Molecular GPS: Guiding Immune Cells to Target Tumours
- Srestha Majumdar
- Dec 22, 2024
- 2 min read
Ever been so lost you needed GPS to save the day? Turns out, our cells have their own “lost and found” moments too. That’s where the molecular GPS swoops in—a tiny lifesaver guiding our cells like a Google map.
Researchers at University of California San Francisco UCSF developed a “molecular GPS” that guides immune cells to the brain to kill tumour cells such as glioblastoma which is a malignant brain tumour that starts growing in the brain or spinal cord. This GPS system works by programming immune cells with a special protein code (like a unique address) called brevican which forms the jelly-like structure in the brain. This code ensures that the immune cells navigate straight to the tumour simultaneously making sure that there are no healthy brain tissues harmed along the way.
The scientists programmed immune cells to attack only after detecting the protein brevican followed by other specific brain cancer proteins. Once the cells are in the bloodstream, they navigate to the brain, eliminate tumours and remain dormant elsewhere to avoid harming healthy tissues with similar protein markers. After 100 days when new tumour cells were introduced the remaining immune cells successfully destroyed them. Dr. Milos Simic, a co-author of the study says, “these brain-targeted CAR-T cells were incredibly effective at clearing glioblastoma in our mouse models—the best results we’ve seen so far…”. The same strategy also worked to clear brain metastases of breast cancer which occurs when breast cancer cells spread to the brain.
This technology when tested on mice successfully cleared tumours, stopped them from recurring and reduced brain inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) which is a disease where the immune system attacks the protective covering of nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord which leads to disruption in communication between brain and body. This type of therapy can address what has been a major limitation of CAR-T cancer therapies which struggle to target hard-to-reach areas like the brain. Hideho Okada, MD, UCSF oncologist and co-senior author of the paper said,
“Glioblastoma is one of the deadliest cancers, and this approach is poised to give patients a fighting chance…”.
The scientists hope this method can soon help patients with other nervous system diseases as they plan to begin clinical trials next year.
