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Immunotherapy is making headlines for saving the lives of hundreds of cancer patients including former President Jimmy Carter. But many of these therapies, only work for a small portion of people who have a specific molecule called PDL1 in their cancer makeup.

UCF College of Medicine cancer researcher Dr. Alicja Copik has just discovered a way to make that therapy viable to thousands by using the body 麻豆精品 S檚 own natural killer (NK) cells in a new way. Her findings were recently published in OncoImmunology.

NK cells are part of the body 麻豆精品 S檚 defense system and act as an army to protect us from invaders like viruses and infections. Copik has discovered a way to make NK cells even more powerful 麻豆精品 S� by stimulating them with nanoparticles that multiply them and heighten their killing ability. Her technology has been licensed and is now progressing to clinical trials as a therapy for leukemia and later for other cancers.

麻豆精品 S淐ancer is a very smart enemy. That 麻豆精品 S檚 why we have to use so many tools to fight it. 麻豆精品 S�

In her latest study, Copik discovered that her energized NK cells do even more. They change the cellular makeup of tumors 麻豆精品 S� especially the molecular defenses cancers use to protect themselves from the body 麻豆精品 S檚 immune system. 麻豆精品 S淐ancer is a very smart enemy, 麻豆精品 S� Copik says. 麻豆精品 S淭hat 麻豆精品 S檚 why we have to use so many tools to fight it. 麻豆精品 S�

Here 麻豆精品 S檚 what her research has uncovered:

For a malignant tumor to survive, cancers can place a protein molecule called PDL1 on their cells. The molecule tells the body 麻豆精品 S檚 immune system, 麻豆精品 S淚 麻豆精品 S檓 one of your own cells, so don 麻豆精品 S檛 eat me 麻豆精品 S� Copik says humorously. For patients with PDL1 on their cancers, new immunotherapy drugs use an antibody that blocks the PDL1 protection, allowing the body 麻豆精品 S檚 immune system to kill the cancer. These drugs have been very successful 麻豆精品 S� even in stopping Stage 4, metastatic cancer and leading to long-lasting remissions 麻豆精品 S� but only for patients whose tumors test positive for PDL1. Only 15 to 30 percent of patients 麻豆精品 S� depending on the cancer 麻豆精品 S� have PDL1 on their cancer cells.

Copik 麻豆精品 S檚 goal was to make PDL1 therapies effective for more patients. In the lab, she discovered that NK cells, stimulated with the nanoparticles developed in her lab, attack the tumor and induce it to present PDL1 麻豆精品 S� which the new drugs then can target. In her study, combining NK cells with the new immunotherapy drug lead to improved survival rates in mice with cancer. 聽Recent work from other scientists has shown that once inside the tumor, NK cells go a step further 麻豆精品 S� they recruit other immune cells to prime the immune system to attack cancer. 麻豆精品 S淪o these activated NK cells will work synergistically with these immunotherapies, 麻豆精品 S� she says.

麻豆精品 S淸Patients] are your motivation and your inspiration. You know we must do this work now because patients are waiting. 麻豆精品 S�

Activated NK cells have advantages over other cancer therapies. First, they seldom cause side effects like chemotherapy and radiation. And the NK cells don 麻豆精品 S檛 attack healthy cells. So cancer patients could safely receive additional NK cells from people who are not a 100 percent match. Because blood banks remove and discard NK cells when they collect blood platelets and plasma for donation, Copik said there is a potential for scientists to develop ways to save such NK cells for cancer therapies.

Copik envisions her new discovery can be joined with planned NK cell clinical trials. And she said UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 new comprehensive cancer treatment and research center 麻豆精品 S� to be housed in the former Sanford Burnham Prebys research institute 麻豆精品 S� will allow College of Medicine researchers even more opportunities to find a cure for cancer. The center will include basic scientists, like Copik, clinical researchers, cancer physicians and patients in the same facility. And the UCF researcher said such partnership will provide new opportunities for discovery 麻豆精品 S� and inspiration.

麻豆精品 S淎s a scientist, it 麻豆精品 S檚 important to know from physicians and patients, 麻豆精品 S榃here are the gaps in treatment? Where are the challenges? 麻豆精品 S� You see where we should be directing our efforts, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淎nd when you 麻豆精品 S檙e in the lab late at night you think about these patients. They are your motivation and your inspiration. You know we must do this work now because patients are waiting. 麻豆精品 S