Targeting Acute Myeloid Leukemia with Nanotechnology and Immunotherapy

Picture the human body’s immune response as analogous to the action of an army of military soldiers. For the most part, a healthy immune system can “hold down the fort” and protect the body from many perils of the outside world. We often rely on our immune system’s discretion to determine when and which invaders our soldiers (T cells, for example) should attack. However, when it comes to fighting the most dangerous and formidable opponents, including cancer, researchers have invested in developing new immunotherapies to help boost the body’s own immune response. One method of immunotherapy drug delivery is liposomal nanoparticles. Natural liposomes are spherical sacs that contain phospholipids; liposomes can also be formed artificially to carry drugs and other substances into tissues. A new immunotherapy technology using liposomal nanoparticles was recently developed, called a nanoparticle-based T cell engager (nanoTCE). “We have previously developed a nanoparticle-based T cell engagers (nanoTCEs) technology that is based on conjugation of two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to the surface of a liposomal nanoparticle; one antibody is against a cancer antigen and the other is against the CD3 receptor on T cells.” The nanoTCE is a highly customizable technology that combines T cell activation with targeted cancer therapy. Researchers, from Washington University School of Medicine and Washington University McKelvey School of Engineering, claim that this highly specific technology can be engineered to engage with any immune cell to target and treat any cancer of interest. The team conducted a study using the nanoTCE technology in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Their paper was published on the cover of Oncotarget’s Volume 12, Issue 19, and entitled, “Nanoparticle T cell engagers for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.” Full blog - https://www.oncotarget.org/2021/09/15/new-study-nanoparticles-target-acute-myeloid-leukemia/ Sign up for free Altmetric alerts about this article - https://oncotarget.altmetric.com/details/email_updates?id=10.18632%2Foncotarget.28054 DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28054 Full text - https://www.oncotarget.com/article/28054/text/ Correspondence to - Abdel Kareem Azab - kareem.azab@wustl.edu Keywords - acute myeloid leukemia, T cell engagers, nanoparticles, 3D tissue culture model About Oncotarget Oncotarget is a bi-weekly, peer-reviewed, open access biomedical journal covering research on all aspects of oncology. To learn more about Oncotarget, please visit https://www.oncotarget.com or connect with: SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/oncotarget Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Oncotarget/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/oncotarget YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/OncotargetYouTube/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/oncotarget Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/oncotarget/ Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/user/Oncotarget/ Oncotarget is published by Impact Journals, LLC please visit https://www.ImpactJournals.com or connect with @ImpactJrnls Media Contact MEDIA@IMPACTJOURNALS.COM 18009220957