Research Area
Our research program rests on three pillars – the T cell, the Tumor Microenvironment, and Immunotherapy. We study how tumors inhibit T and NK cells-mediated immunity both locally and systemically. Our recent single cell RNA sequencing study depicted complex pathways to develop T cell memory intratumorally. Currently, aided by bioinformatics, animal models and clinical cohorts, we are actively dissecting signaling pathways, transcription regulatory networks, and epigenetic programs governing T and NK cell differentiation in the tumor microenvironment. Our previous studies also demonstrated that tumors remotely modulate T cell mediated immunity at every step: priming, trafficking, and intratumoral function. The next step is to develop clinically feasible strategies counteracting tumors-biaed systemic immune suppression.The expanding boundary of T and NK cell biology is the frontier of cancer immunotherapy.
Team Description
Dr. Qi-Jing Li is a molecular immunologist at Duke University School of Medicine. He was trained by Dr. Mark Davis at Stanford University, where he initiated his scientific career as a T cell biologist. Dr. Li’s early research focused on the specificity and sensitivity of T cell antigen receptor (TCR). He made a series of contributions in determining the minimal subunit and rate-limiting step of TCR activation. His pioneer work introduced microRNA into the immunology field and determined that miR-181a as an intrinsic master regulator for T cell sensitivity. In 2008, Dr. Li started up his own lab at Duke, where he focused his research on tumor immunology and immunotherapy. On the front of translational medicine, Dr. Li has been continuously developing new technology platforms, engineering new cell therapy tools, and, devoting them to clinical stage for immunotherapy and immune monitoring.
Team Members
Team Show
Publications
1) Long, H. #, Wang, L. #, Jia Q. #, Wang, Z., Huang, J., Zhou, L., Hu, C., Jia, Q., Wang, X., Zeng, X., Zeng, D., Su, X., Alexander, P.B., Wang, L., Wang, LM, Wang, X.-F., Wan, Y., Li, Q.-J.*, and Zhu, B.*. (2022) Tumor-Induced Erythroid Precursor-Differentiated Myeloid Cells Mediate Immunosuppression and Curtail Anti-PD-1/PDL1 Treatment Efficacy. Cancer Cell 40(6):674-693.e7.
2) Huang D., Wang Y., Thompson J.W., Yin T., Alexander P.B., Qin D., Mudgal P., Wu H., Liang Y., Tan L., Pan C., Yuan L., Wan Y., Li Q.-J.,* and Wang X.F. (2022) Cancer Cell-Derived GABA Promotes β-Catenin-Mediated Tumor Growth and
Immunosuppression. Nature Cell Biology 24(2):230-241.
3) Geng J, Chen R, Yang FF, Lin P, Zhu YM, Fu X, Wang K, Feng Z, Wu J, Zhang H, Li Q.-J. *, Chen Z.-N.*, Zhu P*. (2021) CD98-induced CD147 signaling stabilizes the Foxp3 protein to maintain tissue homeostasis. Cell Mol Immunol. 18(12):2618-2631.
4) Wang, G., Mudgal, P., Wang, L., Shuen, T.W.H., Wu, H., Alexander, P.B., Wang, W.W., Wan, Y., Toh, H.C.*, Wang, X.-F.*, and Li Q.-J.* (2021) TCR repertoire characteristics predict clinical response to adoptive CTL therapy against nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Oncoimmunology. 10(1):1955545.
5)Christian, L.S., Wang, L., Wu, H., Deng, D., Lim, B., Wang, X.-F. and Li Q.-J., (2021) Resident Memory T Cells in Tumor-Distant Tissues Fortify Against Metastasis Formation. Cell Reports 35(6)109118
6)Jia Q, Qin D, He F, Xie Q, Ying Z, Zhang Y, Song Y, Cheng JN, Zuo X, Xu L, Fang H, Hu C, Peng L, Jin T, Shi Z, Alexander PB, Wang Y, Liu Y, Han W, Zhu J, Wang P*, Li Q.-J.*, Zhu B.* (2021) Peripheral eosinophil counts predict efficacy of anti-CD19 CAR-T cell therapy against B-lineage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Theranostics 11(10):4699-4709.
7) Cheng J.-N., Luo W., Sun C., Jin Z., Zeng X, Alexander P.B., Gong Z., Xia X., Ding X., Xu S., Zou P., Wan Y., Jia Q. *, Li Q.-J.*, & Zhu B. (2021) Radiation-Induced Eosinophils Improve Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Recruitment and Response to Immunotherapy. Sci. Adv. 7(5):eabc7609.