Source: Oxford University
Date: 10 November 2011
Summary:
Stem cell techniques have been used in the lab as a new way of priming the body’s own immune cells to attack cancer, in a proof-of-principle study by Oxford University scientists. The technical advance opens up the possibility of using stem cells derived from a patient’s skin as a source of key immune cells, called dendritic cells, which can orchestrate an immune response against a tumour. But much further work would be needed to turn this into a therapy ready to be used with cancer patients.
The Oxford researchers used recently established techniques to turn skin cells from a healthy adult back into a stem cell state. These ‘induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells’ are capable of renewing themselves indefinitely and can be coaxed to form any cell type – muscle, nerve, heart tissue, etc.
Dr. Paul Fairchild and Dr Kate Silk prompted the human iPS cells to form dendritic cells using an approach that would be suitable for clinical use. That is, no animal-based material or supplements to aid growth were used. After providing the dendritic cells with components of a melanoma, the team showed the cells could initiate a full immune response to melanoma markers in cell cultures in the lab.
The study was funded by the UK Medical Research Council and the Oxford Martin School, and is published in the journal Gene Therapy.
