BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: Immunotherapy

New and Improved Cancer Treatments!

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On March 14, 2024

In Student Post

Did you know that new approaches to fighting cancer just use the patient’s own immune system?!                                                                                                                                      In recent years, researching and manipulating the immune system has quickly allowed for new tested and approved treatments that are becoming increasingly popular. This treatment is called Immunotherapy.

Although the immune system can fight cancer on its own, cancer cells can bypass the immune system and spread. Immunotherapy allows the immune system to have a stronger attack on the cancer cells in various ways. One type of immunotherapy treatment is Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors. Unlike other treatments, checkpoint inhibitors work with the immune system to target cancer cells rather than attack them directly. The immune system can distinguish between normal cells and foreign cells (cancer cells) while protecting the normal cells from being attacked. However, as previously stated, cancer cells can exploit the checkpoint proteins on immune cells (T cells) to evade the body’s immune response. In this process, there are two very important proteins involved: PD-1 and PD-L1. PD-1 is a checkpoint protein on the surface of T cells that functions as a regulator, helping to control and restrain the T cells (from attacking healthy cells in the body) when bound to PD-L1, a protein on both normal and cancer cells. So basically, the PD-1 checkpoints act
like a traffic light: green means go, and red means stop! Diagram showing cancer cells spreading into the blood stream CRUK 448

The most common immune checkpoint inhibitor is Pembrolizumab, more commonly recognized by Keytruda. Pembrolizumab targets and blocks the PD-1 protein, which triggers the T-cells to find and kill cancer cells. This drug is received intravenously (IV) and is used for multiple cancers, sometimes independently, but it can also be combined with other types of treatment. Pembrolizumab is approved to treat breast cancer, lung cancer, melanoma, kidney cancer, liver cancer, and cervical cancer, among many other types.

 

In our AP Biology class, we discussed what causes cells to become cancerous, how those are then different from healthy cells, and how they metastasize. From learning how cancers develop, I wanted to do more research and found it very interesting how this complex matter is treated. Learning that there are various approaches to treating cancer leaves me wanting to research more. I find it so cool how this newer treatment, Keytruda, supports the body’s immune system because it proves how smart our bodies are, and since immune checkpoint inhibitors continue to be tested and approved, is very encouraging and hopeful as it is an example of science advancing.

What do you think about immune checkpoint inhibitors? Would you expect this kind of treatment to be more or less efficient than treatments you may be familiar with already?

Scientists can now ‘supercharge’ cancer-fighting T Cells

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On March 16, 2022

In Student Post

File:Cancer cells.jpg

Cancer cells

Scientists at Yale University have identified a way to “supercharge” tumor-attacking T Cells, a finding that may not only improve the effectiveness of a promising type of cell-based cancer immunotherapy, but also expand the number of cancers it can treat. Most people are familiar with cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. But, a newer option called immunotherapy, is getting well-deserved recognition across the cancer community. These drugs teach the immune system how to recognize and kill cancer cells, equipping it to hone in on diseased cells while leaving healthy cells alone.

File:CAR T-Cell Therapy.jpg

CAR T-Cell Therapy

First, blood is drawn from the patient and sent to a lab. At the lab, the T cells are separated from the blood and ‘supercharged’ with a gene that generates chimeric antigen receptors (CAR), which allow the T cells to bind to cancer cells and destroy them. Hundreds of millions of these T cells are synthesized in the laboratory to create a personalized, well-armed immune defense. Finally, the patient’s newly modified T cells are returned to the clinic and reinfused into the patient, seeking and destroying cancer cells in the patient’s bloodstream. The discovery can advance CAR-T cell therapy, which harnesses the immune response of T cells to cancers by introducing tumor-detecting molecules into the cells. In the last decade, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved six CAR-T cell therapies to treat B cell lymphomas and multiple myeloma. But despite early successes, the effectiveness of the treatment tends to diminish over time, which has launched a search for ways to boost function of T cells.

Researchers have devised an ingenious way to efficiently scan the genome of CD8 T cells for specific genes that might enhance the cells’ ability to attack cancer cells. They developed a new kind of genome-wide gain of function screen to find a molecular enzyme that acts like a foot on a gas pedal to increase metabolic activity in T cells.

