PLGA-Rhodamine B from PolySciTech used in development of novel macrophage-training immunotherapy cancer treatment

Cancer cells apply a wide range of biochemical methods of avoiding detection and elimination by the human immune system. Immunotherapy is a process by which the existing human immune system is induced to seek out and destroy cancer cells and stands as one of the most promising therapeutic approaches today. Recently, researchers at Harvard University used fluorescent PLGA-Rhodamine (AV011) from PolySciTech (www.polyscitech.com) to develop traceable particle backpacks which adhere to macrophages (immune cells) and induce the immune cells to attack cancer cells. This research holds promise to provide for a new treatment option against cancer. Read more: Shields, C. Wyatt, Michael A. Evans, Lily Li-Wen Wang, Neil Baugh, Siddharth Iyer, Debra Wu, Zongmin Zhao et al. "Cellular backpacks for macrophage immunotherapy." Science Advances 6, no. 18 (2020): eaaz6579. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/18/eaaz6579?utm_source=yxnews&utm_medium=desktop&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fyandex.by%2Fnews



“Abstract: Adoptive cell transfers have emerged as a disruptive approach to treat disease in a manner that is more specific than using small-molecule drugs; however, unlike traditional drugs, cells are living entities that can alter their function in response to environmental cues. In the present study, we report an engineered particle referred to as a “backpack” that can robustly adhere to macrophage surfaces and regulate cellular phenotypes in vivo. Backpacks evade phagocytosis for several days and release cytokines to continuously guide the polarization of macrophages toward antitumor phenotypes. We demonstrate that these antitumor phenotypes are durable, even in the strongly immunosuppressive environment of a murine breast cancer model. Conserved phenotypes led to reduced metastatic burdens and slowed tumor growths compared with those of mice treated with an equal dose of macrophages with free cytokine. Overall, these studies highlight a new pathway to control and maintain phenotypes of adoptive cellular immunotherapies.”