AI Summary
UCLA researchers have developed a new treatment method using nanocapsules to boost the immune response against solid tumors. The approach increases the number and activity of immune cells that attack cancer, improving the effectiveness of immunotherapies. The treatment degrades lactate produced by cancer cells, which creates an environment that hinders the immune system. The researchers aim to deliver drug inhibitors directly to the tumor to alleviate immune dysfunction without harming healthy cells.
UCLA researchers have developed a new treatment method using a tiny nanocapsule to help boost the immune response, making it easier for the immune system to fight and kill solid tumors.
The investigators found the approach, described in the journal Science Translational Medicine, increased the number and activity of immune cells that attack the cancer, making cancer immunotherapies work better.
Cancer immunotherapy has reshaped the landscape of cancer treatment. However, not all patients with solid tumors respond well to immunotherapy, and the reason seems to be related to the way the cancer cells affect their surroundings.”
Jing Wen, senior author of the study, assistant adjunct professor of microbiology, immunology, & molecular genetics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a scientist at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Cancer cells produce a lot of lactate, Wen explained, which creates an environment around the solid tumor that makes it difficult for the immune system to work effectively against the cancer.
Although there have been efforts to reduce the levels of lactate with different drug inhibitors, these methods tend to also disrupt the metabolism of healthy cells, which can cause severe side effects.
To find a way to alleviate immune dysfunction around the tumor without hurting healthy cells, Wen and the team looked to create a tool to deliver drug inhibitors directly, to degrade lactate around and within solid tumors.
To achieve that goal, the team developed a treatment encapsulating an enzyme called lactate oxidase into