Potential Key To Immune Suppression In Cancer Revealed By Study
In a study investigating immune response in cancer, researchers from Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., and the University of South Florida have found that interaction between the immune system's antigen-specific CD4 T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) - cells that play a major role in cancer-related immune suppression - dramatically change the nature of MDSC-mediated suppression. By contrast, the same effect was not observed when MDSCs interacted with the immune system's CD8 T cells.
Researchers Refine Nanoparticles For More Accurate Delivery Of Cancer Drugs
A new class of nanoparticles, synthesized by a UC Davis research team to prevent premature drug release, holds promise for greater accuracy and effectiveness in delivering cancer drugs to tumors. The work is published in the current issue of Angewandte Chemie, a leading international chemistry journal. In their paper, featured on the inside back cover of the journal, Kit Lam, professor and chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, and his team report on the synthesis of a novel class of micelles called dual-responsive boronate cross-linked micelles (BCMs), which produce physicochemical changes in response to specific triggers.
Cholesterol-Lowering Statins May Treat Breast Cancer
Cholesterol-lowering statins seem to keep breast cancer at bay in some patients. Now researchers reporting in the January 20th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, provide clues about how statins might yield those unexpected benefits. The findings also suggest that mutations in a single gene could be used to identify tumors likely to respond to statin therapy. "The data raises the possibility that we might identify subsets of patients whose tumors may respond to statins, " said Carol Prives of Columbia University.