Melanoma Resistance to Checkpoint Therapy Scrutinized with Perturb-CITE-Seq
March 1, 2021
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), drugs that release the immune system’s “brakes,” are meant to expose cancer to the full force of the immune system’s attack. But in most cancer patients, ICIs leave the brakes engaged. To understand why this is the case and to identify ways that ICIs could succeed more often scientists based at Columbia University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a new technique to study ICI resistance (ICR).
Essentially, the technique, which is called Perturb-CITE-sequencing (or Perturb-CITE-seq), surveys the pathways that cancer cells may use to escape ICI immunotherapy. Perturb-CITE-seq is an extension of Perturb-seq, a technique that combines CRISPR-based perturbation screens and massively parallel single-cell RNA sequencing. Like Perturb-seq, Perturb-CITE-seq provides RNA readouts. In addition, however, Perturb-CITE-seq provides prote
New technique uncovers the tricks used by cancer cells to evade immunotherapies
By harnessing the immune system against cancer, immunotherapies have revolutionized the way some types of cancer are treated. But most patients across cancer types do not respond, and in most cases, scientists are at a loss as to why.
Researchers at Columbia and MIT have created a new technique that can uncover nearly all of the tricks cancer cells use to evade immunotherapies, which could lead to the development of more effective treatments.
The researchers tested their new technique with cancer cells and matching immune cells from melanoma patients and identified previously unknown resistance mechanisms to immune checkpoint inhibitors, a powerful and widely used class of immunotherapy drugs.
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NEW YORK, NY (March 1, 2021) By harnessing the immune system against cancer, immunotherapies have revolutionized the way some types of cancer are treated. But most patients across cancer types do not respond, and in most cases, scientists are at a loss as to why.
Researchers at Columbia and MIT have created a new technique that can uncover nearly all of the tricks cancer cells use to evade immunotherapies, which could lead to the development of more effective treatments.
The researchers tested their new technique with cancer cells and matching immune cells from melanoma patients and identified previously unknown resistance mechanisms to immune checkpoint inhibitors, a powerful and widely used class of immunotherapy drugs.