UCSF researchers develop new platforms to enhance cancer immunotherapy

Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have developed new methods to enhance cancer immunotherapy, specifically targeting the challenges of treating solid tumors.

One study utilized a novel in vivo genome-wide CRISPR screening platform to study human T cells within living organisms. This approach allowed scientists to identify specific genetic edits that improve the ability of CAR-T cells to infiltrate and eliminate solid tumors. In mouse models, these edited T cells significantly outperformed standard CAR-T cells, successfully clearing tumors that were otherwise resistant.

In a separate development, UCSF researchers created a dendritic-cell platform designed to combine the benefits of off-the-shelf cell therapy with personalized treatment. By using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to grow dendritic cells and transferring membrane material from a patient’s specific tumor onto them, the team created a renewable source of immune cells. This method allows the cells to present a broad array of a patient’s unique tumor targets to T cells, which has shown success in suppressing tumor growth in humanized mice and activating T cells against leukemia and ovarian cancer samples.