Killing breast cancer cells in a way that trains the immune system to recognize and destroy residual cancer cells could offer longer lasting protection to people with the disease, according to new research funded by Breast Cancer Now. The early-stage discovery published today [23 May] in the journal Immunity, shows that by causing cancer cells to undergo a process called immunogenic cell death, the immune system is switched on and becomes alert to the disease in the body. In order to bring about this type of cell death, scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, targeted a protein called RIPK1, which plays a vital role in helping cancer cells survive and remain undetected in the body.
The team, based in the Breast Cancer Now Toby Robins Research Centre at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), used a new and innovative technology called proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) to successfully destroy RIPK1 in human cancer cells. Through a process known as targeted protein degradation, PROTAC eliminates specific unwanted proteins within cells that have previously been ‘undruggable’. While traditional inhibitor drugs merely block the function of the protein, this process destroys the problem protein entirely.
Getting rid of RIPK1 triggers immunogenic cell death and mobilizes the immune system to destroy any remaining cancer cells that have evaded treatment or become resistant to drugs. Researchers also demonstrated in mice that targeting RIPK1 enhances immune sy.
