Wilcox Lab

The Wilcox Lab discovered that malignant T cells, much like conventional T cells, remain dependent upon myeloid-derived antigen-presenting cells (APC’s), including lymphoma-associated macrophages (LAM). Within the tumor microenvironment, APC’s/LAM engage the antigen (“signal 1”), costimulatory (“signal 2”), and cytokine (“signal 3”) receptors expressed by malignant T cells, promoting their growth, survival, and resistance to both conventional chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic strategies. The group also made the landmark discovery that the most common T-cell lymphoma in North America is comprised of two molecularly and clinically distinct subsets, one of which expresses the T-cell transcription factor GATA-3 and is characterized by a GATA-3 dependent transcriptional program that, among other things, confers resistance to chemotherapy in both a cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous manner. This landmark discovery has since been independently validated, and is reflected in the 2016 WHO classification of these lymphomas. The laboratory also seeks to identify novel therapeutic targets in T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders using complementary mouse models and primary T-cell lymphoma specimens (in ex vivo and patient-derived xenograft studies).