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How to supercharge cancer-fighting cells: give them stem-cell skills

The bioengineered immune players called CAR T cells last longer and work better if pumped up with a large dose of a protein that makes them resemble stem cells.
  1. Sara Reardon

    1. Sara Reardon is a freelance journalist based in Bozeman, Montana.

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Coloured scanning electron micrograph showing a large irregularly shaped cell with a smaller round cell attached to it.

A CAR T cell (orange; artificially coloured) attacks a cancer cell (green). Credit: Eye Of Science/SPL

Bioengineered immune cells have been shown to attack and even cure cancer, but they tend to get exhausted if the fight goes on for a long time. Now, two separate research teams have found a way to rejuvenate these cells: make them more like stem cells.

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Nature 628, 486 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01043-2

References

  1. Doan, A. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07300-8 (2024).

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  2. Chan, J. D. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07242-1 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

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