Boosting Cancer Antibodies by Reducing their Grip – ScienceDaily

[ad_1]

New research from the University of Southampton’s Cancer Immunology Centre, published ahead of World Cancer Day (4 February), shows that changing how tightly an antibody binds to a target can improve cancer treatments.

Antibodies detect and identify viruses and bacteria so that the body’s immune system can destroy them. To help prevent a second infection, our immune system adjusts these antibodies to have a tighter grip on these targets, known as higher affinity.

Cancer immunotherapies use the same concept — directly directed antibodies are designed to find and bind tightly to cancer cells so the immune system can kill them. These antibody therapies have proven successful in some types of cancer over the past few years, but many cancer patients still do not respond to them or are resistant to them.

In a new study published in nature, Southampton researchers have shown that a different type of therapeutic antibody, called “immunomodulating antibodies,” is successful in treating cancer when they have a less flexible grip.

Altering the tightness of the binding is known as affinity engineering and the research team believes this could provide an efficient and more flexible way to treat cancer.

Immunodegrading antibodies bind to receptors on immune cells rather than cancer cells and work by altering the signals that are transmitted to immune cells to make them more active and better at killing cancer cells.

In the study, the team examined three separate receptors (CD40, 4-1BB and PD-1), and showed that there were better pools of receptors and improved signaling in immune cells when the binding was looser. For one of these, CD40, was shown to kill cancer cells better.

Professor Mark Cragg, from the Center for Cancer Immunology, said: “Although the number of approved antibody drugs continues to grow, with more than 100 now in the clinic, some patients are still not responding to treatment. Therefore, new strategies are being developed to ship Our superior antibodies through techniques such as affinity engineering are key to providing better therapies for patients.

“Our study indicates that by changing the affinity, we can effectively tune the antibody to the desired level and activity.

“Importantly, immunomodulatory antibodies target the same receptors on immune cells, and so could theoretically be used for many different types of tumors, opening up more treatment opportunities for more people. The main applications are currently in oncology, but in principle the same. The approach can be used for antibodies that treat autoimmune disorders and inflammatory diseases.”

“High affinity has been the watchword for the development of therapeutic antibodies for decades,” said Dr. Xiaojie Yu, first author of the study and now assistant professor in the College of Life Sciences at Westlake University. “The discovery that low affinity was leading to antibody-mediated cellular signaling progression by modified antibodies Immunoglobulins are a powerful tool for developing new, more effective antibodies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmunity.”

The study was funded by Cancer Research UK and the Cancer Immunity Fund, the university’s campaign to support the vital research taking place within the centre, following the successful campaign to raise £25m to build the centre.

Catherine de Rituerto, Associate Director of Development at the University of Southampton, said: “This exciting work is exactly what we hoped would happen when we were raising funds to build the Cancer Immunology Center. The many generous donors whose charitable work has contributed to the centre, including those who They have funded a key piece of equipment used in these trials, they should feel very proud of the progress the Southampton team are making.”

Dr Ian Foulkes, Executive Director of Research and Innovation at Cancer Research UK, said: “Cancer is a master of the art of evading the immune system. We need to try many different approaches to help our bodies detect and attack tumours.

“Immune-modulating antibodies are one of the cornerstones of immunotherapy, which is fast becoming a staple treatment in the clinic. But immunotherapy doesn’t always work for everyone, and we need to continue to improve it to make sure it gives patients the best chance for a good outcome.

“This research offers an exciting new approach to making antibody therapies work even better, and in the future we hope to see them reach their full potential in the clinic.”

[ad_2]

Source link

Related Posts

Precaliga