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Article
Open AccessMerkel Cell Carcinoma: Integrating Epidemiology, Immunology, and Therapeutic Updates
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare skin cancer characterized by neuroendocrine differentiation. Its carcinogenesis is based either on the integration of the Merkel cell polyomavirus or on ultraviolet (UV) m...
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Article
Open AccessInhibition of p90 ribosomal S6 kinases disrupts melanoma cell growth and immune evasion
The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway is frequently hyperactivated in malignant melanoma and its inhibition has proved to be an efficient treatment option for cases harboring BRAFV600 muta...
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Article
Investigation of the RB1-SOX2 axis constitutes a tool for viral status determination and diagnosis in Merkel cell carcinoma
MCC (Merkel cell carcinoma) is an aggressive neuroendocrine cutaneous neoplasm. Integration of the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) is observed in about 80% of the cases, while the remaining 20% are related to...
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Article
Open AccessMerkel cell carcinoma-derived exosome-shuttle miR-375 induces fibroblast polarization by inhibition of RBPJ and p53
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a highly invasive and metastatic skin cancer. While high expression of miR-375 is a characteristic of MCC, it seems not to contribute to the malignant phenotype of MCC cells. miR...
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Article
Open AccessIFN-gamma-induced PD-L1 expression in melanoma depends on p53 expression
Immune checkpoint inhibition and in particular anti-PD-1 immunotherapy have revolutionized the treatment of advanced melanoma. In this regard, higher tumoral PD-L1 protein (gene name: CD274) expression is associa...
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Article
Open AccessElucidating the mechanism of action of domatinostat (4SC-202) in cutaneous T cell lymphoma cells
Targeting epigenetic modifiers is effective in cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL). However, there is a need for further improvement of this therapeutic approach. Here, we compared the mode of action of romidepsi...
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Article
Detection of the Merkel cell polyomavirus in the neuroendocrine component of combined Merkel cell carcinoma
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin. The main etiological agent is Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), detected in 80% of cases. About 5% of cases, called combined M...
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Article
Epidemiology, biology and therapy of Merkel cell carcinoma: conclusions from the EU project IMMOMEC
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a highly aggressive, often lethal neuroendocrine cancer. Its carcinogenesis may be either caused by the clonal integration of the Merkel cell polyomavirus into the host genome or...
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Article
MGMT promoter methylation status in Merkel cell carcinoma: in vitro versus invivo
Expression of O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is very variable; thus, we tested whether this may be due to differential methylation of the MGMT gene promoter.
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Article
Non-reproducible sequence artifacts in FFPE tissue: an experience report
Recent advances in sequencing technologies supported the development of molecularly targeted therapy in cancer patients. Thus, genomic analyses are becoming a routine part in clinical practice and accurate det...
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Article
Open AccessEpigenetic priming restores the HLA class-I antigen processing machinery expression in Merkel cell carcinoma
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive, yet highly immunogenic skin cancer. The latter is due to its viral or UV-associated carcinogenesis. For tumor progression MCC has to escape the host’s immu...
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Article
Distribution of TERT promoter mutations in primary and metastatic melanomas in Austrian patients
TERT promoter mutations were detected at high frequencies in several cancer types including melanoma. Previous reports showed that these recurrent mutations increase TERT gene expressi...
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Article
T cell receptor repertoire usage in cancer as a surrogate marker for immune responses
Characterizing the interaction of cancer cells with the host adaptive immune system is critical for understanding tumor immunology and the modus operandi of immunotherapeutic interventions to treat cancer. As the...
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Article
Open AccessReversal of epigenetic silencing of MHC class I chain-related protein A and B improves immune recognition of Merkel cell carcinoma
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a virally associated cancer characterized by its aggressive behavior and strong immunogenicity. Both viral infection and malignant transformation induce expression of MHC class I...
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Article
Open AccessDiscovery of CD8 T cell epitopes in Merkel cell polyomavirus through combinatorial encoding with MHC multimers
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Article
Immune-suppressive properties of the tumor microenvironment
Solid tumors are more than an accumulation of cancer cells. Indeed, cancerous cells create a permissive microenvironment by exploiting non-transformed host cells. Thus, solid tumors rather resemble abnormal or...
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Article
Open AccessCellular and cytokine-dependent immunosuppressive mechanisms of grm1-transgenic murine melanoma
Grm1-transgenic mice spontaneously develop cutaneous melanoma. This model allowed us to scrutinize the generic immune responses over the course of melanoma development. To this end, lymphocytes obtained from s...
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Article
Open AccessSurvivin-specific T-cell reactivity correlates with tumor response and patient survival: a phase-II peptide vaccination trial in metastatic melanoma
Therapeutic vaccination directed to induce an anti-tumoral T-cell response is a field of extensive investigation in the treatment of melanoma. However, many vaccination trials in melanoma failed to demonstrate...
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Merkel Cell Polyomavirus
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is the most aggressive tumor of the skin. Nevertheless, until recently, almost only dermatologists were aware of MCC which was due to the rareness of this neuroendocrine carcinoma. ...
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Article
Open AccessImmunogenicity of HLA-A1-restricted peptides derived from S100A4 (metastasin 1) in melanoma patients
S100A4 (metastasin 1) belongs to the S100 family of Ca2+ binding proteins. While not present in most differentiated adult tissues, S100A4 is upregulated in the micromilieu of tumors. It is primarily expressed by ...