They found high levels of activity in several genes, including PRODH2, a gene involved in cell metabolism, stimulate increased CAR-T cell activity in mouse models used to study three different types of cancers, including solid-tumor breast cancer. The findings show it is possible to produce hyper-metabolic CAR-T cells that outperform existing cell therapies. Using these systems and findings, I believe future studies can test the newly identified types of metabolically enhanced CAR-Ts in clinical settings, to identify other T cell super-chargers, and to extend cell-based immunotherapy to different cancer types, especially solid tumors.

A New Hope For Remission

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On February 15, 2022

In Student Post

Cancer is defined as a disease that is caused by cells dividing uncontrollably and spreading to nearby tissue. Cancer can start almost anywhere in the human body and it is made up by a build up of cells called a tumor. Cancer lives throughout recorded history just as it does today, an unsolved mystery. The earliest findings of tumors and cancer can be found in ancient Egyptian Mummies, and the first recordings were found in 3000 BC in Egypt. Although they didn’t refer to it as cancer, they described it as 8 cases of tumors that were surgically removed. The words, “there is no treatment,” were written in those early recordings. They couldn’t be more wrong! I’ll let it slide though because their technology was 5000 years behind ours. There are in fact many treatments in the world for cancer and there are new ones being discovered every day. While there may not be a cure for cancer, there are many treatments that show more and more signs of remission.

What Treatments Are Available?

The most common and well known treatment for cancer is Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a drug treatment that relies on the injection of chemicals to kill all of the fast growing cells in the human body. Chemotherapy is somewhat of a flexible treatment because it doesn’t have to be the primary treatment. Chemotherapy can be used without using other treatments, after using other treatments, and to prepare you for other treatments. While this may sound very appealing and hopeful, the success rate of Chemotherapy isn’t as high as we’d like it to be. The success rate varies, but it’s evident that as the severity of the cancer increases, the effectiveness of treatment decreases. Furthermore, the side effects of chemotherapy are not only excruciating, but scarring. As stated, the treatment attacks all of the fast growing cells, including hair, skin blood intestinal cells. This will cause hair loss, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, fatigue, easy bruising and fever.

Side Effects of Chemotherapy.png

There are other treatments for cancer that are not related to Chemotherapy, such as surgery, targeted therapies, and supportive care. Surgery is one of the biggest options for early stage cancers that are not blood cancers. Surgically removing the tumor from the body is the motive of this form of treatment. One must take into account the size, location and stage of the tumor in question. Targeted therapies (precision medicine) are tailored to specific patients. Through this therapy, scientists are able to find five or six gene processes that essentially turn a cancer “on or off.” While supportive care isn’t exactly considered medicine, forms of meditation and fitness are said to ease the effects of cancer and cancer treatment.

A New Hope

Through extensive research and testing, a new hope for remission has been discovered. Immunotherapy is a known, newer method of treating cancer that, instead of directly killing the cancer cells, boosts one’s immune system and natural defenses. This is a type of biological therapy because it uses substances made from living organisms as treatment. A recently discovered form of Immunotherapy called  CAR T-cell therapy has proven to show a lot of promise. T-cells are a type of white blood cell that kills cells infected with a pathogen. In this new therapy, doctors take blood from the patient and separate the T-cells from it. They then genetically change these cells so that they specifically attach to a protein on cancer cells. After expanding the number of T-cells, the doctors inject them back into the body. This treatment, however, is not without its side effects. As these T-cells cells multiply, they release cytokines into the blood, causing nausea, vomiting, fever, headaches, and diarrhea. How has CAR T-cell therapy been effective? An experiment was done in 2010 on two individuals with Chronic lymphocytic leukemia using CAR T-cell therapy. Just after this experiment, both patients saw complete remission in their cancer. And now ten years later, these two individuals show complete remission. Although more research needs to be done, CAR T-cell therapy proves to be an effective, long term treatment for cancer.

 

 

 

 

Is Gut Bacteria the Future of Cancer Treatment?

