Our immune system is the strongest line of defense against many diseases, including cancer. Cancer has some cunning methods to evade detection and weaken immune cells. Recently, Japanese researchers conducted a CAR T-cell immunotherapy experiment in which a cancer patient removes T cells , genetically engineered them to target specific cancer cells, and places them back in the body to hunt the cancer. This time, a different team has used similar treatment, adding a new dimension to the battle against cancer with CAR T cell immunotherapy.
A group of researchers from the University of Washington discovered that adding a booster protein can significantly improve the outcome of cancer immunotherapy. Experiments in mice revealed that the protein produced 10,000 times more immune cells , and all mice survived throughout the experiment.
The treatment method was developed by changing the structure of the protein.
In the new study, scientists investigated ways to fight cancer by increasing the number of T cells. Researchers using a protein called interleukin-7 (IL-7), which is said to be completely natural, to accelerate T cell production in the body’s disease state, changed the structure of the natural protein, which does not normally live in the body for a very long time, allowing it to stay in the body for weeks.
The team injected this long-lived IL-7 into mice on different days. In the test, some mice received no immunotherapy, while others received CAR T cell therapy without the IL-7 protein. When tumor-bearing and immunodeficient mice were injected with a long-acting IL-7 protein following CAR T cell therapy, it was observed that CAR T cells in these mice increased more than ten thousandfold compared to mice that did not receive IL-7. It was also observed that these CAR T cells fought against the harmful tumor for a longer period of time.
Human trials could begin soon
Thanks to this enhanced treatment, the survival times of the test mice were even longer. Tumors in the body of each mouse that received IL-7 protein with CAR T cell therapy shrank beyond detection by day 35 of the experiment. In addition, each of the mice survived the entire 175-day experiment . In contrast, mice with only immunotherapy treatment survived an average of 30 days .
There may be cases where experiments in mice do not show the same effect in humans, but according to the statements made by experts, clinical trials of CAR T cell therapy enhanced with IL-7 protein are expected to begin soon in patients with a type of lymphoma.
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