Ika Nurlaila, PhD
Ika Nurlaila, PhD

Host Institution:

TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center (MRC)

Supervisor:

Abdullah Karadağ, PhD

Co-Supervisor:

Şerif Şentürk, PhD

Project Name:

Antigen Processing Machinery (APM)-based CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing as a Novel Prototype in Cancer Immunotherapy

Project Summary:

The major problem in cancer is the inability of hosts’ antigen-presenting cells (APCs) to expose cancer-specific or cancer-associated antigens to cytotoxic T cells (CTLs). As a result, CTLs lose leads to destroying cancer. Antigen processing machinery (APM) gene orchestration has been deemed to be strongly associated with these defects. Hence, targeting APM would be a significant strategy to enhance immune response and improve the efficacy of existing immunotherapies. Unlike the other variables in cancer immunology, APM remains investigation-lacking, hitherto. Therefore, our present study aims to explore transcriptomic interaction within the APM gene and to integrate its unique transcriptomic patterns with the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing platform to build a novel prototype of cancer immunotherapy that carries both the principles of precision from precision medicine and generics from generic drugs. Our experiment will focus on lung cancer, which is the leading cause of death among solid cancers in both sexes. The required samples will be provided by the Marmara Research Center (MRC), which established a LungBank Biorepository in 2024. We will perform transcriptomic, proteomic, and immunomics analysis to provide multidimensional profiles on the use of APM-targeting CRISPR/Cas9 that we expect to pave fundamental ways for generic cancer immunotherapy, which we expect to be able to break financial constraints, thus making it accessible to those affected. By the end of the project, our prototype will reach a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 4, where it will have demonstrated a reliably functional, tangible, and scalable proof-of-concept that can be further developed into a clinically implemented therapeutic product.