Immune-system T cells have been reprogrammed into regenerative stem cell-like memory (TSCM) cells that are long-lived, highly active « super immune cells » with strong antitumor activity, according to new research from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The reprogramming involves a novel approach the researchers developed that inhibits the activity of proteins known as MEK1/2. Actuellement, several MEK inhibitors are used to effectively treat melanoma, but this study demonstrates that MEK inhibitors don’t just target certain types of cancer cells, but rather, more broadly, reprogram T cells to fight many types of cancer.
The finding appears November 23, 2020, dansNature Immunology.
« Although immunotherapies have improved survival for cancer patients over recent years, survival rates remain sub-optimal. Donc, there is an urgent need to develop novel, more effective anti-cancer immunotherapies, » says Samir N. Khleif, MARYLAND, director of The Jeannie and Tony Loop Immuno-Oncology Laboratory and head of the team that conducted this research. « Our research shows that using drugs that have already been approved for human use may significantly enhance currently available immune therapeutic approaches, thereby leading to better and more durable anti-cancer responses. »
