SCIENCE | Macau contributes to progress in cancer treatment research

UM professor Chen Xin

The State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine (QRCM Lab), Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences (ICMS), University of Macau (UM), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health in the United States, have reportedly made significant progress in a collaborative research project on safer and more effective treatment for cancer and autoimmune diseases. The related findings have been published in scientific journals under the scientific journal Nature Magazine.
According to a statement issued by UM, the team of researchers established that TNFR2 (tumor necrosis factor receptor 2) plays an important role in the proper functioning and proliferation of T cells, especially regulatory T (Treg) cells. This finding not only corrects a theoretical misconception in immunology, but also paves the way for developing safer and more effective drugs for tumor and autoimmune diseases.
Earlier this month, two papers about the research findings: ‘Paradoxical Effects of Targeting TNF Signalling in the Treatment of Autoimmunity’, and ‘TNFR2 Expression by CD4 Effector T Cells Is Required to Induce Full-fledged Experimental Colitis’, were published in Nature Reviews Rheumatology, and scientific reports respectively. UM professor Chen Xin is the first author of both papers.
Since its founding, the QRCM Lab has been committed to nurturing collaboration with internationally renowned institutions in scientific research and personnel training. The lab and the NCI have signed a collaboration agreement aimed to promote collaboration in studying the mechanism of action within traditional Chinese medicines in regulating the immune system, which has produced many impactful results.