A new study by UT Southwestern's Simmons Cancer Center scientists suggests that lactate, a metabolic byproduct produced by cells during strenuous exercise, can rejuvenate immune cells that fight cancer.
E-Mail
IMAGE: This artist s rendering shows a synthetic polymer (purple) that activates STING proteins (yellow and green motifs) for cancer immunotherapy. view more
Credit: Shenyang Zhiyan Science and Technology Co. Ltd.
DALLAS - Feb. 8, 2021 - A new nanoparticle-based drug can boost the body s innate immune system and make it more effective at fighting off tumors, researchers at UT Southwestern have shown. Their study, published in
Nature Biomedical Engineering, is the first to successfully target the immune molecule STING with nanoparticles about one millionth the size of a soccer ball that can switch on/off immune activity in response to their physiological environment.