We have completed the first phase of the project, gaining valuable insights into the tumor microenvironment and the engagement of the immune system in fighting breast cancer, as well as laying the groundwork for the upcoming experimental stages.
During the first stage of the project, a panel of replication-deficient Semliki Forest virus (SFV) vectors delivering immunomodulatory factors was generated and characterized. Studies in a breast cancer model defined changes in myeloid-cell composition during tumour progression and demonstrated that local interferon-γ expression enhances the recruitment of intravenously administered macrophages to tumours while reducing selected immunosuppressive myeloid-cell populations. The results have been published in an international scientific journal, and a second manuscript is currently in preparation.
The next stage will focus on optimizing tumour-associated macrophage isolation and three-dimensional culture methods and comparing vectors expressing interferon-γ and other inhibitors. The most promising approaches will be evaluated in combination-treatment and in vivo studies to determine their capacity to reprogramme myeloid cells, inhibit tumour growth and activate anti-tumour immune responses.
Project No lzp-2024/1-0254 “Exploring tumor-associated myeloid cell dynamics in response to alphavirus-driven immunomodulation” implemented with the support of the Latvian Council of Science within the program Fundamental and Applied Research Projects.
Information published 06.08.2026