Innovative Immunotherapies
Code
11192
Academic unit
NOVA Medical School|Faculdade de Ciências Médicas
Department
MCM
Credits
3
Teacher in charge
Profª Doutora Paula Videira
Objectives
The development of innovative immunotherapy approaches for the prevention and treatment of diseases such as cancer, autoimmune diseases and allergic or infectious diseases is an area that is rising, with expected high impact on modern medicine. A deeper understanding of the immunological mechanisms behind pathologies has triggered the design of therapies to modulate immune responses, i.e. Immunotherapy.
The immunotherapy can be defined as the type of treatment, using cells or biological agents that modulate the immune system, to help correct the altered immunological mechanisms, to treat a specific disease. It includes several treatment areas that have accompanied the recent finding regarding the functioning of immune system.
The area of anti-tumor immunotherapy aims to manipulate the molecular mechanisms and cellular or intracellular signal transduction pathways within the tumor microenvironment and immune cells infiltrating own tumors. Another important field of immunotherapy aims to suppress the immune response in the context of autoimmune disease and organ transplantation. In immunotherapy for allergies and hypersensitivity reactions it is highlighted the allergen desensitization therapy, also called vaccination. The vaccine concept is now wider and goes far beyond the use of classic anti-pathogens vaccines. An example of this is the anti-cancer vaccines that provide not only anti-cancer treatment and may also prevent it. Although a large clinical translation of novel immunotherapies arises at a slow pace, it is expected that it will play an important role in the future as a first line treatment in diseases such as cancer and diseases with an inflammatory nature.
This course aims to provide knowledge about immunotherapy as a form of treatment and prevention of disease. It seeks to develop understanding of the mechanisms, concepts and technologies behind the new therapeutic approaches. With this basis is to introduce students on the latest clinical applications, including pre-clinical and clinical trials, a critical perspective in relation to more traditional therapies.
By raising awareness of students to a new era of Immunotherapies with strong potential to become first-line therapies, this course aims to contribute substantially to the development and application of immunotherapy in different pathologies.
Prerequisites
Subject matter
General topics.
Introduction to immunotherapy
Immune Tolerance: Autoimmunity, Transplantation and hypersensitivity
Vaccination and new vaccines
Tumor Immunology
Cellular signaling pathways involved in the inflammatory response and cancer
Antibody Engineering
Antigen immunotherapy targets
Specific themes.
Clinical applications of therapeutic antibodies
T-cell based therapies
Dendritic cell based therapies
Immunotherapy with mesenchymal cells and other cell therapies in clinical practice
Cytokines as therapeutic targets
Genetic engineering in immunotherapy
Ethical / legal and commercial considerations in new immunotherapies
Bibliography
Cancer Immunotherapy- Paradigms, Practice and Promise, Curiel, Tyler J. (Ed.) 2013, IX,
Cellular and Molecular Immunology, Saunders/Elsevier, 2011 by Abbas, Lichtman, and Pillai
Janeways Immunobiology; Garland Science, 7th edition, by Murphy, Travers, Walport
Kuby Immunology; Kindt, Goldsby, Osborne
Fundamentos de Imunologia, Lidel, Fernando A. Arosa, Elsa M. Cardoso, Francisco C. Pacheco
Scientific articles
Teaching method
The course is organized in, theoretical and practice lectures. Weekly, lectures will be organized in 1hour of theoretical lectures (general or specific topics), followed by two hours of practical classes, where students will be divided by groups to work in preparing a presentation and / or discussion of related articles and / or review writing
Demonstration of consistency between the syllabus with the objectives of the course
The understanding on how new therapeutic approaches that involve the stimulation, the enhancement or the suppression of the immune response is particularly and completely suitable for the training of medical students. This course aims to consolidate the students' knowledge of immunotherapy, to a wide range of therapeutic approaches available or in pre-clinical stage. The themes of this course will be evaluated in this order: 1) the concepts / mechanisms inherent to therapy, 2) technology used with reference to study models, and 3) clinical application (including clinical trials) of the immunotherapy with reference to methods of diagnosis or medical monitoring.
Evaluation method
The student will be evaluated according to the weighted average of: 1) a written examination (50% weighting) that includes material on themes explored in all classes, subject of student presentations and discussions in forums; 2) presentation of seminars and / or discussion of articles on the topics of the course unit (40% weighting); 3) web forum (weighting 10%).
The evaluation criteria are the notes on the examination, and presentations. Attendance at lectures is optional but the presence in the practical and theoretical-practical is mandatory.
Practical evaluations of previous school years are not valid.
The timing of the evaluations (date, time and place) will be published online in the option page (Moodle), and the procedures for test query.