Detecting Tumor Antigen-Specific T Cells via Interaction-Dependent Fucosyl-Biotinylation.

A quick ID check for tumour-targeting T cells

29 March 2021

Personalized cancer treatments could receive a boost from a new tool that can rapidly isolate immune cells that are the most effective at fighting tumours.

Immunotherapy treatments that harness the body’s immune system in the fight against cancers are an emerging area of medicine. But it has been difficult to identify T cells that directly target a tumour.

Now, scientists at Soochow University and elsewhere have developed a method that allows them to detect tumour-fighting cells and extract them from a patient sample

The technique used the enzyme fucosyltransferase to biochemically tag tumour-fighting cells. This enabled the researchers to rapidly characterize different populations of tumour-infiltrating T cells in mouse models.

Knowing the identities of these cells, which are central to the function of various anti-cancer immunotherapies, could help clinicians predict whether certain treatments will work for particular patients.

The team is now validating the tool in human patient samples, with an eye to eventually incorporating FucoID in clinical trials.

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References

1. Cell 183, 1117–1133.e19 (2020). doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.09.048