# The Role of CD5 in Tumor Immunity

> **NIH NIH R01** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $360,281

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Dendritic cells (DCs) play critical roles in the regulation of anti-tumor immune responses. In both mice and
humans, DCs consist of distinct subsets with intrinsic differences that lead to functional specialization in the
generation of immunity. Compared to mice, little is known about the functional classification of human tissue-
resident DCs, and how subset distribution is altered in disease. My laboratory has published pioneering studies
on the identification and functional characterization of human DC subsets with respect to their control of cellular
and humoral immunity. This application focuses on our recent discovery of a new human DC subset that is
delineated by CD5 expression and that we discovered initially in human skin, blood and lymph nodes. CD5+ DCs
are present in both mice and humans. They efficiently polarize T cells into helper and cytotoxic responses, and
their number is reduced in melanoma affected compared to healthy tissue. Preliminary data using human DCs
and pre-clinical mouse models are provided to demonstrate that CD5 is a critical molecule on DCs that sustains
T cell activation and tumor rejection in vivo.
Although the survival of advanced melanoma patients has been extended by interventions that enhance T cell
activation, the response is limited to a minority of patients. Thus, we hypothesize that harnessing the CD5
costimulatory system on DCs will contribute towards the generation of a broad T cell response and
immunological memory that is required to completely eliminate melanoma cells. To address this
hypothesis, we will 1) harness novel murine models developed in our laboratory to define the requirement of
CD5 on either DCs or T cells in tumor immunity, anti-tumor vaccination and in shaping response to checkpoint
blockade therapy; 2) determine the molecular interactions underlying the activation and anti-tumor T responses
by CD5+ DCs; 3) determine whether the distribution and the function of the CD5+ DCs is restored in patients with
melanoma that respond to checkpoint blockade therapy.
These studies will advance our understanding of a novel mechanism by which dendritic cells function to target
cancer cells and will provide a rationale for harnessing CD5+ DC biology in a therapeutic setting.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10200714
- **Project number:** 5R01CA245277-02
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Eynav Yafit Klechevsky
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $360,281
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-07-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10200714

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10200714, The Role of CD5 in Tumor Immunity (5R01CA245277-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10200714. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*