Scientists have discovered a way to stop tumors from shedding certain proteins that the immune system uses to identify and attack tumors. The new method reduces the spread of melanoma and lung cancer in mice, a new study shows.
Many human cancers exhibit the stress proteins MICA and MICB, which the immune system, particularly natural killer cells, use to identify cells that should be eliminated. In an act of defiance, cancer cells produce enzymes that cleave these anchored proteins, essentially shedding the proteins and evading detection.
Researchers suspected that it would be possible to stop tumors from shedding these proteins using antibodies that target the site where MICA and MICB proteins are cleaved. They studied the effect of such an antibody, mAb 7C6, in mouse models of melanoma and lung cancer, finding that the antibody not only increased the presence of MICA and MICB on cancer cells, but also increased the infiltration of natural killer cells within tumors.
In mice with metastatic melanoma that had spread to the lungs, treatment with mAb 7C6 helped reduce tumor load, the authors report. In a related Perspective, other researchers write, "The study introduces an exciting concept for a therapeutic monoclonal antibody with the potential to improve natural killer cell-based cancer immunotherapy."
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6383/1537
Latest News
Protein that helps COVID-19…
By newseditor
Posted 26 Jul
Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SM…
By newseditor
Posted 26 Jul
Link between bowel movement…
By newseditor
Posted 26 Jul
Inhibition of IL-11 signall…
By newseditor
Posted 25 Jul
Brain changes linked to obe…
By newseditor
Posted 25 Jul
Other Top Stories
Why are memories attached to emotions so strong?
Read more
A drug reduces stroke damage by preventing potassium release from n…
Read more
Vulnerabilities involved in human tooth decay
Read more
How does the brain fold?
Read more
Regulatory region of human embryonic brain telencephalon dissected!
Read more
Protocols
A systems biology approach…
By newseditor
Posted 24 Jul
quantms: a cloud-based pipe…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Jul
Emerging tools and best pra…
By newseditor
Posted 19 Jul
Directly selecting cell-typ…
By newseditor
Posted 17 Jul
PUFFFIN: an ultra-bright, c…
By newseditor
Posted 16 Jul
Publications
Hepatocyte-intrinsic SMN de…
By newseditor
Posted 26 Jul
Aberrant bowel movement fre…
By newseditor
Posted 26 Jul
A pseudoautosomal glycosyla…
By newseditor
Posted 26 Jul
Microglia protect against a…
By newseditor
Posted 26 Jul
Rigor and reproducibility i…
By newseditor
Posted 26 Jul
Presentations
Myelin plasticity in the ve…
By newseditor
Posted 10 Jun
Hydrogels in Drug Delivery
By newseditor
Posted 12 Apr
Lipids
By newseditor
Posted 31 Dec
Cell biology of carbohydrat…
By newseditor
Posted 29 Nov
RNA interference (RNAi)
By newseditor
Posted 23 Oct
Posters
A chemical biology/modular…
By newseditor
Posted 22 Aug
Single-molecule covalent ma…
By newseditor
Posted 04 Jul
ASCO-2020-HEALTH SERVICES R…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-HEAD AND NECK CANCER
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar
ASCO-2020-GENITOURINARY CAN…
By newseditor
Posted 23 Mar