Researchers from the University of Geneva in Switzerland, as part of a scientific team, have created genetically modified cells whose stimulation could help in the fight against certain types of cancer. Such cells have enhanced immune memory, allowing them to effectively recognize tumors. In this respect reports SciTechDaily.
CAR-T cells are genetically modified T lymphocytes initially taken from a patient suffering from cancer. T cells are grown in the laboratory and reintroduced to the patient after modification.
In the absence of oxygen, cancer cells resort to a complex survival mechanism; They convert glutamine into an alternative energy source. Glutamine is an amino acid found in all tissues of the body. The process of obtaining energy from amino acids is called reductive carboxylation. Scientists noted that T lymphocytes also use this mechanism to multiply rapidly.
To investigate the role of reductive carboxylation, scientists slowed the rate of this process in modified CAR-T cells, which were then injected into laboratory mice with blood cancers. CAR-T cells began to proliferate at a normal rate but were better able to preserve memory of the tumor elements that needed to be attacked. Cancer was almost completely cured in mice injected with modified CAR-T cells.
The authors of the study stated that the more memory cells there are in the body, the more effective the antitumor response and the better the clinical outcomes.
It was before to create A way to return malignant cells to their normal state.