Allergy immune cells that can also attack cancer

Compilation
A preliminary study conducted by researchers from City of Hope (USA) found that the type immune cells of the human body known for their importance for allergy and other immune responses can also attack cancer, a discovery that could lead to a new type of immunotherapy.

Findings published in the journal cell and collected Europe Press, show that cells can expand outside the body and be used in large numbers to eliminate malignant cells in both blood cancer and solid tumors, a discovery that could lead to a new type of immunotherapy. Evidence for these cells, called human innate lymphoid cells type 2 (ILC2), has been demonstrated in mouse models of cancer.

They found that allergy immune cells can spread outside the body and kill cancer cells.

Team City of Hope determined ILC2 cells humanoid “a new member of the cell phone family can directly eliminate all types of cancerincluding blood cancer and solid tumors”– says the professor of the Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. City of Hope and lead author of the study, doctor Jianhua Yu.

“In the future, these cells can be produced, preserved by freezing and administered to patients. Unlike T cell-based therapies such as CAR-T cells, which require the use of the patient’s own cells due to their specific characteristics, ILC2 can be obtained from healthy donors, which represents another potential therapeutic approach since it is allogeneic and ready to use. product”explains Dr. Yu.

Dr. Yu: “Unlike T-cell-based therapies such as CAR-T, which require the use of the patient’s own cells, ILC2 can be obtained from healthy donors as an allogeneic, ready-to-use product.”

In previous studies using mouse cells, ILC2s had not shown promise when tested for their ability to kill cancer. However, in highly translational laboratories City of HopeThe researchers prioritized studying human cells and found that human ILC2s do not function in the same way as mouse ILC2s.

“Mice are generally reliable models for predicting human immunity, so It was quite a surprise to discover that human ILC2s act directly against cancer, while their mouse counterparts do not.“– says co-leader of the study and professor of the department of hematology and hematopoietic cell transplantation at City of HopeDr. Michael Caligiuri.

The researchers injected allergy immune cells into mice with acute myeloid leukemia or solid tumors such as pancreatic, lung and glioblastoma cancers.

To analyze human ILC2s, Yu and his team first isolated cells from a blood sample. They then developed a new platform that could increase the amount of ILC2 extracted from the body by 2,000-fold in four weeks. Next these externally expanded ILC2s were injected into mice with established human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or solid tumors such as pancreatic, lung and glioblastoma. The results showed that this ILC2 population can destroy these tumors through a hitherto unknown anticancer mechanism.

“Compelling and direct evidence came when we put an ILC2 cell and another tumor cell directly together and found that the tumor cell died, but the ILC2 cell survived.”– Yu explains. “This shows that ILC2s directly kill the cancer cell in the absence of any other cells.”Add.

Additionally, Yu notes that ILC2s do not necessarily come from a cancer patient’s own cells, meaning there may be possibility of collecting and freezing ILC2 from healthy donors for future ILC2 treatment options.

The results showed that this population of ILC2s can destroy these tumors through a previously unknown anti-cancer mechanism.

However, the researchers caution that since they are still in the early stages of understanding the carcinogenic functions of ILC2, There are still many questions to be answered. Additionally, they plan to continue working with their colleagues to understand and learn more about human ILC2s now that they know they are killer cells.

“Our goal is to really expand the application of these discoveries, potentially beyond cancer treatment.”“Yu says, noting that ILC2s can even work against viruses such as Covid-19. “Except, We are working to ensure that our discovery brings tangible clinical benefits“Add.

The team has already overcome at least one hurdle in getting ILC2 into clinical trials: having enough product to conduct the trial. According to the main co-author of the study, professor of the Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation City of HopeHe Dr. Michael CaligiuriILC2s are rare in the body and The greatest number of them is found in the lungs, intestines and skin.. The team has a platform for their rapid growth. “We need to be able to expand these cells into human clinical trials, and the exciting thing is that we are on the right track.”– notes Caligiuri.