T-lymphocytes, or, in other words, the T-cells in the human body responsible for identifying threats and their destruction. They attack as enemies, who came from the outside (viruses, bacteria) or on enemies, to "dig" inside, including malignant tumor cells. However, if the deal with the disease in the bud fails and the cancer develops, T lymphocytes lose their offensive ability and become "exhausted".
A new method of screening
Currently, the treatment of cancer immunotherapy is actively practiced, which is precisely based on the ability of T cells. They allow time to recognize the enemy, and then actively participate in its destruction. Therefore, the main challenge physicians - animate T cells using the most effective treatment for this combination of drugs.
More recently, scientists have developed a new screening that allows information likely to touch as quickly as possible.
We have found, and was classified 19 working compounds. To do this, they had to analyze the 12,000 variants. But the result can now be used not only to identify the combinations of reducing depletion of T-cells, but also for quickly determining the impact analysis of these data cells compounds. In addition, such an approach helps to restore T-cell responses to constant viral infections as well as infections caused by other pathogens.
New screening as scientists believe, will contribute to the further development of methods of cancer immunotherapy and treatment of infectious diseases. Especially because some of these methods can certainly be combined with existing immunotherapeutic drugs, in order to enhance the therapeutic effect.
Details of the study
Screening of substances awakening weakened T cells, developed and refined over the past fifteen years. First, the mechanism of its work has been studied in laboratory animals. Scientists observed how the immune system of mice and rats respond to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV or "clone 13"). Appears, it depletes the virus-specific T cells, achieving a continuous flow infection amplifying signals through the T cell receptor (PD-1 and IL-10). In exactly the same manner as "turning off" of T lymphocytes, a favorable environment for themselves and provide cancer cells.
Immunotherapy blocks the PD-1 signals or similar receptors, which enables the T-lymphocytes to recover and re-fight tumors. That is why modern immunotherapy can be very effective, including those where it is impossible to cope with the disease chemotherapy and radiotherapy methods. However, currently this treatment does not work equally well for all kinds of cancer. Scientists suggest that malignant tumors inhibit way of inhibition of T cells. So the combination of immunotherapy aimed at different molecular pathways, more effective than any one type of therapy.
The principle of operation of the new screening
The described screening system uses the T-cell clone-13 depleted LCMV, tracking resumed their activity in response to application of a test compound. The advantage of such screening is its specificity, as well as high automation: thousands of compounds are tested in just a few days. After the selected options are tested in laboratory animals. And the most successful of the selected tested on human volunteers.
The new approach would be useful not only in the field of cancer treatment. It easily adapts to search for a different type of effects on T cells. For example, it can be used to find those that weaken the T-lymphocytes. This, in turn, will help in the search for active substances for the treatment of autoimmune conditions.
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