- Srimathi L
Harnessing the human body’s own immune system to fight various forms of cancer has been part of cancer treatment for years. However, there is one highly deadly form of cancer that eludes this immunotherapy- glioblastoma. The primary reason behind it being so elusive is because it originates in the neuroglial cells particularly the astrocytes, which support the neurons in the central nervous system. Since the glial cells encompass a major part of the brain, it is quite difficult to restrain its malignant growth. This coupled with the inability of most immune cells to breach the blood-brain barrier makes it a highly difficult to restrain malignant cancer cells in the brain from proliferating.
The breakthrough in identifying a potential target to treat Glioblastoma using immunotherapy was recently identified by scientists from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. According to them, the T cells they isolated from samples of the tumors, had inhibitory receptors known as CD161 which got activated by CLEC2D, a molecule present on the cancerous brain cells, leading to a drastic fall in the efficacy of T cells to attack these tumors.
They then proceeded to try blocking the CD161-CLEC2D pathway to check if doing so would indeed increase the T cells’ immune response in two different ways. First, they suppressed the gene KLRB1 which codes for the CD161 molecule; later, they used antibodies to block the same pathway. It yielded encouraging results. An observable enhancement in the immune response was seen in animal models, and as a step in the right direction, it also slowed down T-cell exhaustion- the phenomenon of T cells losing their ability to attack tumorous outgrowths. In addition to this, the scientists have also established a possible correlation between the CD161 pathway and several other types of cancer.
Researchers around the world understand the importance of such therapies that act against checkpoint inhibitors in cancer cells. Yet, for immunotherapy to be able to successfully combat glioblastoma, pathways like CD161-CLEC2D play a vital role. Thus, identifying such pathways becomes the need of the hour in oncology. With major strides being made in the field of medicine and biotechnology, we can indeed fancy a chance in treating glioblastoma successfully in the future.
For more, visit - www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210215110326.htm
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