Within tumors in the human body, there are #immune #cells ( #macrophages ) capable of fighting cancer,
but they have been unable to perform their roles properly due to suppression by the tumor.
KAIST researchers have overcome this limitation by developing a new therapeutic approach that directly ⚠️converts immune cells inside tumors into anticancer cell therapies.
KAIST President Kwang Hyung Lee announced on the 30th that a research team led by Professor Ji-Ho Park of the Department of Bio and Brain Engineering has developed a therapy in which,
when a drug is injected directly into a tumor, macrophages already present in the body absorb it, produce CAR
(a #cancer-#recognizing device) proteins on their own...
and are converted into anticancer immune cells known as "#CAR-#macrophages."
❌Solid tumors—such as gastric, lung, and liver cancers—grow as dense masses, making it difficult for immune cells to infiltrate tumors or maintain their function.
As a result, the effectiveness of existing immune cell therapies has been limited.
✅ CAR-macrophages,
which have recently attracted attention as a next-generation immunotherapy,
have the advantage of directly engulfing cancer cells while simultaneously activating surrounding immune cells to amplify anticancer responses.
⛔️However, conventional CAR-macrophage therapies require immune cells to be extracted from a patient's blood, followed by cell culture and genetic modification.
This process is time-consuming, costly, and has limited feasibility for
real-world patient applications.
To address this challenge, the research team focused on "#tumor-#associated #macrophages" that are already accumulated around tumors.
⭐️They developed a strategy to directly reprogram immune cells in the body by loading lipid nanoparticles
—designed to be readily absorbed by macrophages
—with both mRNA encoding
cancer-recognition information
and an immunostimulant that activates immune responses.
In other words, in this study,
CAR-macrophages were created by
👉"directly converting the body's own macrophages into anticancer cell therapies inside the body."
News-Medical
New therapeutic approach converts immune cells inside tumors into anticancer cell therapies
Within tumors in the human body, there are immune cells (macrophages) capable of fighting cancer, but they have been unable to perform their roles ...
