We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
Sekisui Diagnostics UK Ltd.

Download Mobile App




Reprogrammed Immune Cells Hunt Down and Destroy Cancer Cells

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 15 Aug 2023
Print article
Image: The body’s own immune cells can be programmed to carry therapeutics to places where treatment normally cannot reach (Photo courtesy of Freepik)
Image: The body’s own immune cells can be programmed to carry therapeutics to places where treatment normally cannot reach (Photo courtesy of Freepik)

The human body wards off illnesses by employing immune cells to enter and destroy disease cells. However, certain dangerous cells, including some solid tumors, operate covertly, evading the body's regular immune system. Now, a breakthrough in targeted cell therapy makes it possible to reprogram a patient's own immune cells, giving them the ability to hunt down and destroy these cancer cells.

Edity Therapeutics (Rehovot, Israel) is reprogramming immune cells to serve as a delivery vehicle. These cells will contain therapeutic payloads, primed to locate and destroy not just cancer cells but also a range of diseases that currently lack a cure. The reprogramming immune cells, known as ED 007, will be trained by Edity to recognize solid tumors that generally elude recognition by the body's own immune system, enabling their unrestrained growth and metastasis. ED 007 will promote inflammation within these tumors, triggering the body's inherent immune response to destroy the cancerous cells. Given that the retrained cells are derived from the patient's own body, the risk of rejection and autotoxicity is likely to be minimal.

The concept of reprogramming a patient's own cells to fight cancer has demonstrated success in individuals with blood cancer. Edity is poised to take the next leap, aiming to utilize these retrained immune cells, including ED 007, to target solid tumors that create treatment challenges. Edity employs a straightforward yet potent process: Patients provide a blood sample from which specialized white blood cells known as T cells are extracted. These cells are then engineered in a laboratory setting to carry the necessary medication for treatment. After a brief incubation period, the engineered cells are reintroduced into the patient's body. Loaded with medication, the immune cells navigate directly to the patient’s damaged cells and start repairing the diseased tissues.

“Science allows us to treat any disease in a test tube but there are still many diseases with no cure,” Dr. Michal Golan-Mashiach, Edity’s CEO and Founder told The Times of Israel. “Edity’s technology will bring new treatment options to previously incurable diseases, offering new medicines to patients and their families.”

Related Links:
Edity Therapeutics 

Gold Member
Real-Time Diagnostics Onscreen Viewer
GEMweb Live
Gold Member
Solid State Kv/Dose Multi-Sensor
AGMS-DM+
Silver Member
Compact 14-Day Uninterrupted Holter ECG
NR-314P
New
Radial Shock Wave Device
MASTERPULS »ultra«

Print article

Channels

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: Real-time analysis image by \"Eureka α\" with connective tissue highlighted in blue (Photo courtesy of Anaut Inc.)

AI-Powered Surgical Visualization Tool Supports Surgeons' Visual Recognition in Real Time

Connective tissue serves as an essential landmark in surgical navigation, often referred to as the "dissection plane" or "holy plane." Its accurate identification is vital for achieving safe and effective... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The portable, handheld BeamClean technology inactivates pathogens on commonly touched surfaces in seconds (Photo courtesy of Freestyle Partners)

First-Of-Its-Kind Portable Germicidal Light Technology Disinfects High-Touch Clinical Surfaces in Seconds

Reducing healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) remains a pressing issue within global healthcare systems. In the United States alone, 1.7 million patients contract HAIs annually, leading to approximately... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The Quantra Hemostasis System has received US FDA special 510(k) clearance for use with its Quantra QStat Cartridge (Photo courtesy of HemoSonics)

Critical Bleeding Management System to Help Hospitals Further Standardize Viscoelastic Testing

Surgical procedures are often accompanied by significant blood loss and the subsequent high likelihood of the need for allogeneic blood transfusions. These transfusions, while critical, are linked to various... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.