The Curious Clinicians 108 - Alpha-gal Again
Apr 23, 2025
Insights on alpha-gal are revisited with exciting potential for cancer treatment. The hosts delve into how tick-induced meat allergies relate to xenotransplant barriers and allergic responses. They explore engineering a virus to provoke immune responses against tumors using alpha-gal. With promising results from a small human trial, they discuss tumor types targeted and the unique immune responses observed. Concerns remain, but the idea of using alpha-gal to drive tumor rejection sparks intriguing possibilities for future therapies.
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Alpha-Gal's Unexpected Therapeutic Potential
- Alpha-gal, a sugar from tick saliva, can sensitize humans and cause red meat allergy after tick bites.
- Researchers are exploring alpha-gal beyond allergy, including possible cancer therapy applications.
Cetuximab Allergy Cluster Example
- Cetuximab contains alpha-gal and caused geographic clusters of allergic reactions in the U.S. Southeast.
- Those reactions likely reflected prior tick sensitization in that region.
Make Tumors Look Non‑Human
- The strategy is to make tumors look non-human by delivering alpha-gal so the immune system rejects them.
- Investigators combined oncolytic viruses with pig alpha-gal genes to mark tumors as foreign.
