Cancer-promoting protein also helps engineered immune cells fight tumors in lab tests
Colorectal cancer has become the leading cause of cancer-related death for people under 50. Its most common forms generally aren't treatable, either through conventional means like chemotherapy or newer immunotherapy drugs.
Colorectal cancer has become the leading cause of cancer-related death for people under 50, often untreatable by conventional methods or newer immunotherapy drugs. Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have discovered that a transcription factor called peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARD), which usually promotes cancer growth, can be activated in immune cells to fight tumors in lab tests.
By activating PPARD in synthetic immune cells called CAR T cells, the team found that these leaner immune cells became more fit for fighting cancer, ultimately slowing or stopping tumor growth in patient-derived organoids, cell cultures, and mouse models of colorectal cancer, as well as in models of breast, ovarian, and melanoma cancers.
The findings suggest that boosting immune cell fitness may lead to more effective cancer immunotherapy and potentially help treat other conditions where the immune system fails to clear diseased cells, such as endometriosis.
Written by urgent.news from Medical Xpress's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
