Researchers from the University of Manchester in the UK have found that a small group of immune cells that aren’t given much attention by scientists is actually crucial in mobilizing the immune system to attack and sustain its fight against cancer.
The study, whose findings appeared in the journal Immunity, explored what impact the activation or deactivation of these particular immune cells would have on the body’s response to cancer.
For their study, the team designed mouse models in which it was possible to label or actually remove activated dendritic cells. Until this particular study was undertaken, it was hard for the research community to study the role of these cells during the cancer fight. This was because no appropriate model existed to focus on how these immune cells functioned.
When the researchers removed these dendritic cells in the models, they observed that the immune system was unable to mount a robust attack against cancer and the T cells couldn’t sustain an effective anti-cancer effect even after entering a tumor. The impact of immunotherapy was also weakened in the absence of activated dendritic cells.
Maria Koufakis, the first author of the study, explained that immunotherapies work best when the immune system can mount a robust and sustained attack against cancer. However, some patients don’t respond to these immunotherapies and scientists couldn’t definitively explain why this was happening.
Koufakis added that their work could help in boosting the functioning of dendritic cells so that the efficacy of immunotherapy is boosted and patients whose cancers had proved unresponsive to these treatments can turn around and benefit from the therapies.
The models developed by the University of Manchester team pave the way for additional studies to be conducted on how dendritic cells can be leveraged to improve patient outcomes when immunotherapy is administered. The models could also help in studies investigating the role of dendritic cells in autoimmune conditions, infections and other diseases.
As this group of immune cells that had previously received limited attention from researchers undergoes extensive investigation, there may be no limit to how far-reaching the benefits of harnessing these cells in the fight against cancer and other diseases could reach.
It would be interesting to see what would happen if enterprises like Calidi Biotherapeutics Inc. (NYSE American: CLDI) that are running research and development programs aimed at commercializing immunotherapies against cancer incorporate activated dendritic cells within their workflows as they test their innovations.
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