Magnus Essand – Cancerimmunterapi
We develop novel CAR-T cells, oncolytic viruses and viral vectors that induce bystander immunity and reshape the tumor microenvironment to improve cancer immunotherapy.

Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt
Immunotherapy has during the last decade proven to be effective and gained a strong position in clinical oncology. Although tremendous achievements have been made, we have only just begun the work to understand how immune regulatory mechanisms in cancer can be exploited for treatment.
Our research programs aim to understand the mechanisms that make cancer cells escape immune recognition and use this knowledge to develop new and better immunotherapies. We create innovative chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells, oncolytic viruses and viral vectors and arm them with factors that can increase T cell recruitment and induce potent anti-tumor immune responses. To address antigen heterogeneity within solid tumors, we strive to develop immunotherapy products that can induce bystander immunity with epitope spreading and activation of endogenous tumor antigen-specific cytolytic T cells.
Most of our research is pre-clinical, but oncolytic viruses and CAR-T cells developed in the research group are currently being evaluated in clinical trials at Uppsala University Hospital. We are continuously developing more sophisticated products, and we anticipate that novel armed CAR-T cells, oncolytic viruses, and viral vectors will enter clinical trials within the coming years.
Group members
Publications
Part of Science immunology, 2025
Enhanced Cellular Uptake through Nanotopography-Induced Macropinocytosis
Part of Advanced Functional Materials, 2024
- DOI for Enhanced Cellular Uptake through Nanotopography-Induced Macropinocytosis
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Part of Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, 2024
- DOI for Targeting ZC3H11A elicits immunogenic cancer cell death through augmentation of antigen presentation and interferon response
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VLDLR mediates Semliki Forest virus neuroinvasion through the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier
Part of Nature Communications, 2024
- DOI for VLDLR mediates Semliki Forest virus neuroinvasion through the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier
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CD4+ T cell-induced inflammatory cell death controls immune-evasive tumours
Part of Nature, p. 1033-1040, 2023
- DOI for CD4+ T cell-induced inflammatory cell death controls immune-evasive tumours
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Complementarity-determining region clustering may cause CAR-T cell dysfunction
Part of Nature Communications, 2023
- DOI for Complementarity-determining region clustering may cause CAR-T cell dysfunction
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Of mice and lymphoid aggregates: modeling tertiary lymphoid structures in cancer
Part of Frontiers in Immunology, 2023
- DOI for Of mice and lymphoid aggregates: modeling tertiary lymphoid structures in cancer
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Part of Clinical Cancer Research, p. 4139-4152, 2023
- DOI for Single-Cell RNA Analysis Reveals Cell-Intrinsic Functions of CAR T Cells Correlating with Response in a Phase II Study of Lymphoma Patients
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Tailoring vascular phenotype through AAV therapy promotes anti-tumor immunity in glioma
Part of Cancer Cell, p. 1134-1151, 2023
- DOI for Tailoring vascular phenotype through AAV therapy promotes anti-tumor immunity in glioma
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Part of Nature Biomedical Engineering, p. 830-841, 2022
- DOI for CAR T cells expressing a bacterial virulence factor trigger potent bystander antitumour responses in solid cancers
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Part of Molecular Therapy Nucleic Acids, p. 450-461, 2022
- DOI for CRISPR-Cas9 treatment partially restores amyloid-β 42/40 in human fibroblasts with the Alzheimer's disease PSEN1 M146L mutation
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Part of Oncoimmunology, 2022
- DOI for Intratumoral administration of pro-inflammatory allogeneic dendritic cells improved the anti-turnor response of systemic anti-CTLA-4 treatment via unleashing a T cell-dependent response
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Ixovex-1, a novel oncolytic E1B-mutated adenovirus
Part of Cancer Gene Therapy, p. 1628-1635, 2022
- DOI for Ixovex-1, a novel oncolytic E1B-mutated adenovirus
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Targeting circulating monocytes with CCL2-loaded liposomes armed with an oncolytic adenovirus
Part of Nanomedicine, 2022
Part of Cancer Imaging, 2022
- DOI for Whole body FDG PET/MR for progression free and overall survival prediction in patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphomas undergoing CAR T-cell therapy
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ZC3H11A loss of function enhances NF-κB signaling through defective IκBα protein expression
Part of Frontiers in Immunology, 2022
- DOI for ZC3H11A loss of function enhances NF-κB signaling through defective IκBα protein expression
