CRISPR makes prostate cancer vulnerable to immunotherapy
Scientists have developed a CRISPR-based tool that modifies RNA in prostate cancer cells to make them more visible to the immune system. This approach aims to overcome the resistance of 'immune cold' tumors to standard immunotherapy treatments.
Why it matters
This technology could significantly improve the efficacy of cancer treatments for patients with prostate and other difficult-to-treat tumor types.
Prostate cancer is notoriously difficult to treat with immunotherapy, a type of cancer treatment that helps the immune system identify and destroy tumors. Now, researchers have developed an experimental RNA targeting technology that may make prostate tumors far more vulnerable to an immune attack.
Most prostate tumors are considered "immune cold" because they attract very few T cells (a type of immune cell). Without enough T cells entering the tumor, immunotherapy has little chance of working. In laboratory studies, scientists used a CRISPR-based tool to change RNA inside prostate cancer cells, effectively making the tumors more visible and attractive to cancer-fighting immune cells.
The findings, published in Nature Biomedical Engineering , showed that the technology improved the response of prostate tumors to immune checkpoint therapy in mice. More immune cells entered the tumors, where they attacked and destroyed cancer cells.
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