H. Lee Moffitt Physician-Scientist Wins
ASBMT/PDL New Investigator Award

An assistant professor at the University of South Florida’s H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute is the recipient of a New Investigator Award from ASBMT and PDL BioPharma.

Xue-Zhong Yu, MD, is a member of the cancer center’s Experimental Therapeutics Department.  His research concerns the function of Tregs and T-effector cells. 

The $50,000 award, payable over a two years, is supported by a grant from PDL BioPharma, Inc.

Dr. Yu will explore the molecular mechanisms and possible clinical implications of CD4+CD25+ T-regulatory cells (Tregs), a subset of T-cells that can modulate alloresponses and possess a great potential as an immunotherapy in bone marrow transplantation.

He plans a series of studies on the function of Tregs and T-effector cells (Teffs), with the goal of understanding the ways in which the CD28 receptor and inducible T-cell co-stimulator (ICOS) control T-cell responses to alloantigen.  Both CD28 and ICOS have been found to influence the activation and function of Teffs as well as development and function of Tregs.

The suppressive activity of Tregs lacking CD28 or ICOS will be tested in vitro and in mouse models of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD).  The effects of CD28 and ICOS on regulatory and conventional T-cells will be examined as well.  The findings will aid in understanding the mechanisms by which these costimulatory molecules affect the outcomes of GvHD. 

Dr. Yu said that he hopes his research will contribute to new approaches to controlling donor T-cell induced GvHD after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, while preserving the graft-versus-tumor effect.