Tag : Supercharge

San Francisco: UC San Francisco (UCSF) researchers have engineered T cells that only produce a strong anti-cancer cytokine when they come into contact with tumour cells. The immunotherapy successfully treated mice with melanoma and pancreatic cancer without causing any significant side effects, and it presents a promising new approach to combating these and other difficult-to-treat tumours. The immune system normally produces the potent inflammatory chemical IL-2, which is delivered by the cells. T cells, immune cells that can kill cancer cells and defend against infection, are supercharged by IL-2. IL-2 has powerful anti-cancer efficacy, which oncologists have known for years, but its usage has been constrained by the adverse reaction it causes when administered systemically. In the study, published in the journal Science, the researchers were able to keep the cytokine contained within cancer by programming the tumour-infiltrating T cells to make their own IL-2 when they recognized a cancer cell. "We've taken advantage of the ability of these cells to be local delivery agents and to crank out their T-cell amplifiers only when they recognize they're in the right place," said Wendell Lim, PhD, the Byers Distinguished Professor in cellular and molecular biology, director of the UCSF Cell Design Institute and senior author on the study. "I think this is a model for how we can use cell therapies to deliver many types of potent but toxic therapeutic agents in a much more targeted manner." Slipping past the barriers Cellular therapies have been highly effective against many blood cancers, where the cells are easily accessible because they are floating freely. Solid tumours, however, build multiple defensive walls that prevent therapeuti ...