RxPG News Feed for RxPG News

Medical Research Health Special Topics World
  Home
 
   Health
 Aging
 Asian Health
 Events
 Fitness
 Food & Nutrition
 Happiness
 Men's Health
 Mental Health
 Occupational Health
 Parenting
 Public Health
 Sleep Hygiene
 Women's Health
 
   Healthcare
 Africa
 Australia
 Canada Healthcare
 China Healthcare
 India Healthcare
 New Zealand
 South Africa
 UK
 USA
 World Healthcare
 
   Latest Research
 Aging
 Alternative Medicine
 Anaethesia
 Biochemistry
 Biotechnology
 Cancer
  Bladder
  Blood
   Multiple Myeloma
   Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
  Bone Cancer
  Brain
  Breast Cancer
  Carcinogens
  Cervical Cancer
  Colon
  Endometrial
  Esophageal
  Gastric Cancer
  Liver Cancer
  Lung
  Nerve Tissue
  Ovarian Cancer
  Pancreatic Cancer
  Prostate Cancer
  Rectal Cancer
  Renal Cell Carcinoma
  Risk Factors
  Skin
  Testicular Cancer
  Therapy
  Thyroid
 Cardiology
 Clinical Trials
 Cytology
 Dental
 Dermatology
 Embryology
 Endocrinology
 ENT
 Environment
 Epidemiology
 Gastroenterology
 Genetics
 Gynaecology
 Haematology
 Immunology
 Infectious Diseases
 Medicine
 Metabolism
 Microbiology
 Musculoskeletal
 Nephrology
 Neurosciences
 Obstetrics
 Ophthalmology
 Orthopedics
 Paediatrics
 Pathology
 Pharmacology
 Physiology
 Physiotherapy
 Psychiatry
 Radiology
 Rheumatology
 Sports Medicine
 Surgery
 Toxicology
 Urology
 
   Medical News
 Awards & Prizes
 Epidemics
 Launch
 Opinion
 Professionals
 
   Special Topics
 Ethics
 Euthanasia
 Evolution
 Feature
 Odd Medical News
 Climate

Last Updated: Oct 11, 2012 - 10:22:56 PM
Blood Channel

subscribe to Blood newsletter
Latest Research : Cancer : Blood

   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Genetically Modified Natural killer ( NK ) Cells can be Used to Kill Leukemic Cells

Mar 29, 2005 - 9:25:00 AM
"By developing a technique for cultivating large numbers of NK cells from a small blood sample, we made it practical to consider them a potential treatment against many different types of cancer. By genetically modifying NK cells so they expressed the CD19 receptor, we made them specifically effective against ALL cells."

 
[RxPG] Natural killer ( NK ) immune system cells can be genetically modified to brandish a powerful "on-switch" that prompts them to aggressively attack and kill leukemic cells. This finding, from researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, suggests a way to improve the outcome of children who receive treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia ( ALL ) or other blood cancers.

Results of the St. Jude study are published in the current online issue of Blood.

The researchers demonstrated how to overcome significant technical hurdles that have until now slowed development of NK-based therapies for ALL, according to Dario Campana, M.D., Ph.D., a member of St. Jude Hematology-Oncology and Pathology, and senior author of the Blood report.

Progress in adapting NK cells to the treatment of ALL had been significantly hampered because researchers were not able to grow large numbers of these immune cells in the laboratory, and because NK cells normally have only weak anti-leukemic activity.

The key breakthroughs made by the St. Jude team were the development of a laboratory technique for rapidly producing a large, pure population of NK cells from a small sample of blood; and developing a technique for genetically modifying NK cells so that they would become potent killers when they encountered leukemic cells.

In order to grow large populations of NK cells, the team started with samples of blood containing a variety of different immune system cells. They placed this sample into a dish containing a type of human leukemia cell called K562. Campana's team genetically modified the K562 cells so they carried on their surfaces many copies of two different proteins, 4-1BBL and IL-15.

The genetically modified K562 cells quickly stimulated the expansion of the NK cell population to more than10,000 times their original number. The technique triggered growth of NK cells specifically, which greatly simplified the ability of the researchers to collect a pure population of these immune cells.

The researchers then genetically modified the growing NK cells so they carried on their surface an artificial receptor that made them particularly aggressive and effective killers that attacked only leukemic cells.

A receptor is a protein that binds to a specific target molecule. The artificial receptor on the NK molecule was designed to recognize a protein called CD19, which is found on the surface of leukemic cells. When the receptor bound to CD19 on leukemic cells, it set off a reaction that super-charged the killing activity of the NK cell.

"By developing a technique for cultivating large numbers of NK cells from a small blood sample, we made it practical to consider them a potential treatment against many different types of cancer," Campana said. "By genetically modifying NK cells so they expressed the CD19 receptor, we made them specifically effective against ALL cells."

A potential clinical application for the technology developed in this study is in leukemia patients who are treated with hematopoietic ( blood cell-forming ) cell transplantation.

In this case, NK cells will be derived from the transplant donor, expanded and genetically modified. These modified NK cells will then be infused into the patient after the transplant in order to eliminate residual leukemic cells. In another application, NK cells could be obtained from a patient while in remission and then reinfused after genetic modification if the patient suffers a resurgence of the leukemia.

"We look forward to seeing this strategy being added to the management of children with ALL," said Chihaya Imai, M.D., the postdoctoral student who did most of the work on this project.



Publication: The current online issue of Blood.
On the web: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital 

Advertise in this space for $10 per month. Contact us today.


Related Blood News


Subscribe to Blood Newsletter

Enter your email address:


 Additional information about the news article
The other author of this study is Shotaro Iwamoto, M.D., of St. Jude.

This work was supported in part by the National Cancer Institute and ALSAC.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization. For more information, please visit the related website.

Contact: Bonnie Cameron
[email protected]
901-495-4815
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
 Feedback
For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 
Contact us

RxPG Online

Nerve

 

    Full Text RSS

© All rights reserved by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited (India)