Easier, faster and better
Adoptive transfer of T-lymphocytes can increase survival and even cure patients with progressive solid tumors. This is a promising approach, but creating the T cells needed for therapy can take months - an unforgivable waste of time for patients in need of immediate treatment.
A group of researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the MUSC Cancer Center and Ohio University reported on the development of a method for accelerated creation of T-cells for patients.
The human immune system includes two main types of T-lymphocytes: CD4 and CD8. Researchers have reduced the time it takes to produce T cells from a few months to less than one week with the help of a stunningly powerful subpopulation of CD4-Th17 T cells.
Very little Th17 is required to effectively destroy various types of tumors. The discovery of the group will help expand the inclusion criteria and make T-cell therapy available to more cancer patients.
Adoptive T-cell transfer is the introduction of therapeutic lymphocytes to a patient, and this procedure is performed only in a few institutions around the world. In fact, a powerful weapon against cancer is practically inaccessible to most patients. Billions of CD8 T-lymphocytes are often used for adoptive transfer, which have cytotoxic properties that allow them to kill cancer cells. However, it takes weeks of growth in cell culture to get enough CD8 to be used in one therapy session. The new method will significantly reduce this time, and will also allow the delivery of T cells to patients around the world.
The authors grew Th17 working cells in culture in just four days, by which time they were ready for introduction into the recipient's body. Shorter or longer cultivation reduced the effectiveness of treatment. Although the group could generate many Th17 cells within a few weeks, the larger number of cells was just as or even less effective compared to the smaller number of Th17 cells created in just four days.
Source: MUSC Cancer Center.
Another limitation of T-cell therapy is that patients may develop a relapse after seemingly successful treatment. Therefore, the researchers sought to develop a prolonged therapy taking into account factors that can prevent relapse. They showed that therapy with four-day Th17 cells provides a long-lasting immune response. Interestingly, interleukin-6 was the main cytokine supporting the activity of cells that prevented cancer recurrence. This cytokine destabilizes regulatory T cells – the brakes of the immune system, and allows Th17 cells to destroy cancer cells.
The authors believe that their discovery will make T-cell therapy a universal treatment method that can be customized to fight solid or liquid tumors. The research team is currently collaborating with surgeons and oncologists to transfer the findings into clinical practice.
Article by H.M.Knochelmann et al. IL6 Fuels Durable Memory for Th17 Cell–Mediated Responses to Tumors is published in the journal Cancer Research.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of MUSC: Novel adaptive cell transfer method shortens timeline for T-cell manufacture.