MIT Immune Cells Cancer Treatment
- Engineered natural killer cells offer a promising new approach to cancer immunotherapy, possibly overcoming limitations of CAR-T therapy.
- Scientists have developed a more advanced form of immune-based cancer therapy using engineered cells known as CAR-NK (natural killer) cells.
- A team from MIT and Harvard Medical School has engineered CAR-NK cells in a way that dramatically reduces the chance of the body's immune system rejecting them.
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CAR-NK Cell Therapy: A Breakthrough in Cancer Treatment
Table of Contents
Engineered natural killer cells offer a promising new approach to cancer immunotherapy, possibly overcoming limitations of CAR-T therapy.
What is CAR-NK Cell Therapy?
Scientists have developed a more advanced form of immune-based cancer therapy using engineered cells known as CAR-NK (natural killer) cells. Like CAR-T cells, these modified immune cells can be programmed to recognize and attack cancer, but they utilize a different type of immune cell – natural killer cells – which naturally target abnormal or infected cells.
A team from MIT and Harvard Medical School has engineered CAR-NK cells in a way that dramatically reduces the chance of the body’s immune system rejecting them. Immune rejection has been a significant obstacle in cell-based therapies, frequently enough diminishing their effectiveness.
This innovation could pave the way for “off-the-shelf” CAR-NK treatments, readily available upon diagnosis, eliminating the weeks-long wait currently associated with custom-engineered cell therapies.
The Science Behind the Breakthrough
“This enables us to do one-step engineering of CAR-NK cells that can avoid rejection by host T cells and other immune cells. And, they kill cancer cells better and they’re safer,” explains Jianzhu Chen, an MIT professor of biology and member of the Koch Institute for integrative Cancer Research.
In tests using mice with humanized immune systems, the newly engineered cells effectively destroyed cancer cells while evading attack from the host’s immune defenses.
Rizwan Romee, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, also contributed to the study, published in Nature Communications. Fuguo Liu, a postdoctoral researcher at the Koch Institute and a research fellow at Dana-Farber, is the lead author.
How Natural Killer Cells Work
Natural killer (NK) cells are a crucial component of the body’s innate immune defense,responsible for identifying and destroying cancerous and virus-infected cells. they eliminate these threats through a process called degranulation, which releases perforin, a protein that punctures the membrane of target cells, leading to their death.
To create CAR-NK cells for treatment, doctors typically collect a blood sample from the patient. NK cells are then extracted and engineered to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), designed to target specific markers on cancer cells.
Traditionally, these modified cells require several weeks to multiply in the lab before being infused back into the patient.The same process is used for CAR-T cell therapies, some of which are already approved for blood cancers like lymphoma and leukemia. CAR-NK therapies are currently undergoing clinical trials.
CAR-NK vs. CAR-T: Key Differences
| Feature | CAR-NK | CAR-T |
|---|---|---|
| Immune Cell Type | Natural Killer (NK) Cells | T Cells |
| Immune Rejection Risk | Lower | Higher |
| Manufacturing Time | Potentially Faster (“Off-the-Shelf” Possible) | Typically Several Weeks |
| Current Status | Clinical Trials | Approved for Some Blood Cancers |
| Safety Profile | Potentially Safer | Risk of Cytokine Release Syndrome |
Implications and Future Directions
This advancement holds significant promise for expanding access to cell-based cancer therapies. The potential for “off-the-shelf” treatments could dramatically reduce treatment delays and costs, making these therapies available to a wider range of patients.
Further research will focus on optimizing CAR-NK cell engineering,expanding the range of cancers they can target,and conducting larger clinical trials to confirm their safety and