Three immune cells can improve immunotherapy
Immunotherapy, a rapidly growing field, is designed to stimulate your immune system in order to target various diseases including cancer. Checkpoint inhibitors, which block the interaction between cell markers and allow the cell to kill tumor cells bound by the cell, are some immunotherapies. Anti-programmed death-1 (Anti PD-1) is an example of a Checkpoint Inhibitor. The expression of Programmed Cell Death-1 (PD-1), or programmed cell death, is found on T cells. On the responsibility of T-cells, they include killing infected cell types such as cancer. The PD-1 is bound to PDL1 and prevents the T cells from killing the tumor. Checkpoint inhibitors work in certain subsets of patients with cancer. However, in cases where cancer is more aggressive, such as liver tumors, the immunotherapy options are limited. A recent study published in Nature Medicine, by Dr. Miriam Merad from the Ichan School of Medicine Mount Sinai reported on a new immunotherapy strategy for liver cancer.
Merad, along with his colleagues, have discovered a \”trio\” of immune cells within the tumor which helps to improve immunotherapy. Researchers found this group of cells in hepatocellular cancer (HCC), a deadly and aggressive liver cancer. Anti-PD-1 immunotherapy would need to target specific tumor populations. The increased activation of T-cells in HCC is important because it shows that the tumor has become more sensitive to the immune system.
Researchers examined this phenomenon to find out why some immune cells in tumors allow for a better immunotherapy response while others don’t. The team examined patient samples both before and after treatment with checkpoint inhibitors. Merad, along with others, used computational methods to analyze the samples. This allowed them to identify immune cells that are necessary for patients to improve after immunotherapy. Researchers can improve patient outcomes through this computational cell-analysis by determining whether the \”trio\” of cells is present in a tumor.
Source:
https://www.labroots.com/trending/immunology/25466/immunotherapy-improved-immune-cells
