Director Merck & Co., Inc. West Point, Pennsylvania, United States
CAR-T cell medicines have been licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration, demonstrating the exceptional efficacy of the Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy for the treatment of blood cancers especially B- cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. CAR-T therapy's effectiveness against solid tumours is lacking, nevertheless. Foremostly, it is challenging for CAR-T cells to find in solid tumours due to the lack of a universal CAR-T cell to detect antigens at the site of solid tumours and the compact tumour structure. T-cells may be inhibited or even rendered inactive by soluble inhibitors and suppressive immune mechanism. The term "Magnetic Drug Targeting” refers to the use of superparamagnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) as magnetically controlled shuttles to transport medications precisely to the desired region while protecting healthy tissues. Also T-cells have been followed to gain a better knowledge of migration and survival of antigen-specific T-cells under pathological conditions, where as SPION-loaded cells can be viewed by MRI. Cancer immunotherapy is a novel approach for cancer treatment which boosts immune system significantly as compared to chemotherapeutics or radiation therapy. Cell migration is an integral process in a therapeutic immune response, and the ability to track and image the migration of immune cells in-vivo allows for better characterization of the disease and monitoring of the therapeutic outcomes. Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are promising candidates in immunotherapy as they are biocompatible in nature, have flexible surface chemistry and display magnetic properties that may be used in contrast-enhanced MRI. Complex and suppressing tumor microenvironment, tumor antigen heterogeneity, cell trafficking, CAR-T cell exhaustion, and reduced cytotoxicity in the tumor site limit the applicability of CAR-T cell therapy.
Learning Objectives:
The application of nanotechnology in medicine, particularly in the field of cancer treatment, is an area of active research. One promising application is the use of nanotechnology to enhance the effectiveness of CAR-T cell therapy in treating solid tumors.
CAR-T cell therapy involves the extraction of T cells (a type of immune cell) from a patient's blood, and then modifying these cells to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) on their surface. This CAR allows the T cells to specifically recognize and target cancer cells. However, solid tumors often have a dense network of stromal tissue, known as the tumor microenvironment, that can inhibit the effectiveness of CAR-T cell therapy.
Nanotechnology can be used to alter CAR-T cells in several ways
It currently explores CAR T cell immunotherapy is a promising treatment for cancer that uses a patient's own immune cells to target and destroy cancer cells. The use of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in CAR T cell therapy is being researched as a way to improve the targeting and tracking of these cells in the body. By attaching the nanoparticles to the surface of the CAR T cells, they can be monitored using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and potentially enhance the therapeutic efficacy of the treatment. However, more research is needed to fully understand the potential benefits and limitations of this approach.
It demonstrates 1.Collection of T cells from the patient: T cells are collected from the patient's blood using a process called leukapheresis.
2.Genetic engineering of T cells: The collected T cells are genetically modified to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that specifically recognizes and binds to cancer cells.
3.Attachment of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles: The nanoparticles are attached to the surface of the CAR T cells.
4.Re-infusion of CAR T cells: The modified CAR T cells are re-infused back into the patient's bloodstream.
5.Tracking and monitoring: Using MRI, the CAR T cells can be tracked and monitored in the body as they target and destroy cancer cells.
6.The magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles allow for better visualization and monitoring of the CAR T cells, potentially improving the therapeutic efficacy of the treatment.
The study conductance aims at the the role of CAR T cell therapy as a type of immunotherapy that involves genetically engineering a patient's own T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. The use of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in CAR T cell therapy is still in the research phase, but the concept involves labeling the CAR T cells with magnetic nanoparticles to enable non-invasive monitoring and control of the cells using magnetic fields. The hope is that this technology can improve the efficacy and safety of CAR T cell therapy.
