Untangling the role of onco-fetal Chondroitin Sulfate in cancer - Dissecting the role of onco-fetal Chondroitin Sulfate in the tumor microenvironment and its impact on anti-tumor immunity

PhD defence by Anne Martin Salazar

Assessment Committee

Professor Thomas Lavstsen, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen (Chairperson)
Associate professor Mike Bogetofte Barnkob, University of Southern Denmark
Dr Barbara Maier, Medical University of Vienna/ CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences

Supervisors

Professor Ali Salanti
Associate Professor Jan Tobias Gustavsson
Professor Thor Grundtvig Theander

Department

Department of Immunology and Microbiology

Graduate Programme

Molecular Mechanisms of Disease

Place

The defence is conducted as a hybrid defence.

To attend the defence in person:
Building: 20, Room: Adolf Hannover auditorium,
Blegdamsvej 3B, 2200 Copenhagen N

To attend the defence online:
Please follow the link to attend the defence online: https://ucph-ku.zoom.us/j/67938850370?pwd=bPFqIY7SWnsfbzzGGRM78flNW25vnZ.1
MeetingID, if relevant: 679 3885 0370

Email address to gain access to the thesis: annemartinsalazar@gmail.com.
You will either receive a copy of the thesis or be informed where you can read a physical copy.
Recipients of copies of the thesis are not allowed to share or distribute it due to copyright compliance.

Short description of the thesis

Cancer progression is shaped not only by tumor cells themselves, but also by the surrounding microenvironment. In this PhD thesis, I investigated the role of oncofetal chondroitin sulfate (ofCS), a cancer-associated glycan expressed across a wide range of tumors. This work highlights both the biological importance of ofCS in cancer and its considerable potential as a therapeutic target. Through studies in murine models, we uncovered a previously unrecognized role for ofCS in regulating immune-cell organization within the tumor microenvironment. By linking glycobiology and tumor immunology, this research advances our understanding of how tumors evade immune surveillance and identifies new opportunities for therapeutic intervention.