Genetically engineered T-cells force leukemia into remission

Discussion in 'Health & Fitness' started by Plazma Inferno!, Jun 13, 2016.

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    Augmented immune cells have made an impressive impact on the survival of people with leukemia.
    Thirteen people with a form of the cancer called multiple myeloma were treated with genetically engineered T-cells, and all improved. "The fact we got a response in all 13, you can’t get better than that," says James Noble, CEO of Adaptimmune in Abingdon, UK, which developed the treatment.

    Cancers often develop because T-cells have lost their ability to target tumour cells, which they normally destroy. To retune that targeting, a team led by Aaron Rapoport at the University of Maryland in Baltimore engineered T-cell genes that coded for a receptor on the cell’s surface. They extracted T-cells from each person, then inserted the engineered genes into these cells and re-injected them.
    The souped-up cells were better able to recognise proteins called NY-ESO-1 and LAGE-1, found on myeloma cells but not healthy ones. All 13 people also had the standard treatment for multiple myeloma, which boosts white blood cell count.

    https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22613-souped-up-immune-cells-force-leukaemia-into-remission/
     

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