AI tool reveals what attracts immune cells to tumors and what keeps them away
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and collaborating institutions in Texas developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that helps explain how immune cells find their way to specific locations in the body and why they avoid others. The findings could help scientists better understand cancer, autoimmune diseases and treatment response.
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and collaborating institutions have developed an AI model called Spatial Analysis of Cellular Engagement and Recruitment (SPACER) to better understand how immune cells navigate the body and interact with tumors. This tool, which utilizes spatial transcriptomics, identifies local signals that attract immune cells and potential barriers that may keep them away, providing insights into cancer, autoimmune diseases, and treatment response.
SPACER's unique ability to examine groups of neighboring cells working together, rather than treating cells as isolated units, makes its predictions easier to understand and uncover new biological insights. The researchers found that tumors expressing genes involved in antigen presentation were more likely to attract T cells, suggesting that local interactions between tumors and immune cells play a crucial role in determining whether immune cells enter a tumor.
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