Using genetic engineering techniques, investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Ludwig Center, the Lustgarten Laboratory and Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy have designed a novel type of cell to recognize and fight cancer. To produce the cells, called Co-STAR (Co-stimulatory Synthetic T-cell receptor and Antigen Receptor) cells, the researchers combined genetic components of four types of cells that the body normally uses to defend against invaders to make a powerful new cell type: T-cell receptors (TCRs) from T cells , antibodies from B cells, MyD88 from white blood cells called monocytes, and CD40 from dendritic and other cells. The TCR and antibody components served as an "invader detecting device," recognizing cancer cells as foreign, and the "alarm" triggered by this hybrid detector was boosted by the MyD88 and C40 components.
In laboratory studies, Co-STARs led to a sustained anti-tumor response against human cancer cells growing in test tubes and in mice. A description of the work was published July 10 in Science Translational Medicine . T cell-based therapies are among the most promising approaches to treat advanced cancer and are the subject of intense research, explains lead study author Brian Mog, M.
D., Ph.D.
, an internal medicine resident at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He was a medical and graduate student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine when the research was conducted. However, TCR and CAR (.
