JERUSALEM: Israeli researchers and their colleagues from the United States developed an antibody-based treatment that empowers the body's immune system to effectively attack cancer cells and prevent their spread, Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) said in a statement on Monday.
WIS-led scientists revealed that a form of breast cancer known as triple-negative breast cancer encourages nearby immune cells to form "molecular bridges." These bridges prevent immune cells from attacking the tumor, resulting in immune suppression.
The research team demonstrated that an antibody treatment blocking the formation of these bridges can revive the immune system's ability to mount a robust attack on cancer cells, halting tumor progression in mouse models. They explained that while the breast cancer cells themselves express very low levels of the protein CD84, which is used to build the bridges, they induce nearby immune cells to produce large quantities of this protein, creating the bridges that suppress the immune response.
The study also found that higher levels of CD84 in patients' tumors were linked to shorter survival times. Experiments with genetically engineered mice lacking CD84 revealed smaller tumor growth, highlighting how CD84 within the tumor environment suppresses T cell activity in the immune system.
Administered twice weekly in mice with developing breast cancer, the antibody significantly slowed tumor growth and, in some cases, led to full recovery.
The team noted that the antibody selectively targets cells with elevated CD84 levels, sparing healthy immune cells, which express this protein at lower levels, Xinhua news agency reported.
The researchers suggested that this treatment approach could be applied to various cancer types by focusing on the tumor microenvironment rather than the cancer cells themselves.