After receiving Ph.D. degree from Beijing Medical University in 1999, Dr. Li-Xin Wang pursued his post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Greg Plautz initially at Yale University from 2000 to 2002 and then at Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute from 2002 to 2006. During this time he performed preclinical studies of T-cell adoptive immunotherapy of cancer and developed methods of ex vivo T cell activation and expansion. In 2006, Dr. Wang was appointed Research Associate. Then in 2009 he was appointed Project Staff in the Department of Immunology at Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, and became an NCI-funded investigator in 2011.  His research interests focused on the investigation of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) immunogenicity and the identification of tumor associated antigens expressed by BCSCs. He has developed two monoclonal antibodies, of which one (mAb2) can specifically bind to proliferating BCSC cells targeting SLP-2, and the other (mAb4) can preferentially bind to growth-arrested BCSC and bulk cancer cells. Future identification of mAb4-recognized tumor antigen may represent an important target for the eradication of residual breast tumor cells.

       

In 2017, Dr. Wang joined Dr. Huang's laboratory at the Angie Fowler AYA Cancer Institute / CWRU School of Medicine. He is currently focused on the interrogation of checkpoint molecules such as PD-L1 in tumor immunity and T cell activation to target cancer cells and cancer stem cells.

 

Education:
09/1981-07/1986        B.S Weifang Medical College (Medical student), CHINA
09/1990-06/1993        Master, Beijing Medical University, CHINA

09/1996-12/1999      Ph.D, Beijing Medical University, CHINA

09/2000-08/2002      Postdoctoral Fellow, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Yale University,School of Medicine, CT

09/2002-11/2006      Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Surgery Research, Cleveland Clinic, OH

 

Honors and Awards

02/2007     Outstanding Research Presentation at the 10th Annual Meeting of the Regional Cancer Center Consortium for the Biologic Therapy of Cancer

 

Professional Memberships

2003-Present:  Member of the American Association of Immunologists

2004-2006:       Associate member of the American Association for Cancer Research

2007-Present:  Active member of the American Association for Cancer Research

 

Publication

1.     Wang Li-Xin, Chen B-G, Plautz GE. Adoptive Immunotherapy of Advanced Tumors with CD62Llow Tumor Sensitized T Lymphocytes Following Ex Vivo Hyper-expression. J Immunol, 2002; 169(6): 3314-3320.

2.     Wang Li-Xin, Huang WX, Graor H, Cohen PA, Kim JA, Shu S, Plautz GE. Adoptive immunotherapy of cancer with polyclonal, 108-fold hyperexpanded, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. J Transl Med. 2004; 26; 2(1):41

3.     Wang Li-Xin, Kjaergaard J, Cohen PA, Shu S, Plautz GE. Memory T cells originate from adoptively transferred effectors and reconstituting host cells after sequential lymphodepletion and adoptive immunotherapy. J Immunol. 2004; 172(6): 3462-3468.

4.     Kjaergaard J, Wang Li-Xin, Kuriyama H, Shu S, Plautz GE. Active immunotherapy for advanced intracranial murine tumors by using dendritic cell-tumor cell fusion vaccines. J Neurosurg. 2005; 103(1): 156-164.

5.     Wang Li-Xin, Shu S, Plautz GE. Host lymphodepletion augments T cell adoptive immunotherapy through enhanced intratumoral proliferation of effector cells. Cancer Res. 2005; 65(20):9547-9554.

6.     Wang Li-Xin, Shu S, Disis ML, Plautz GE. Adoptive transfer of tumor-primed, in vitro activated, CD4+ T-effectors (TE) combined with CD8+ TE provides intratumoral TE proliferation and synergistic anti-tumor response. Blood. 2007; 109(11): 4865-4876.

7.     Watnabe S, Deguchi K, Zheng R, Tamai H, Wang Li-Xin, Cohen PA, Shu S. Tumor-induced CD11b+Gr-1+ myeloid cells suppress T cell sensitization in tumor-draining lymph nodes. J. Immunol. 2008; 181(5): 3291-3300.

8.     Wang Li-Xin, Plautz GE. Tumor-primed, in vitro-activated CD4+ effector T cells establish long-term memory without exogenous cytokine support or ongoing antigen exposure. J. Immunol. 2010; 184(10): 5612-5618.

9.     Wang Li-Xin, Plautz GE. T cells sensitized with breast tumor progenitor cell vaccine have therapeutic activity against spontaneous HER2/neu tumors. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2012; 134(1):61-70.

