Use of Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells to Trigger Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Osteoblasts
SUMMARY
UCLA researchers have found that activated NK cells can lyse cancer stem cells, providing a promising approach to the prevention of disease establishment and progression.
BACKGROUND
Taken as a whole, roughly half of patients receiving treatment for invasive cancer die. Conventional radiation and chemotherapies have largely failed in improving survival and, since they are non-specific, often result in multiple adverse side effects. Immuno-based cancer treatment offers the possibility of higher specificity, but current therapies are limited in their effectiveness. Immunomodulators, including the EGFR antibody (Erbitux), can eliminate differentiated tumors but are ineffective in removing cancer stem cells and therefore do not fully eradicate the disease. T cell-mediated immunotherapies require an antigen that is both highly expressed and restricted to the tumor, so they are effective in only a small subset of cancers. In contrast to T cells, NK cells do not recognize foreign antigens, but rather detect changes in self-molecules displayed at the surface of autologous cells. NK cells can recognize and kill cancer stem cells, but are often inactivated in cancer patients. Methods to induce the NK-mediated killing of cancer cells, specifically cancer stem cells, could provide new therapies in the treatment of cancer.
INNOVATION
The researchers have found that activated NK cells induce the death of patient-derived tumors and human stem cells, including Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and Osteoblasts. Administration of activated NK cells may be effective in eliminating cancer stem cells to fully eradicate the disease.
APPLICATIONS
- Elimination of cancer stem cells by direct delivery of activated NK cells to tumor site.
- Treatment of metastatic cancer by systemic administration of activated NK cells.
ADVANTAGES
- NK cells have the potential to fully remove the cancer since they target stem cells rather than differentiated tumors.
- NK cells can be delivered locally to the tumor site, thereby reducing the likelihood of off-target effects.
- Unlike T cells, NK cells do not require foreign antigens for detection and thus can be utilized for the treatment of various cancer types.
STATE OF DEVELOPMENT
The investigators have shown that activated NK cells can lyse patient-derived oral tumors and human embryonic stem cells in vitro.