Cell sub-journal found immune cells that help kill bladder cancer tumors

Researchers at Mount Sinai made two important discoveries

Advanced bladder cancer is aggressive and patients usually have a poor

When people develop cancer, a type of immune cell called a "natural killer cell" starts acting in an attempt to kill tumor cells

To make more killer cells, the researchers showed that they could induce CD8+ T cells to express a molecule called NKG2A on their surface, making them behave more like natural killer cells

The second finding concerned the ability of cancer cells to

Dr.

"Immune checkpoint blockade is a major type of cancer immunotherapy that targets the PD1-PDL1 pathway to reactivate 'depleted' CD8+ T cells to fight tumors," said co-corresponding author Nina Bhardwaj, Ph.

To conduct the study, the researchers analyzed the tumors and blood of patients at different stages of bladder cancer and studied all samples after the patients had been surgically removed to ensure they were able to capture live immune cells and examine their function

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