Concomitant pharmacotherapy overcomes immunotherapy challenges in aggressive blood cancer
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive form of blood cancer. It is caused by mutations in a large number of genes acquired during a person’s lifetime. One of these genes, the tumor suppressor gene TP53, plays a key role. Normally, TP53 helps prevent the development of tumors. However, blood cancer patients with this mutated […]
Novel dual-target CAR T cell therapy shows promise in treating recurrent glioblastoma
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive type of cancerous brain tumor in adults. People with GBM generally expect to live 12 to 18 months after diagnosis. Despite decades of research, there is no known cure for GBM, and treatments have only a limited effect on extending an individual’s life expectancy. However, researchers have […]
Breakthrough immunotherapy targets non-cancer cells to prevent breast cancer spread
Researchers have carried out a study of CAR-T cells in breast cancer. However, this therapy doesn’t always work on tumors, as their environment suppresses the immune response, and it can also be difficult to find specific features of breast cancer cells to target. To circumvent these challenges, the team directed CAR-T cells at cells surrounding […]
A non-FRET DNA reporter that changes fluorescence colour upon nuclease digestion | Nature Nanotechnology
A new tool could reduce the cost of diagnosing infectious diseases. Researchers have developed a new, less expensive means of detecting nuclease digestion, one of the critical steps in many nucleic acid detection applications, such as those used to identify COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. A new study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology shows […]
Natural killer cells lead the charge in cancer treatment innovation
In a recent study published in the journal Nature, researchers have compiled the available literature on natural killer (NK) cells, innate immune cells involved in the recognition and elimination of cells in distress, particularly virus-infected cells and tumors. They focus on reviewing current preclinical and clinical research in the field of NK therapies, primarily elucidating […]
New DNA recombination toolbox surpasses CRISPR for genome engineering
Belgian researchers from the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology and the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology have extended the toolbox that uses a viral recombinase (Cre) so that it can now specifically recognize, cut and paste multiple DNA sites. The team has identified a set of 16 sites that recombine efficiently with the same […]
Penn analysis shows low risk of secondary cancers following CAR T cell therapy
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine have conducted a study, published in Nature Medicine, which shows that the development of any type of second cancer after CAR T cell therapy is a rare phenomenon. Of 449 patients treated with commercially available CAR T cell therapies at Penn Medicine between January 2018 […]
Revolutionary CAR T-cell therapy shows promise in reversing age-related metabolic dysfunction
Cellular senescence is an irreversible cell cycle arrest induced in response to stress. Under stressful conditions, matrix remodeling enzymes and pro-inflammatory cytokines are produced, termed Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype (SASP). In young individuals with physiological conditions, such as tumor suppression and wound healing, SASP facilitates the recruitment of immune cells, which facilitate tissue restoration and the […]
Safety, efficacy and determinants of response of allogeneic CD19-specific CAR-NK cells in CD19+ B cell tumors: a phase 1/2 trial | Nature Medicine
Researchers have reported promising results in a Phase I/II trial involving 37 patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies who were treated with a cord blood-derived natural killer (NK) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), a cell therapy targeting CD19. Results showed an overall response (OR) rate of 48.6% 100 days after treatment, with one-year progression-free survival […]
CRISPR-Based Anti-CD19 CAR T-Cell Therapy Is Safe and Effective in Relapsed/Refractory NHL
The CD19-directed, non-viral, PD-1 locus-specific, CRISPR-based integrated CAR T cell therapy BRL-201 was associated with a manageable safety profile and elicited early indications of efficacy in patients with relapsed and refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), according to results from a first-in-man Phase 1 trial (NCT04213469). No dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) was observed in any of the patient […]