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On November 19, 2018

In Student Post

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?search=bacteria+cell&title=Special%3ASearch&profile=default&fulltext=1#/media/File:2_bacteria_cell_division.jpg

Your gut has millions of bacteria in it, but not all bacteria make you sick. The millions of bacteria in your gut are called a microbiota and they help keep you healthy. Just like a fingerprint everyone’s gut microbiota is unique with trillions of bacteria in your gut and over 1,000 different species.The factors that make your gut microbiota different are your age, diet, environment, genetics and medication. The differences in one’s gut microbiota might have a greater significance than originally thought.

Scientists believe that the differences in the gut microbiota are the reason certain cancer patients don’t respond to the new cancer treatments. The new cancer treatment that scientist studied, in relation to the gut microbiota, is immunotherapy, particularly checkpoint inhibition. Immunotherapy aims to rapidly shrink or disappear advanced tumors. While doing this study, Scientists found that certain bacteria, “good” bacteria in the gut, are linked to a patient responding well to the treatment and “bad” bacteria is linked to the unresponsiveness of the immunotherapy.

So what makes a bacteria good or bad ? In this study, the “good” bacteria helps immune cells recognize tumor cells. The “bad“ bacteria interfere with the immune cells functions.

One of the studies to find the “good” and “bad’ bacteria were done on melanoma patients. Scientist had a sample size of 42 patients and took a stool sample prior to giving them the immunotherapy treatment. They found ten types of bacteria in common between the people but each person had a different ratio of those bacterias. Out of those ten they found that eight of the different types of bacteria were more abundantly in people that responded to the treatment (classified as “good” bacteria) and two types of bacteria were more abundant in the people that didn’t respond to the treatment (“bad” bacteria).

In another study done, cancer patients that took an antibiotic after having done the immunotherapy don’t live as long as the cancer patients that didn’t take the antibiotics. As shown bacteria can also be good and even help fight illnesses in our bodies. But the antibiotics that are  being overprescribed are causing issues in our bodies because antibiotics kill harmful bacteria but they also kill the good bacteria.

Engineering Cancer Killers!

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On December 10, 2017

In Student Post

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:ArturoJuárezFlores

Engineering Cancer Killers!                                                                                               

Today, millions of people are dying from the complex disease, cancer. Although treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation are used to cure the disease, immunotherapy has emerged as a potential cure for cancer. Professor Oliver Ottmann, Head of Haematology at Cardiff University and co-lead of the Cardiff Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC), acknowledged the importance of immunotherapy and considers it a huge breakthrough in cancer research and treatment. This lead his team to further discover the key to genetically engineering T-cells to recognize and kill cancer cells. 

How Does It Work?

T-cells are an important part of our immune systems. They contain receptors that can recognize bacterial infections or viruses and help fight them off, and potentially kill cancer cells. Scientists have developed a way to genetically engineer T-cells using CRISPR genome editing. Normally, the genetically engineered T-cells, that are created to fight cancer, contain two types of receptors. One type is called therapeutic, and is created and added on to the cell in a lab, and the other types of receptors are natural and originated from the T-cell.

The Problem 

The team acknowledged that since both kinds of receptors occupy the cell, there is minimal space for all receptors to fit on the cell; therefore certain receptors must challenge other receptors in order to perform their own function. Since there are more natural receptors on a T-cell than the therapeutic receptors,the natural receptors perform superior than the therapeutic receptors. This means the genetically engineered T-cells are not able to work at their full potential; they are unable to kill cancer cells efficiently.

The Solution

After recognizing the problem, Professor Oliver Ottmann and his team genetically engineered T-cells, by genome editing, that only contain the therapeutic receptors they intended on adding. By eliminating all of the natural receptors that T-cells normally have, the therapeutic receptors will increase in efficiency.

The Future

Since scientists have figured out a way to maximize the efficiency of genetically engineered cancer fighting T-cells, finding a cure to cancer could be closer than we thought. Could this cutting edge research be the start of a solution for cancer treatment?  Do you think scientists and society will pursue this theory? This article sparked my interest because finding a reliable cure for cancer has been a problem for many years, every discovery we make brings us closer to finding the best cure.

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