Archana Thakur

Associate Professor, Medicine- Hematology and Oncology

Primary Location

1300 Jefferson Park Avenue
7191 MSB West Complex
Charlottesville, VA 22903

Primary Phone Number

434.243.1397

Fax Number

434.297.4101

[email protected]

Bio & Overview

Our tumor targeting strategy is based on arming activated T cells with low concentrations of bispecific antibodies to bridge the effector T cells with targets, resulting in tumor cell lysis, T helper type 1 (Th1) cytokine/chemokine release, and induction of long-term immune responses without causing the severe cytokine release syndrome. We have shown enhanced tumor cell killing by bispecific antibody armed T cells in the presence of the Th1 cytokine-enriched microenvironment as well as reduced myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and T regulatory cells (Treg). Our working hypothesis is that infusions of T cells armed with bispecific antibodies in cancer patients not only provide immediate tumor cell killing but also modify the tumor microenvironment through the release of Th1 cytokines and chemokines. Tumor cell lysis by bispecific antibody armed T cells may create “fertile” ground for in situ immunization through the inhibition of Tregs and MDSC populations by shifting Th1/Th2 cytokine ratio, antigen/epitope spreading through recruitment and activation of endogenous APC and other immune cells. We have also designed a novel co-culture system for immune correlative studies which provides a powerful tool for interrogating the ability of normal and patient PBMC to produce specific anti-tumor antibodies. More importantly, it is a sensitive probe for monitoring the humoral immune responses and may help identify and dissect the regulatory interactions of T-cells and B-cells.

Academic Information

Department: Medicine- Hematology and Oncology

Primary Education

MS, Biological Sciences, Bhopal Universitynull
PhD, All India Institute of Medical Sciencesnull
Postdoc, Free University of Berlinnull

Research Interests

Dr. Thakur's research activities are focused on 1) developing new and innovative therapeutic approaches to enhance clinical and anti-tumor immune responses; 2) developing novel strategies to attenuate the immune suppressive cellular and humoral factors.

Selected Publications

Lum LG, Thakur A, Kondadasula SV, Al-Kadhimi Z, Deol A, Tomaszewski EN, Yano H, Schalk DL, Ayash L, Zonder JA, Uberti JP, Abidi MH, Ratanatharathorn V, Targeting CD138-/CD20+ Clonogenic Myeloma Precursor Cells Decreases These Cells and Induces Transferable Antimyeloma Immunity., 2016; Biology of blood and marrow transplantation : journal of the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. 22(5) 869-78. PMID: 26827660

Thakur A, Lum LG, In Situ immunization by bispecific antibody targeted T cell therapy in breast cancer., 2016; Oncoimmunology. 5(3) e1055061. PMID: 27141330 | PMCID: PMC4839366

Thakur A, Lum LG, "NextGen" Biologics: Bispecific Antibodies and Emerging Clinical Results., 2016; Expert opinion on biological therapy. 16(5) 675-88. PMID: 26848610

Vaishampayan U, Thakur A, Rathore R, Kouttab N, Lum LG, Phase I Study of Anti-CD3 x Anti-Her2 Bispecific Antibody in Metastatic Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer Patients., 2015; Prostate cancer. 2015() 285193. PMID: 25802762 | PMCID: PMC4352947

Lum LG, Thakur A, Al-Kadhimi Z, Colvin GA, Cummings FJ, Legare RD, Dizon DS, Kouttab N, Maizel A, Colaiace W, Liu Q, Rathore R, Targeted T-cell Therapy in Stage IV Breast Cancer: A Phase I Clinical Trial., 2015; Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. 21(10) 2305-14. PMID: 25688159 | PMCID: PMC4433762

Lum LG, Thakur A, Pray C, Kouttab N, Abedi M, Deol A, Colaiace WM, Rathore R, Multiple infusions of CD20-targeted T cells and low-dose IL-2 after SCT for high-risk non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: a pilot study., 2013; Bone marrow transplantation. 49(1) 73-9. PMID: 24056738 | PMCID: PMC3891305

Thakur A, Schalk D, Tomaszewski E, Kondadasula SV, Yano H, Sarkar FH, Lum LG, Microenvironment generated during EGFR targeted killing of pancreatic tumor cells by ATC inhibits myeloid-derived suppressor cells through COX2 and PGE2 dependent pathway., 2013; Journal of translational medicine. 11() 35. PMID: 23394575 | PMCID: PMC3608954

Thakur A, Schalk D, Sarkar SH, Al-Khadimi Z, Sarkar FH, Lum LG, A Th1 cytokine-enriched microenvironment enhances tumor killing by activated T cells armed with bispecific antibodies and inhibits the development of myeloid-derived suppressor cells., 2011; Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII. 61(4) 497-509. PMID: 21971587 | PMCID: PMC3800101

Thakur A, Littrup P, Paul EN, Adam B, Heilbrun LK, Lum LG, Induction of specific cellular and humoral responses against renal cell carcinoma after combination therapy with cryoablation and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor: a pilot study., 2011; Journal of immunotherapy (Hagerstown, Md. : 1997). 34(5) 457-67. PMID: 21577139 | PMCID: PMC3893916

Thakur A, Norkina O, Lum LG, In vitro synthesis of primary specific anti-breast cancer antibodies by normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells., 2011; Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII. 60(12) 1707-20. PMID: 21713642 | PMCID: PMC3792712