There are different types of drugs used in cancer treatment, but when it comes to affecting tumors, the drugs may not have much effect. One of the reasons for this situation is shown to be the inability of drugs to reach the cancerous cells that cluster and concentrate in the inner parts of the tumors. The new method discovered by scientists opens gaps in the outer shell of tumors by triggering the “destruct buttons” of cancerous cells.
All cells have a receptor called Fas. Thanks to this receptor, cells destroy themselves when necessary. For this, Fas receptors need to be triggered with the right antibodies. So eliminating a cell using Fas receptors is more like putting the right key in the right keyhole and turning it than pressing the right button.
Science is at the gates of cancer’s empire of fear
Researchers from the University of California Davis and Indiana University focused on Fas receptors, which they previously saw as “an underappreciated structure in cancer treatment.” Although research has been conducted on Morocco so far, no study has reached the clinical testing stage.
Researchers recently studied a series of mouse models and human cells to reveal exactly which antibodies bind to Fas receptors, triggering the cells’ destruction. Saying that previous studies were unsuccessful, researchers revealed which antibodies can bind to which parts of the receptors, called epitopes. Jogender Tushir-Smith, the lead author of the study, stated that therapeutic treatment in tumors may be possible thanks to this discovery.
Once the vascular structures that keep the immune system out or the closed solid cells that cause the definition of “cold tumor” are destroyed, cancer treatments such as CAR-T can be performed. Specially developed antibodies and antigens, which are ineffective because they cannot reach the diseased cell under normal conditions, will be able to fight cancer by passing through the gaps opened by antibodies targeting Morocco.
Two new antibodies against cancer cells discovered
In recent studies, researchers were able to produce two antibodies that were “superbly effective.” These antibodies successfully triggered the self-destruction of many cancer cells, including types of cancer such as ovarian cancer. Researchers have uncovered two critically important parts of the Fas receptor. These parts may play an important role in drug development in the future. It is stated that great progress can be made in the fight against cancer if the antibodies used for CAR-T can also target the cells surrounding the tumor.
Researchers say that antibodies can be developed by examining the Fas structures in patients’ cells as the treatment process begins. Thus, cellular therapies such as CAR-T, which enables a person’s own white blood cells to specifically destroy cancerous structures, will be much more efficient and will be able to select and eliminate tumor cells.
The research was published in Cell Death & Differentiation.
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