New platform mimics immune interactions to boost cancer treatment

Imagine a world where your own immune cells are transformed into cancer-fighting superheroes. This is the promise of CAR-T cell therapy, a groundbreaking treatment that's already saving lives.

In this therapy, patients' own immune cells are collected, genetically engineered so that they specifically target cancer cells, then returned to the body. The result is a potent new option for battling blood cancers. However, as with any superhero journey, the process of harnessing this incredible power comes with its own set of challenges.

One such hurdle: Current methods for activating T cells don't resemble closely enough the natural environment in which they interact with another key population of immune cells -; a connection crucial for activating T cells and ramping up their ability to fight cancer.

The advance could make CAR-T cell therapy more effective and accessible, while also driving progress for other emerging treatments.

The researchers anchored two specific antibodies onto graphene oxide. Over 12 days, their platform facilitated a 100-fold-plus increase in T cell expansion in a culture of blood cells. The technology also enhanced the efficiency of engineering immune cells, leading to a five-fold increase in CAR-T cell production compared to the standard process. The team also identified several biochemical pathways crucial for T cell signaling and function that were activated by their technology, enabling the increase in growth and efficiency.

Schematics and electron microscopy images show how UCLA technology closely mimics important natural interactions between the T cell and another key type of immune cell, action that may enhance a breakthrough treatment for blood cancers.

Today, the lab-based portion of generating CAR T cells requires the addition of a specific immune factor called autocrine interleukin-2, or IL-2. The researchers found that their platform stimulated production of IL-2, which may make that addition unnecessary.

The study's other co-authors are Yan-Ruide Li, Feiyang Ma, Yu-Chen Wang, Yang Liu, Miao Li, Yu Jeong Kim, Yichen Zhu, Zoe Hahn, Yang Zhou, James Brown, Yuchong Zhang, Matteo Pelegrini, and Tzung Hsiai, all of UCLA.

The seed funding for this research was provided by a Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA and California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA Planning Award.

Source:

California NanoSystems Institute

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