Tumour Immunology Group
Arnold Lab
Dr James N. ArnoldLecturer in Cancer and Pharmaceutical SciencesEmail: james.n.arnold@kcl.ac.uk
Research in the Arnold lab is focused on Cancer Immunotherapy; the concept of harnessing the immune system to attack and eradicate cancer. Our research is studying the mechanisms which are exploited within the tumour microenvironment to suppress immune responses. Tumoral immune suppression is a major hurdle to permitting effective Cancer Immunotherapy in the clinic. We currently have a particular interest in macrophages, a cell type which forms a significant portion of the tumour stroma, and which has been demonstrated to be immune suppressive in the context of cancer. My lab is currently studying these cells using both in vivo and in vitro models relating to breast cancer, alongside human tissue, to gain further insight into the role of these cells in tumoral immune suppression. Our hope is that through furthering our understanding of how the tumour microenvironment can suppress immune responses, novel therapeutic targets can be identified to improve the efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy in the clinic.
Our current research is driven by the following research questions:
- How does the macrophage/tumour expression of the enzyme heme oxygenase-1 modulate the anti-tumour immune response elicited by chemotherapy?
- How does the tumour microenvironment shape macrophage differentiation?
- To what extent can the tumour associated macrophage phenotype be modulated?
Confocal analysis of stromal cells in the tumour microenvironment and healing wound
Macrophages (green) T cell populations (green/red)
Macrophages (green) expressing HO-1 (red) and FAP (yellow) in a wound (Nature Communications 2018)
Flow cytometry analysis of tumour Transcriptomic analysis stromal cells
Flow cytometry analysis of lymphocytes from a tumour and macrophages from culture (bottom left). Single Cell RNASeq of tumoral cells and transcriptomic analysis of macrophages/TAMs (right)
Current Lab Members Mr Paraskevas Kosti (PhD Student) 2015-Mr James Opzoomer (PhD Student) 2016-Miss Diana Corogeanu (PhD student at NIBSC) 2016-Miss Joanne Anstee (PhD Student) 2018-Miss Dominika Sosnowska (PhD Student) 2018- Arnold Lab Alumni Dr Jonathan Caron (Post Doc) 2015-18Dr Tamara Muliaditan (PhD Student) 2013-17Miss Mary Okesola (Research Assistant) 2016-17