10.  Wang Li-Xin, Plautz GE, Huang Alex Y. Lethal pulmonary inflammatory response mediated by IFN-γ following anti-tumor effector CD4+ T-cell therapy can be ameliorated without loss of efficacy. (completed)

11.  Wang Li-Xin, Berk Michael P, Plautz GE, Huang Alex Y. An autoantibody with in vivo therapeutic activity against spontaneous breast tumors in FVB-neuN mice recognizesstomatin-like protein 2 (SLP-2). (completed)

 

Poster Presentations

1.     Wang Li-Xin, Lin San-Ren, Li Cheng-Gang. Monoclonal antibodies against human gastric cancer obtained directly from the ascetic cells in mice. Proceedings of fifth Chinese digestive disease conference (Wuhan), 1995; 212-213.

2.     Jorgen Kjaergaard, Gregory Plautz, Li-Xin Wang, Hideyuki Kuriyama, Keiji Shimizu, David Weng, and Suyu Shu. Active immunotherapy of advanced intracranial tumors through intrasplenic vaccination with DC-tumor electrofusionheterokaryons. AACR Meeting Abstracts, Mar 2004: 294.

3.     Gregory E. Plautz, Li-Xin Wang, and Suyu Shu. Adoptive immunotherapy with polyclonal tumor-reactive CD8 T cells hyperexpanded to greater than 108-fold.AACR Meeting Abstracts, Mar 2004: 501.

4.     Li-Xin Wang, Suyu Shu, and Gregory E. Plautz. CD4 tumor-reactive T cells enhance intratumoral proliferation and effector function of CD8 cells and synergistically mediate tumor regression.
AACR Meeting Abstracts, Apr 2006: 1308 - 1309.

5.     Li-Xin Wang, Suyu Shu, and Gregory Plautz. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) contain effector and regulatory subsets that can be effectively segregated and hyperexpandedin vitro with maintenance of distinct functional properties.AACR Meeting Abstracts, Apr 2007: 964.

6.     Li-Xin Wang, Suyu Shu, and Gregory Plautz. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) contain a subset of suppressor CD8+ T cells which can inhibit primary sensitization of tumor-specific effector T cells. AACR Meeting Abstracts, Apr 2008: 4634.

7.     Li-Xin Wang and Gregory Plautz. Tumor antigen-specific CD62Llow CD4+ T cells adoptively transferred to normal hosts develop effector and central memory phenotypes and retain therapeutic function. AACR Meeting Abstracts, Apr 2009: 2414.

8.     Li-Xin Wang, Gary K. Koski, Gregory E. Plautz. CD4+ and CD8+ neu-reactive T cells are sensitized by breast cancer stem-like cells (BCSC) in tolerized Her-2/neu transgenic mice and can mediate tumor regression upon adoptive transfer. AACR Meeting Abstracts, Apr 2010: 1929

9.     Li-Xin Wang, Gregory E. Plautz. Therapy of spontaneous primary breast tumors in neu-N transgenic mice by adoptive transfer of vaccine-primed LN T cells also induces a humoral response. AACR Meeting Abstracts, Apr 2011: 771

10.  Li-Xin Wang, Mona Patel, Michael Berk, Gregory E. Plautz. Monoclonal antibodies derived in neuN mice following successful T cell therapy of spontaneous breast tumors are specific for tumor progenitor cells. AACR Meeting Abstracts, Apr 2013 2853

11. Li-Xin Wang, Mona Patel, Michael Berk, Gregory Plautz. B cells induced during CD4+ T-cell mediated destruction of primary tumors in neuN mice produce mAbs that are capable of inhibiting spontaneous tumor growth. AACR Meeting Abstracts, Apr 2014: 2551

12.  GirmayTekle-Yohannes, GregoryPlautz, Li-Xin Wang. Epitope recognition and immune response to extracellular domain of Her-2/neuoncoprotein in mice. Pediatric Blood & Cancer. 61:S4–S5, May 2014

13.  Gregory E. Plautz, ArunModi, Li-Xin Wang. ERBB2 amplicon passenger genes: A novel class of breast cancer antigens. AACR Meeting Abstracts, Apr 2014: 2897

14.  Li-Xin Wang, Michael Berk, Gregory Plautz. A mAb with in vivo therapeutic activity against spontaneous breast tumors in FVB-neuN mice recognizes SLP-2. AACR Meeting Abstracts, Apr 2015: 2478

 

Funding History

08/2008-07/2012     Susan G. Komen Foundation (PI)

02/2011-01/2017     NIH-NCI RO1 (PI)