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Medicine Biotech

Researchers Identify a 'Switch' That Might Someday Kill Tumor Cells (ucdavis.edu) 29

Posted by EditorDavid from the following-the-science dept.
Cells have a protein receptor that will cause that cell to die — in theory. Unfortunately, "Previous efforts to target this receptor have been unsuccessful," says Jogender Tushir-Singh, an associate professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology at the University of California, Davis.

But he's now led a team of researchers at the university's Comprehensive Cancer Center that's identified a receptor-activating protein section. And more importantly, "now that we've identified this epitope, there could be a therapeutic path forward" for targeting that receptor... in tumors. The findings were published Oct. 14 in the Nature journal Cell Death & Differentiation... Death receptors do precisely what their name implies — when targeted, they trigger programmed cell death of tumor cells. They offer a potential workaround that could simultaneously kill tumor cells and pave the way for more effective immunotherapies and CAR T-cell therapy...

Tushir-Singh and his colleagues knew they might be able to target cancer cells selectively if they found the right epitope. Having identified this specific epitope, he and other researchers can now design a new class of antibodies to selectively bind to and activate Fas to potentially destroy tumor cells specifically.
Singh says their research "sets the stage" to develop antibodies that selectively kill tumor cells.
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Researchers Identify a 'Switch' That Might Someday Kill Tumor Cells More

Researchers Identify a 'Switch' That Might Someday Kill Tumor Cells

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  • Sorry , no (well maybe sometimes) (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Ubi_NL ( 313657 ) <joris.benschop@gmaiCOUGARl.com minus cat> on Monday November 13, 2023 @04:39AM (#64001631) Journal

    The problem here there is no such thing as "cancer" in a way that its physiology is predictable. It is a heterogeneous bunch of cells with mangled DNA, in basically unique and random forms, whit some basic similarities (activated telomerase etc). But basically these are native cells, so the immune system will not be able to distinguish and decide what to attack. WHen it does find a point of distinction, then within the tumor pool there is always a cell that lacks that particular feature. That cell then becomes the new cancer stem cell and you are back at square one...

    So hopeful interesting, but not a gold bullit

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by divide overflow ( 599608 )
      Targeting unwanted cells like cancer cells is a separate challenge. This discovery provides a very elegant and effective way to destroy those targeted cells once they are encountered and characterized.

      • Targeting unaffordable price tags is a separate challenge. This discovery provides a very elegant and effective way to destroy an option to live, once Greed determines a "fair" enough profit margin for any new cancer treatment that proves effective.

        If you to talk about the reality of this, then talk about the reality of this.

      • Tell me if I have this right, from what it sounds like they found a new tool that activates the CD95 death receptor, and takes out cancer cells susceptible to that co activation? Does it sound like cancer is like snowflakes (or a pile of snowflakes) that they're not all the same, or ever the same? Some research shows cancer cells have an environment that one cell puts out something that helps another (I forget the word but like a symbiotic relationship but they help each other). Researchers found DNA clouds
        • i always suspected cancer had viral origins. for example if you get a cold at the wrong time then 10 years later a doctor will tell you you have cancer and nobody would of course think to tie the cold 10 years ago to the cancer today. viral infection might be like a smokescreen cancer uses to gain a unique foothold. normally the body can deal with this.. but during even an asymptomatic episode of a cold.. cancers that were already always trying to get at you suddenly have a window of time to sneak past y

    • The problem here there is no such thing as "cancer" in a way that its physiology is predictable. It is a heterogeneous bunch of cells with mangled DNA, in basically unique and random forms, whit some basic similarities (activated telomerase etc). But basically these are native cells, so the immune system will not be able to distinguish and decide what to attack. WHen it does find a point of distinction, then within the tumor pool there is always a cell that lacks that particular feature. That cell then becomes the new cancer stem cell and you are back at square one...

      So hopeful interesting, but not a gold bullit

      They are already doing this targeting to a limited extent. This is already approved Worldwide:

      https://www.aacr.org/patients-... [aacr.org]

      And the 5 year outcomes are pretty encouraging:

      https://ascopubs.org/doi/full/... [ascopubs.org]

      My roommate started this 2 months ago. Is taking monthly doses (infusions) for the next 12 months. First CT w/contrast since starting this treatment (after completing 6 week radiochemotherapy regimen), just the other day showed no growth of the main lung mass, and no new sites nor metastases.

      Fingers cros

    • Dont be such a pessamist. The body is always fighting off these unwanted cells. but theres a tipping point. if they can target most of the roots then your branch goes back to square one doesnt it. square one being where the body can continue fighting off these unwanted cells.
  • US Pharma-Bros will sell this miracle cure to you for the low price of $5,000,000 per shot! Don't want to disrupt the pharma industries profits after all.

  • Sounds like a scary weapon (Score:3)

    by djgl ( 6202552 ) on Monday November 13, 2023 @08:45AM (#64001871)

    We already had substances that kill all cells they come in contact with, but we have something that can be targeted at specific genetic traits.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by djgl ( 6202552 )

      *now

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by HiThere ( 15173 )

      So we could make a very specific poison that only targeted, say, mosquitos. But is too expensive to use for that purpose.

      This is research, and is interesting. Accurately predicting how it will be usable at this stage is basically impossible.

  • Quit your bitching about "Big Pharm". Get 10,000 of your friends together. Cough up $10,000 each for a one share of stock. That'll get you $100,000,000 of start up capital to creat your OWN non-profit pharmaceutical compay to do your own research into a cure. But you gutless wonders won't because you only want to whine.

  • Now that would be really useful.

  • Why? The "cancer industry" isn't looking to CURE cancer...there isn't any MONEY in that. They make their money TREATING it.

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