VIB-KU Leuven researchers find cancer cells use nutrient to evade immune attack
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
Researchers from VIB-KU Leuven have discovered that metastatic cancer cells in the liver exploit a specific nutrient to reprogram immune cells, weakening the body's natural defense. In experimental models, blocking this process reactivated the immune cells' cancer-killing activity and slowed the growth of liver metastases. The findings offer new insights into how tumors evade the immune system in the liver environment.
Mechanism of Immune Evasion
The study, led by the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, focused on how liver metastases interact with their microenvironment. Researchers found that cancer cells commandeer a naturally occurring nutrient in the liver, altering the function of immune cells that normally recognize and destroy tumors. Sarah-Maria Fendt, a researcher at the center, emphasized that understanding this nutrient-based hijacking is key to making tumors vulnerable again. The liver's unique biochemical landscape provides a sanctuary for cancer cells, enabling them to thrive and spread.
Experimental Models and Therapeutic Potential
In lab-based models, scientists successfully interrupted the mechanism, reactivating immune cells and significantly slowing the growth of liver metastases. This suggests that targeting the nutrient pathway could become a new strategy for treating cancers that have spread to the liver. Fendt noted that while the results are promising, translating them into patient therapies requires extensive further research. The liver's role as a common site for metastasis from various cancers makes this discovery particularly relevant, as liver metastases remain difficult to treat with current options.
What's Next
The research team plans to further investigate how to effectively target this mechanism in clinical settings. It remains unclear when such treatments might become available to patients, as the pathway from discovery to therapy is complex and lengthy.
1 source
VIB-KU Leuven researchers find cancer cells use nutrient to evade immune attack
