A new method has been discovered that enhances the destruction of cancer cells

Researchers from the North American universities University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Northwestern Medicine have discovered a new method that increases the ability of T cells to destroy cancer cells by a hundredfold, using the “power” and “cunning” of cancer itself. .

The discovery, published this Wednesday by Nature Magazine, has not yet been tested in humans, but researchers have already begun working on human testing of this new approach based on T cells, which are part of the immune system and are responsible for protecting the body. .against unknown agents.

By studying mutations in malignant T cells that cause lymphoma, scientists focused on the type that makes the modified T cells exceptionally effective, and concluded that inserting the gene encoding this unique mutation into normal human T cells makes them at least 100 times more powerful in killing cancer. cells and without signs of toxicity.

Although current immunotherapies only work against blood and bone marrow cancers, the T cells reported in the study were “capable of killing” tumors arising from the skin, lungs and stomach in mice.

“We’re using nature’s blueprint to create more effective T-cell treatments,” Jaehyuk Choi, assistant professor of dermatology, biochemistry and molecular genetics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, explained to Science.

The expert explained that this “superpower” that makes cancer cells so strong can be transferred to T-cell therapy, “to make them powerful enough to eliminate previously incurable cancers.”

Kole Roybal, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of California, San Francisco, director of the Parker Cancer Institute at the UCSF Center for Immunotherapy, and member of the Gladstone Institute for Genomic Immunology, emphasized that “mutations that underlie the resistance and adaptability of cancer cells may burden T cells to survive and thrive in the harsh conditions that tumors create.”

For cell-based therapies to work in such conditions, they need to “give healthy T cells capabilities beyond what they can achieve naturally,” says Kole Roybal.

The teams involved in the study examined 71 mutations found in patients with T-cell lymphoma, determined which ones could improve engineered T-cell therapies in small rodent tumor models, and ultimately isolated one that was found to be potent and nontoxic .

“We have a lot to learn from nature about how we can improve these cells and adapt them to different types of diseases,” said Kole Roybal, who believes this is still a starting point.