Japan – Researchers at Osaka University in Japan discovered that the antibiotic known as tetracycline helps the immune system find cancer cells in a way different from current immunotherapies.
These antibiotics stimulate immune cells, known as T lymphocytes, to attack and destroy cancer cells.
The lead author, Mary Toon, said: “We studied the effect of the antibiotic “tetracycline-minocycline” in the blood and tumor tissues of lung cancer patients. “We found that it enhances the anti-tumor activity of T lymphocytes by targeting galectin-1, the immunosuppressive protein produced by cancer cells.”
The research team found that the galectin-1 protein helps cancer cells hide from the immune system by preventing T lymphocytes from reaching the tumor.
After applying tetracycline treatment, Galectin-1 was no longer able to stop the attack of T lymphocytes. So, blocking galectin-1 may be the key to new cancer treatments.
“These antibiotics have a different mechanism of action than immune checkpoint inhibitors and other immunotherapies used to treat cancer,” says study co-author Kota Iwahori. “We hope that this research will lead to the development of new drugs that target different immune pathways and could benefit people with cancer, especially those who do not benefit from current immunotherapies.”
It is worth noting that the antibiotic “tetracycline” has been used to treat infectious diseases for many years around the world.
The study was published in the Journal of Cancer Immunotherapy.
Source: Medical Express
#Japanese #method #fight #cancer
2024-04-17 17:55:03