Engineering Macrophages to Ignore " Don ' t Eat Me " Signals from Cancer Cells

Macrophages are one of the types of immune cell responsible for destroying potentially dangerous cells, such as those that have become cancerous. Unfortunately cancerous cells tend to circumvent the immune system by displaying molecules on their outer surface that cause macrophages to leave them alone. This is an abuse of recognition mechanisms that exist to protect other cell types. Researchers here show that producing engineered macrophages that ignore this signal can be a viable approach to cancer therapy, even though past attempts have proven too harmful to normal cells to proceed towards the clinic. Their new methodology manages to avoid the destruction of non-cancerous cells to any significant degree, which is a promising step forward for the use of macrophages in cancer immunotherapy. One reason cancer is so difficult to treat is that it avoids detection by the body. Agents of the immune system are constantly checking the surfaces of cells for chemical signals that say they belong, but cancer cells express the same chemical signals as healthy ones. Without a way for the immune system to tell the difference, little stands in the way of cancer taking over. Now, researchers have learned how to re-engineer macrophages, the "first responders" of the immune system, so that they can distinguish between healthy and cancerous cells. Armed with this ability, the engineered cells were able to circulate through the body of a mouse, invade solid tumors and specifically eng...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs