Japan finds an immune-activating vaccine against cancer

The team from Osaka Metropolitan University created a vaccine that helps activate cancer-fighting immune cells

The work was published in the scientific journal Journal of Controlled Release, November 3. Experts have created antigen carriers - using liposomes based on nano-sized lipid molecules - to deliver cancer antigens to dendritic cells. This cell functions as the control center of the immune system.

The team has created liposomes that activate immune cells, using only 10% of the amount of antigen needed previously. To enhance the effectiveness of these liposomes, immune cells need to be activated more efficiently. The team therefore focused on cationic lipids, which are thought to promote immune cell activity.

When the injectable liposomal vaccine was administered to mice that had been implanted with cancer cells, the scientists found that they developed a strong immune response, which reduced cancer growth.

"In the future, we will continue to develop antigen carriers that can be used in cancer immunotherapy, creating vaccines for infectious diseases by combining them with actual antigens." , said associate professor Eiji Yuba, Osaka Metropolitan University, lead author of the study.

If this technology is put into practice, it could expand the range of cancer subjects treated with immunotherapy.

Cancer cells are dividing. Photo: iStock

The use of immunotherapy for cancer treatment has received a lot of attention in recent times. In August, scientists successfully tested an immunotherapy drug called dostarlimab. The drug helped cure rectal cancer for 12 volunteers in a 6-month trial.

Dostarlimab does not work by directly attacking the cancerous tumor itself, but prompts the patient's immune system to do so.

Normally, T cells (immune cells) are responsible for finding and controlling foreign pathogens. They contain two types of proteins: one that helps trigger an immune response, the other that limits immunity. These are called checkpoint proteins.

Some cancer cells make high amounts of type two proteins. They inactivate T cells before the tumor disappears. In other words, cancer cells cause the patient's immune system to stagnate.

The drug dostarlimab blocks type two checkpoint proteins, which block the effect of cancer cells on the immune system. When the immune system is active again, the T cells can find and attack the cancer cells.