Understanding how bone marrow shapes immune responses
In recent years, immunotherapies have transformed cancer treatment. Yet many patients still fail to respond, and the biological reasons for these differences remain largely unknown. Paul Bourgine’s research focuses on an often-overlooked player in this process: the bone marrow microenvironment, where immune cells are produced but also maintained.
“ImmunhOss is built on the hypothesis that our bone marrow tightly regulates inflammation and immunosuppression. Now, what cells are involved, how they organise, and whether they can have a dual role remains a mystery,” explains Paul Bourgine, associate professor at the Lund University Faculty of Medicine.
His team will investigate the existence of specialized “immune niches” within the bone marrow, microenvironments that tune immune cell function, thus potentially affecting responses to immunotherapy.
“We plan to uncover the presence of immune niches and whether those are implicated in immune cell regulation and immunotherapy outcomes. Ultimately, we will test if these niches can be reprogrammed to increase therapy efficacy,” he says.
Building new tools to study human bone marrow
A central challenge in this field is that human bone marrow is extraordinarily difficult to study in the laboratory. Paul’s group specializes in tissue engineering, creating 3D models that mimic human bone and bone marrow. These models allow researchers to observe human-like immune processes in controlled environments, without the limitations of animal systems.
“Here, we will develop advanced models of the human bone marrow to decipher its immunoregulatory properties,” he explains.
With ERC support, the team will expand these models to capture the complexity of human bone marrow architecture and its influence on immune behaviour.
“The funds will primarily allow the recruitment of additional researchers. It will also cover experimental expenses, including costly multi-omics and spatial analysis,” says Paul.
Multi-omics technologies combine different biological readouts such as gene activity, protein levels, and cell–cell interactions, while spatial analysis reveals exactly where different cell types are located and how they connect within tissue. Together, these methods will allow the group to map immune niches with a new level of detail.
The beginning of a new research direction
Receiving an ERC Consolidator Grant is a major achievement for any scientist, with only a small number of applicants across Europe selected each year.
“This is just incredible. It is likely the most competitive grant scheme, there are so many outstanding researchers out there and funding is limited. How can one be confident in obtaining such a grant?” Paul reflects.
For him and his team, the award is more than financial support.
“From our standpoint, it brings confidence in our research. As stem cell biologists and tissue engineers, we are stepping into a new, terrifying territory: cancer therapy and immunology. It is exciting, and the ERC will only bring visibility and credibility to our approaches,” he says.
