A starter cell that keeps making fresh cancer-fighters

Cell therapies for cancer often run into a simple supply problem: the mature immune cells used as treatments are hard to grow in large numbers and wear out quickly in the body. A team at the University of Southern California tried starting one step earlier, with immature cells called granulocyte-monocyte progenitors — starter cells that normally grow into macrophages, the immune system's 'big eater' defenders. Using a carefully defined mix of chemicals, the researchers kept these starters dividing in the lab for long periods without losing their identity, then equipped them with a CAR receptor, a molecular tag-reader that points immune cells at cancer, plus a signal that rallies neighbouring immune cells. In mice, the engineered starters settled in the bone marrow, kept producing fresh defenders, and slowed both blood cancers and solid tumours; a Stanford team independently reproduced the method, and in a separate mouse test the cells restored the ability to fight bacterial infection. The work, published in the journal Cell, is still preclinical — whether it is safe and effective in people remains to be tested.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation