AI Summary
USC scientists have developed a technique to transform B cells into antibody factories that can produce specially designed antibodies to target cancer cells and HIV. This advancement could lead to more effective treatments for diseases like Alzheimer's and arthritis. The technique can be adapted to create a variety of antibodies, offering a customizable approach to combating a wide range of conditions.
USC scientists have discovered a way to turn the body’s B cells into tiny surveillance machines and antibody factories that can pump out specially designed antibodies to destroy cancer cells or HIV, two of medicine’s most formidable foes.
The research, published today in Nature Biomedical Engineering, describes a technique for editing the genes of immune cells called B cells, turbocharging them to fight even the sneakiest invaders. The work is an important advance in harnessing the power of antibodies to treat conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s disease to arthritis.
In some diseases or conditions, the natural antibodies made by B cells are just not good enough. HIV is a very good example of that. It mutates constantly, keeping one step ahead of whichever antibodies are being thrown at it. We thought a checkmate move might be persuading B cells to make an antibody that was so broad in its ability to ‘see’ HIV that HIV couldn’t easily mutate around it.”
Paula Cannon, Senior Author, Distinguished Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC
The beauty of the technique, the researchers said, is it can be adapted to produce a broad range of different antibodies.
“It’s a technology for reprogramming B cells that could be applied to almost anything you can imagine dealing with an antibody,” said first author Geoffrey Rogers, a research associate and senior postdoctoral fellow in Cannon’s lab. “We think we’ll be able to completely customize everything about the antibody.”