Antibody for fighting cancer emerges

While studying the underpinnings of multiple sclerosis, investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital came across important clues for how to treat a very different disease: cancer. In a paper published in Science Immunology, a group of researchers led by neurologist Howard Weiner, MD, describe an antibody that can precisely target regulatory T cells which in turn unleashes the immune system to kill cancer cells. The team reports that the antibody decreased tumor growth in models of melanoma, glioblastoma and colorectal carcinoma, making it an attractive candidate for cancer immunotherapy.

"As a neurologist, I never expected I would be publishing a paper about cancer immunotherapy, but as my team studied a subpopulation of T cells that are supposed to prevent autoimmune disease, we had an idea: if cancer is the opposite of an autoimmune disease, we could turn our investigations around and think about how to restore the immune system's ability to prevent cancer's growth," said Weiner, co-director the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at BWH.

The Weiner lab has been studying regulatory T cells (Tregs) for many years. Tregs, which help maintain the immune system's tolerance of "self," can, inadvertently, promote cancer's growth by preventing the body's immune system from detecting and attacking cancer cells. The researchers found that they could precisely target Tregs using an antibody that locks in on a molecular complex that's uniquely expressed on the cell surface of Tregs. The team developed these so-called anti-LAP antibodies initially to investigate the development of multiple sclerosis, but realized their work had implications for the study of cancer.

Previous studies have shown that LAP+ cells are increased in human cancer and predict a poor prognosis. Being able to target these cells could offer a new way to treat the disease.

In the current study, the team used preclinical models to investigate how well anti-LAP antibodies could work in blocking the essential mechanisms of Tregs and restoring the immune system's ability to fight cancer. They found that anti-LAP acts on multiple cell populations to promote the immune system's ability to fight cancer, including increasing the activity of certain types of T cells and enhancing immune memory.

"In addition to studying its therapeutic effect, we wanted to characterize the mechanism by which the anti-LAP antibody can activate the immune system," said lead author Galina Gabriely, PhD, a scientist in the Weiner laboratory. "We found that it affects multiple arms of the immune system."

The current study has been conducted in preclinical models of cancer. In order to move this work toward the clinic, Tilos Therapeutics will be expanding on the Weiner lab's research to modify the antibody for use in humans, a process that usually takes several years.

"I see this work as the perfect example of how research in all branches of immunology into the mechanistic underpinnings of disease can have a huge impact on other fields, such as oncology," said Barbara Fox, PhD, CEO of Tilos Therapeutics.

Story Source:
ScienceDaily

Journal Reference:
Galina Gabriely, Andre P. da Cunha, Rafael M. Rezende, Brendan Kenyon, Asaf Madi, Tyler Vandeventer, Nathaniel Skillin, Stephen Rubino, Lucien Garo, Maria A. Mazzola, Panagiota Kolypetri, Amanda J. Lanser, Thais Moreira, Ana Maria C. Faria, Hans Lassmann, Vijay Kuchroo, Gopal Murugaiyan, Howard L. Weiner.Targeting latency-associated peptide promotes antitumor immunity. Science Immunology, 2017; 2 (11): eaaj1738 DOI:10.1126/sciimmunol.aaj1738

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NEEM TREE & MEDICINAL USES

Image
NEEM TREE & MEDICINAL USES "Dogo Yarow" The TREE of LIFE The Magical Evergreen Tree The neem plant is native to India but gradually spread to many parts of the world over the years. IT HAS BEEN USED LOCALLY AS MEDICINE OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS, AND OVER THE CENTURIES IN PHARMACEUTICALS, COSMETICS AND TOILETRIES. Almost every part of this wonder plant is Medicinal, ranging from roots, bark, twigs, leaves, flowers and seeds...... It's very common within the Hausa communities in Cameroon more especially in the Northen regions which predominantly occupied by the Hausa ethnic group. They call it Dogo Yarow which when translated means, TALL CHILD or TALL PIKIN in Pidgin English..... MEDICINAL USES OF THE TREE OF LIFE - NEEM: * Cardiac Problems: Infusions of leaves in HOT water when taken removes bad sugars and toxins from blood, dilates blood vessels, improves blood circulation and balances heart pumping rates * High Blood Pressure: It relaxes erratic heart beats a
Read more

TAPE WORMS: Unwanted 'Guests' in the Intestines

Image
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=261432537653223&id=193799827749828 Tapeworms are flat, segmented worms that live in the intestines of some animals. Animals can become infected with these parasites when grazing in pastures or drinking contaminated water. Eating undercooked meat from infected animals is the main cause of tapeworm infection in people. Although tapeworms in humans usually cause few symptoms and are easily treated, they can sometimes cause serious, life-threatening problems. That's why it's important to recognize the symptoms and know how to protect yourself and your family. Tapeworm Causes Six types of tapeworms are known to infect people. They are usually identified by the animals they come from -- for example, Taenia saginata from beef, Taenia solium from pork, and Diphyllobothrium latum from fish. Tapeworms have a three-stage lifecycle: egg, an immature stage called a larva, and an adult stage at which the worm can produce more eggs. Bec
Read more

8,260 students graduate as ABU holds 40th convocation tomorrow

Image
The 40th convocation ceremony of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria will hold tomorrow with 8,260 students graduating with first degrees. The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Ibrahim Garba, made this known during a press briefing yesterday, saying that the convocation would confirm the graduation of 256 PhD students. He said the number of PhD and about 3,600 other postgraduate graduands was a confirmation of the new status that ABU had assumed where priority was given to postgraduate studies. Professor Garba said ABU was expanding its carrying capacity through introduction of new programmes to accommodate more applicants who usually overwhelmed the school. “It is in this direction that we now allow more institutions to run degree programmes with our affiliation.  We have also introduced distance learning where we admit hundreds of students and we would commence undergraduate studies in the centre,” he said.
Read more