Nature Sub-Journal: This new type of immunotherapy may eliminate all advanced tumor cells

In recent years, there has been a new wave of cancer immunotherapy around the world, making this therapy gradually become the mainstream way of cancer treatment

Recently, researchers from Georgia State University published a groundbreaking study titled Intratumoral SIRPα-deficient macrophages activate tumor antigen-specific cytotoxic T cells under radiotherapy in Nature Communications, and developed a new type of immunotherapy based on macrophages.

Macrophages are like scouts of the human body, they will swallow and destroy them when they encounter potential threats

The culprit for this escape phenomenon of tumors is a receptor called "regulatory protein alpha (Sirpα)", which is an inhibitory regulator of bone marrow leukocyte expression.

Therefore, in order to prevent macrophages from continuing to "injure the innocent", the researchers developed a macrophage therapy based on Sirpα deficiency to fight cancer, and constructed an in vivo colon cancer model of MC38 for verification

Studies have found that local radiotherapy and chemotherapy have cured colorectal cancer in Sirpα-deficient (Sirpα -/-) mice with advanced tumors, without obvious long-term adverse reactions, and can show a lifespan similar to that of healthy mice (about 18 Month)

Local radiotherapy achieved a cure response in Sirpα-/- mice with advanced tumors

In order to determine whether the long-term anti-tumor immunity in the treated Sirpα-deficient mice has been generated, the researchers performed tumor re-transplantation experiments on Sirpα -/- mice from which colon cancer had been eradicated, and re-inoculated MC38 cells into the mice.

In addition, the researchers also found that when wild-type mice successfully inoculated with MC38 cells were injected with serum from tumor-eradicated Sirpα -/- mice, they could successfully inhibit the spread of cancer cells

Long-acting humoral anti-tumor immunity of Sirpα -/- mice

All in all, this study shows that Sirpα is the main manipulator of tumor microenvironmental immunity, and that this new technology combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy may become a "pan-cancer therapy" that guides humans against all cancers

So far, the treatment has been tested against the entire NCI-60 cancer portfolio, including 60 different human tumor cell lines, such as leukemia, melanoma, lung cancer, colon cancer, brain cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer.

Note: The original text has been deleted

Reference materials:

[1]https://#Sec22.

[2]https://medicalxpress.