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Part of Nature Communications, 2021
- DOI for Agonistic CD40 therapy induces tertiary lymphoid structures but impairs responses to checkpoint blockade in glioma
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Part of Nanomaterials, 2021
- DOI for Development of a New Hyaluronic Acid Based Redox-Responsive Nanohydrogel for the Encapsulation of Oncolytic Viruses for Cancer Immunotherapy
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Part of MOLECULAR THERAPY-ONCOLYTICS, p. 37-46, 2021
- DOI for IFN-I-tolerant oncolytic Semliki Forest virus in combination with anti-PD1 enhances T cell response against mouse glioma
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Perivascular macrophages regulate blood flow following tissue damage
Part of Circulation Research, p. 1694-1707, 2021
Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in the Central Nervous System: Implications for Glioblastoma
Part of Frontiers in Immunology, 2021
- DOI for Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in the Central Nervous System: Implications for Glioblastoma
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Astrocytes have the capacity to act as antigen-presenting cells in the Parkinson's disease brain
Part of Journal of Neuroinflammation, 2020
- DOI for Astrocytes have the capacity to act as antigen-presenting cells in the Parkinson's disease brain
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Part of Cell Death and Disease, 2020
- DOI for Characterization of virus-mediated immunogenic cancer cell death and the consequences for oncolytic virus-based immunotherapy of cancer
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Part of Haematologica, p. 1306-1316, 2020
- DOI for TARP is an immunotherapeutic target in acute myeloid leukemia expressed in the leukemic stem cell compartment
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Part of Oncoimmunology, 2020
- DOI for Tumor endothelial cell up-regulation of IDO1 is an immunosuppressive feed-back mechanism that reduces the response to CD40-stimulating immunotherapy
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Part of Cell Stem Cell, p. 855-870, 2019
- DOI for Humanized Stem Cell Models of Pediatric Medulloblastoma Reveal an Oct4/mTOR Axis that Promotes Malignancy
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Part of Journal of Pathology, p. 228-240, 2019
Virus-Based Immunotherapy of Glioblastoma
Part of Cancers, 2019
- DOI for Virus-Based Immunotherapy of Glioblastoma
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A Phase I/IIa Trial Using CD19-Targeted Third-Generation CAR T Cells for Lymphoma and Leukemia
Part of Clinical Cancer Research, p. 6185-6194, 2018
Part of Oncoimmunology, 2018
- DOI for Cancer vaccine based on a combination of an infection-enhanced adenoviral vector and pro-inflammatory allogeneic DCs leads to sustained antigen-specific immune responses in three melanoma models
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CD93 promotes β1 integrin activation and fibronectin fibrillogenesis during tumor angiogenesis
Part of Journal of Clinical Investigation, p. 3280-3297, 2018
- DOI for CD93 promotes β1 integrin activation and fibronectin fibrillogenesis during tumor angiogenesis
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Part of Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, p. 1961-1972, 2018
- DOI for Leukocyte differentiation by histidine-rich glycoprotein/stanniocalcin-2 complex regulates murine glioma growth through modulation of anti-tumor immunity
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Part of Experimental dermatology, 2018
Multiple nuclear-replicating viruses require the stress-induced protein ZC3H11A for efficient growth
Part of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2018
Perivascular macrophages regulate blood flow following tissue damage
Part of European Journal of Clinical Investigation, p. 44-45, 2018
Part of Oncoimmunology, 2018
Part of Scandinavian Journal of Immunology, p. 341-341, 2017
Part of Molecular Therapy, p. 288-288, 2017
Immunological biomarkers correlate to survival in CAR19-treated patients
Part of Scandinavian Journal of Immunology, p. 337-337, 2017
Multiple viruses rely on the stress-induced protein ZC3H11A for efficient replication
2017
Part of British Journal of Cancer, p. 51-55, 2017
PATZ1 down-regulates FADS1 by binding to rs174557 and is opposed by SP1/SREBP1c
Part of Nucleic Acids Research, p. 2408-2422, 2017
Part of Neuroendocrinology, p. 54-66, 2017
Part of Clinical Cancer Research, p. 1519-1530, 2017
Part of Seminars in Cancer Biology, p. 23-35, 2017
- DOI for The cancer-immunity cycle as rational design for synthetic cancer drugs: Novel DC vaccines and CAR T-cells
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Part of Molecular Therapy, 2016
Part of CANCER IMMUNOLOGY RESEARCH, 2016
Avidity characterization of genetically engineered T-cells with novel and established approaches
Part of BMC Immunology, 2016
- DOI for Avidity characterization of genetically engineered T-cells with novel and established approaches
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Part of CANCER IMMUNOLOGY RESEARCH, 2016
Part of Virology, p. 44-50, 2016
Heparanase Promotes Glioma Progression and is Inversely Correlated with Patient Survival.
