Michael Plebanek

#  Education
B.Sc., 2011, Purdue University 
Ph.D.,  2018, Northwestern University
Postdoctoral Studies, 2018-2025, Duke University 

# Research Interests
At the Plebanek Lab, we are interested in understanding how tumors reprogram myeloid cells and their progenitors towards tumor tolerant states. We are particularly interested in dendritic cells (DCs), which are the premier antigen presenting cells and function as the bridge between innate and adaptive immunity. In cancer, DCs are essential for anti-tumor immunity and the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade. Unfortunately, tumors have developed mechanisms that drive DCs towards dysfunctional transcriptional states and suppress the differentiation of DCs leading to fewer active DCs within the tumor microenvironment. Ultimately, this contributes to immune tolerance and results in tumor progression. To address this, the lab uses a combination of functional genomics, single-cell omics, and transgenic mouse models to identify the tumor-derived factors and molecular networks that drive myeloid cells towards an immunotolerant state. As we move forward, we are interested in characterizing how host-derived factors like obesity, age, and sex influence myeloid cell homeostasis, and impact anti-tumor immunity. Our primary focus has been in melanoma and colon cancer, but we hope to identify strategies that can be employed to restore immunity across cancer more broadly. 

### Website
[plebaneklab.com](https://www.plebaneklab.com/)

#  Select Publications
**Plebanek MP**, Xue Y, Nguyen YV, DeVito NC, Wang X, Holtzhausen A, Beasley GM, Yarla N, Thievanthiran B, Hanks BA. A Lactate-SREBP2 Signaling Axis Drives Tolerogenic Dendritic Cell Maturation and Promotes Cancer Progression. Science Immunology. 2024 May 10;9(95)

Theivanthiran B, Yarla N, Haykal T, Nguyen YV, Cao L, Ferreira M, Holtzhausen A, Al-Rohil R, Salama AKS, Beasley GM, **Plebanek MP**, DeVito NC, Hanks BA. Tumor-intrinsic NLRP3-HSP70-TLR4 axis drives pre-metastatic niche development and hyperprogression during anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Science Translational Medicine, 2022 Nov, 23 14 (672) 

DeVito NC, Sturdivant M, Thievanthiran B, Xiao C, **Plebanek MP**, Salama AKS, Beasley GM, Holtzhausen A, Novotny-Diermayr V, Strickler JH, Hanks BA.  Pharmacological Wnt ligand inhibition overcomes key tumor-mediated resistance pathways to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Cell Rep. 2021 May 4;35(5):109071. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109071

Henrich SE, McMahon KM, **Plebanek MP**, Calvert AE, Feliciano TJ, Parrish S, Tavora F, Mega A, De Souza A, Carneiro BA, Thaxton CS. Prostate cancer extracellular vesicles mediate intercellular communication with bone marrow cells and promote metastasis in a cholesterol-dependent manner. J Extracell Vesicles. 2020 Dec;10(2):e12042. doi: 10.1002/jev2.12042.

**Plebanek MP**, Bhaumik D, Bryce PJ, Thaxton CS, Scavenger Receptor Type B1 and Lipoprotein Nanoparticles Inhibit Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. 2018 Mar 17(3):686-697 

**Plebanek MP**, Angeloni NL, Vinokour E, Li J, Henkin A, Martinez-Marin D, Filleur S, Bhowmick R, Henkin J, Miller SD, Ifergan I, Lee Y, Osman I, Thaxton CS, Volpert OV, Pre-metastatic Cancer Exosomes Induce Immune Surveillance by Patrolling Monocytes at the Metastatic Niche. Nature Communications. 2017 Nov 6;8(1)

**Plebanek MP**, Mutharasan RK, Volpert O, Matov A, Gatlin JC, Thaxton CS, Nanoparticle Targeting and Cholesterol Flux Through Scavenger Receptor Type B-1 Inhibits Cellular Exosome Uptake. Scientific Reports. 2015 Oct 29;5:15724.