A two-arm molecule can effectively deplete cancer-protecting cells inside tumors, allowing the immune system to fight off tumors without becoming overactive. The finding, published online in Science Translational Medicine, could lead to new types of cancer immunotherapies.
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(a) High-resolution 3D MRI brain vascular map using SAIO. Various blood vessels in the rat brain can be visualized. In addition to clinically important brain vessels including anterior cerebral artery, middle cerebral artery, posterior cerebral artery, fine vessel structures as thin as ~ 100 microns in diameter can be clearly visualized. (b) 3D MRI brain vascular map using Dotarem (gadolinium-based contrast agent). Resolution is low and microvessels are not visible. (c) For 3D reconstruction, multiple slices of MRI images of the rat heart were obtained after injection of SAIO. Rat coronary arteries (180 microns) which are 10 times thinner than human coronary arteries were successfully visualized. Coronary arteries supply blood to the heart muscle and the blockage or narrowing of such arteries causes myocardial infarction or angina, but visualizing these arteries was impossible due to the limited resolution of current MRI contrast agents. Image courtesy of Institute for Basic Science
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Targeted radiation is often used to study and treat diverse cancer types. A multidisciplinary research team based at the University of Chicago Medicine has recently focused on a type of cell that releases a protein that enhances resistance to cancer therapies and promotes tumor progression.
The study focused on Ter cells, which are extra medullary erythroid precursers that secrete the neuropeptide artemin. In the study, published February 24, 2020, in
Science Translational Medicine, the researchers showed that local tumor radiotherapy, systemic immunotherapy or the combination of both treatments were able to deplete Ter cells in the spleen, reduce artemin production and limit tumor progression both in the locally irradiated tumors as well as outside the radiation fields.