in Nature Communications, the team used the new approach to create an investigational treatment that showed strong activity against aggressive B-cell lymphomas in laboratory experiments.
The approach, which the researchers are calling “tactical surfaceome profiling,” is a novel strategy for identifying the most promising targets for immune-based therapies from among the molecules found on the surface of the malignant cells (collectively called the surfaceome).
The goal is to help macrophages—immune cells that identify, engulf, and dispose of diseased cells—recognize lymphoma cells more effectively, said co-first author Carlota Pagès-Geli, HMS research fellow in medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess in the lab of senior author Kipp Weiskopf.