Reprogramming of immune cells shown to fight off melanoma

Press release issued: 31 October 2022

A new way of reprogramming our immune cells to shrink or kill off cancer cells has been shown to work in the otherwise hard to treat and devastating skin cancer, melanoma. The University of Bristol-led discovery, published in Advanced Science today [31 October], demonstrates a new way to clear early stage pre-cancerous and even late-stage tumour cells.

Using miniature artificial capsules called protocells designed to deploy reprogramming cargoes that are taken up by inflammatory cells (white blood cells), the scientists show they were able to transform these cells into a state that makes them more effective at slowing down the growth and killing of melanoma cells. They showed that this was possible for both animal and human immune cells.

The study is the first to test the capacity of a protocell to deliver cargoes for reprogramming immune cells and offers a promising novel target for the development of cancer immunotherapies.

Read the full University of Bristol news item

Paper: 'Macrophage reprogramming with anti-miR223-loaded artificial protocells enhances in vivo cancer therapeutic potential' by Paul Martin and Stephen Mann et al. in Advanced Science [open access]