American and Japanese researchers have developed a procedure that shows the immune system where the cancer cells to be eradicated are located. Based on early experiments, the procedure appears to be successful.

Researchers from Hokkaido University in Japan and Texas A&M University in the United States have created a new method using a technology known as CRISPR to help the immune system recognize and defeat cancer cells. A study summarizing the results of the work Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences It was published in the scientific journal

So-called major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules can be found on the surface of all cells of the human body. These molecules are essentially markers that help the immune system identify and destroy cancer cells.

However, when cancer cells detect immune system activity, they try to hide by reducing the number of MHC class I molecules. Thanks to this, they can avoid meeting with CD8+ T cells, which are the main cells of the immune system, which aim to destroy cancer cells.

So the researchers developed a method that increases the presence of MHC class I molecules in infected cells, thus showing the immune system where to intervene. According to Koixi Kubagasi, a scientist at Hokkaido University

The new method gives hope to patients for whom immunotherapy has so far proven ineffective.

The new procedure is based on the discovery that the level of MHC molecules is regulated by the NLRC5 gene. Researchers also discovered that in cancer, this gene is suppressed by turning off certain molecular switches on the DNA. A process known as DNA methylation reduces the level of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules, which helps cancer cells spread Interesting geometry.

The new method, TRED-I, can reverse this process and turn the NLRC5 gene back on. This increases MHC levels without any serious side effects.

The researchers conducted experiments on animals, and their results appeared effective not only in the case of the targeted tumor, but also in the case of tumors located in other parts of the body. In other words, the method can also work in the case of metastases.

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