China News Service, Hangzhou, March 8 (Zhang Bin, Tong Xiaoyu, Li Junyuan) On the 7th, Zhejiang University announced that scientific researchers were inspired by the principle of freeze-drying fruits and vegetables to find new treatments for tumors, which may effectively inhibit the development of malignant tumors after surgery. of recurrence.
Gu Zhen's scientific research team.
Photo courtesy of Ke Yineng
Recently, this result has been published in the internationally renowned journal "Nature Materials". It was jointly conducted by a team of researchers Gu Zhen and Li Hongjun, professors of Zhejiang University School of Pharmacy and Zhejiang University Jinhua Research Institute, and Zhao Peng, chief physician of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. and Chen Dong's team proposed for the first time in the world that they use freeze-drying technology to turn body tissue into active biological materials, and then load drugs to exert therapeutic effects.
It is understood that in recent years, cell drugs have been used as targeted therapy for tumors.
For example, by adding "probes" to immune T cells, chimeric antigen receptor T cells (also known as CAR T cells) that can accurately identify and eliminate tumor cells in a targeted manner have been synthesized and have been used in the clinical treatment of hematomas. Obtained significant curative effect.
However, how CAR T cells can function persistently and efficiently in solid tumor sites has always been a long-standing problem.
Scientists have tried to "build" various "bunkers" that can be loaded with CAR T cells near tumors for local sustained and controlled release, but they are often hindered by factors such as physical barriers and immunosuppressive environments, as well as the difficulty of building "bunkers". The immune rejection reactions faced by the materials affect the efficacy.
"We were thinking about whether we could use some body tissue in the body to load CAR T cells?" Gu Zhen said, "We first thought of the lymph nodes that often need to be dissected during tumor surgery. In this way, we can use local tissues to avoid Rejection problems caused by foreign carriers.”
He admitted that the new treatment was "inspired" by freeze-dried fruits and vegetables.
Freeze-drying is a common way to preserve fresh fruits and vegetables on the market. Through low-temperature and then vacuum processing, the water in the fruits and vegetables is directly sublimated from ice into water vapor, thereby achieving the effect of dehydration and preservation.
Freeze-drying technology can maintain the color, flavor and flavor of food and retain most of the nutrients in the food, making it popular among many consumers.
In the study, researchers will freeze-dry lymph nodes taken out from the body to effectively retain their porous structure and a large number of active ingredients, and use them as a medium to store and deliver anti-tumor cell drugs to achieve more effective and lasting treatment. .
"The tumor suppressive effect, the number of activated CAR T cells in the tumor, and the production of killing factors after treatment with freeze-dried lymph nodes loaded with CAR T cells are significantly better than those with the same dose of CAR T loaded on a gel carrier," said Li Hongjun.
Zhao Peng said: "Freeze-drying has the function of 'locking freshness', and the freeze-dried lymph nodes also retain abundant components such as cytokines, chemokines, and ligands, which play an important role in maintaining the activity and function of CAR T cells. "
Perhaps in the future, it will only take a few hours to complete the freeze-drying of lymph nodes and the loading of cell drugs. Even within the time of a surgical operation, the drug-loaded freeze-dried lymph nodes can be filled back into the cavity after tumor resection. The site, as a CAR T cell reservoir, continuously releases drugs to remove local residual micro-tumors and inhibit recurrence after surgery.
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