https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210514134222.htm
A groundbreaking study led by engineering and medical researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities shows how engineered immune cells used in new cancer therapies can overcome physical barriers to allow a patient's own immune system to fight tumors. The research could improve cancer therapies in the future for millions of people worldwide.
[...] Instead of using chemicals or radiation, immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps the patient's immune system fight cancer. T cells are a type of white blood cell that are of key importance to the immune system. Cytotoxic T cells are like soldiers who search out and destroy the targeted invader cells.
[...] In this first-of-its-kind study, the researchers are working to engineer the T cells and develop engineering design criteria to mechanically optimize the cells or make them more "fit" to overcome the barriers. If these immune cells can recognize and get to the cancer cells, then they can destroy the tumor.
In a fibrous mass of a tumor, the stiffness of the tumor causes immune cells to slow down about two-fold -- almost like they are running in quicksand.
"This study is our first publication where we have identified some structural and signaling elements where we can tune these T cells to make them more effective cancer fighters," said Provenzano, a researcher in the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center. "Every 'obstacle course' within a tumor is slightly different, but there are some similarities. After engineering these immune cells, we found that they moved through the tumor almost twice as fast no matter what obstacles were in their way."
To engineer cytotoxic T cells, the authors used advanced gene editing technologies (also called genome editing) to change the DNA of the T cells so they are better able to overcome the tumor's barriers. The ultimate goal is to slow down the cancer cells and speed up the engineered immune cells. The researchers are working to create cells that are good at overcoming different kinds of barriers. When these cells are mixed together, the goal is for groups of immune cells to overcome all the different types of barriers to reach the cancer cells.
Provenzano said the next steps are to continue studying the mechanical properties of the cells to better understand how the immune cells and cancer cells interact. The researchers are currently studying engineered immune cells in rodents and in the future are planning clinical trials in humans.
Journal Reference:
Erdem D. Tabdanov, Nelson J. Rodríguez-Merced, Alexander X. Cartagena-Rivera, et al. Engineering T cells to enhance 3D migration through structurally and mechanically complex tumor microenvironments [open], Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22985-5)
(Score: 1) by DmT on Friday May 21 2021, @09:14PM
Sounds like beginning of Resident Evil ...
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Friday May 21 2021, @10:44PM (4 children)
If they can identify the external characteristics that cancer cells present and no other body cells present, and then manage to engineer suitable antibodies, this would be helpful.
But there are a lot of 'if's here which will still have to be studied and go through clinical trials. And will those antibodies have to be custom-made for every patient?
The previous breakthrough was a drug to stop angiogenesis. When the body stops growing new blood vessels, the cancer gets no new blood vessels as if tries to grow, can't get fed, and dies.
When the cancer dies, angiogenesis can resume as normal.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @12:00AM (2 children)
A number of cancers have very similar antigens. And, even if not identical, they will have similar epitopes. However, that probably won't be much of a problem with mRNA technology. You can literally biopsy a tumor, find the exact sequence causing the problem, print it out, load it into the vector, inject it, and then boom, the immune system doesn't have to rely on obtaining it directly from the cancer cells.
That said, this article doesn't really discuss either of those, but is instead about directly affecting T cell mobility by changing the properties of their microtubules.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @12:23PM (1 child)
... it turns out that exact sequence occurs in healthy cells in a different part of the body too.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 23 2021, @05:36AM
There are some important differences depending on the exact gene mutation in question. Some of them produce denovo proteins that don't actually exist in healthy cells, in which case an immune response to that protein as foreign would work like similar vaccines do today. Others disable various growth mitigation or apoptosis triggers, in which case you can use said vaccines to do a form of targeted mRNA insertion to slow down the cells. Other methods include inducing over expression in health cells to trigger immune response to the target neoplasia, by infecting cancer cells on purpose so that it triggers apoptosis that way, "tags" them for CTL recognition, upregulates LGL response, or a number of other interventions, or by increasing the clonal fraction. There are a number of promising ways the same technology can trigger a response, even when the gene sequence occurs in healthy cells without causing collateral damage to said healthy cells.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday May 22 2021, @02:33PM
Unlikely, cancer cells are mainly just normal cells that reproduce out of control. They may be able to get this work for some cells, but keep in mind that cancer cells are mostly just normal cells that no longer self-destruct or stop growing before they take over, so they may not even have anything to target on their outside other than the fact that they're a part of a tumor.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Friday May 21 2021, @10:57PM
that made their way between cells [youtu.be] to get to their destinations (unless this intercellular migration is a different mechanism). Guess you learn something every day.
(Score: 1, Troll) by acid andy on Saturday May 22 2021, @03:37PM (2 children)
Conservatives mostly smell of elderberries. Mostly.
error count exceeds 100; stopping compilation
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 23 2021, @06:28AM (1 child)
Forget to check the AC box again?
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Sunday May 23 2021, @10:11AM
No. Just having some fun. Conservatives have their fun shitting up the whole world so I might as well have my five minutes with some mildly entertaining HTML,
error count exceeds 100; stopping compilation
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 24 2021, @05:46AM (1 child)
Those little Masonic lodges are so cryptic; but, not in a normally cryptic way. They make no attempt to hide themselves; but, depending where you live, you might see a normal, regular old looking building, with a sign outside that says, "Masonic Temple." I lived within a 10 minute drive of one. I never heard ANYONE, EVER bring it up in conversation. It was right off a popular road and definitely not hiding in anyway; but, not being overtly advertised either. It was also connected to an old folks home. It makes one curious. I know nothing about the Masons beyond the conspiracy stories of secrecy and rituals. It drives the curiosity a bit; but, I have no real interest in knowing, 'what's up,' either. I suppose some people are just part of a tradition, and there are those who just have it in their blood to form societies and groups... I suppose some masons with some money decided to devote some of their interest into helping the University of Minnesota fix cancer. They may have their secret rituals and what not; but, I imagine it's a lot less glamorous than what is depicted in film. They probably still have refreshment and snacks before and after particular gatherings like anyone else, heh...
Masonry and construction; brave men, doing brave things, sometimes...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 24 2021, @06:14AM
Brave women as well, sometimes.