Part of Molecular Cancer Research, p. 1243-1253, 2016
Long-term episomal gene transfer for safe engineering of T cells for adoptive cell therapy of cancer
Part of CANCER IMMUNOLOGY RESEARCH, 2016
Part of Neuroendocrinology, p. 115-115, 2016
Prospects to improve chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for solid tumors
Part of Immunotherapy, p. 1355-1361, 2016
Part of EMBO Molecular Medicine, p. 702-711, 2016
- DOI for Safe engineering of CAR T cells for adoptive cell therapy of cancer using long-term episomal gene transfer
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Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Engineered T Cells for the Treatment of Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Part of BioDrugs, p. 75-89, 2015
- DOI for Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Engineered T Cells for the Treatment of Metastatic Prostate Cancer
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Part of Cancer Research, p. 4504-4516, 2015
Part of Cell Transplantation, p. 263-276, 2015
Part of Cell Transplantation, p. 263-276, 2015
Part of Regenerative Medicine Research, 2015
- DOI for Mesenchymal stromal cells supportendothelial cell interactions in anintramuscular islet transplantation model
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Part of Neuroendocrine Tumors, p. 248-262, S. Karger, 2015
Part of Science Signaling, 2015
Part of Blood, 2015
Part of Journal of immunotherapy (1997), p. 155-162, 2014
Part of Molecular Therapy, 2014
Part of Molecular Therapy Methods & Clinical Development, 2014
Part of Molecular Therapy, 2014
Engineering Regulatory Cells With a T Cell Receptor for Controlled Activation
Part of Molecular Therapy, 2014
Histidine-Rich Glycoprotein (HRG): A Novel Gene-Therapy Effector for the Treatment of Cancer
Part of Molecular Therapy, 2014
Long-term episomal gene transfer for safe engineering of T-cells for adoptive cell therapy of cancer
Part of Human Gene Therapy, 2014
Preclinical Safety Assessment of Ad[I/PPT-E1A], a Novel Oncolytic Adenovirus for Prostate Cancer
Part of Human Gene Therapy Clinical Development, p. 7-15, 2014
Part of The FASEB Journal, 2014
Part of BMC Cancer, p. 30, 2014
- DOI for Systemic treatment with CAR-engineered T cells against PSCA delays subcutaneous tumor growth and prolongs survival of mice
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Part of Journal of Immunology, p. 2287-2296, 2014
Part of PLOS ONE, 2013
- DOI for Adenovirus Serotype 5 Vectors with Tat-PTD Modified Hexon and Serotype 35 Fiber Show Greatly Enhanced Transduction Capacity of Primary Cell Cultures
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Part of Molecular Therapy, p. 2008-2018, 2013
- DOI for An infection-enhanced oncolytic adenovirus secreting H. pylori neutrophil-activating protein with therapeutic effects on neuroendocrine tumors
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Part of Cancer Gene Therapy, p. 386-393, 2013
Genetically engineered T cells for the treatment of cancer
Part of Journal of Internal Medicine, p. 166-181, 2013
Histidine-Rich Glycoprotein (HRG): A Novel Gene-Therapy Effector for the Treatment of Cancer
Part of Molecular Therapy, 2013
Islet Engraftment and Revascularization in Clinical and Experimental Transplantation
Part of Cell Transplantation, p. 243-251, 2013