Research The Bayer Scientific Magazin, Edition 28
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- Bu səhifədəki naviqasiya:
- What is the goal of your collaboration with Bayer
- How do both Bayer and Compugen profit from the collaboration
- Zurit Levine
- How do you think immunotherapy in general and checkpoint blockade specifically will influence cancer therapy
- Greater quality of life for cancer patients during treatment
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use their TCRs to identify the tumor antigens on the surface of the cancer cells . But the tumor activates another T-cell receptor. This triggers an inhibitory signal for the T-cells: their reaction is blocked and they no longer attack the tumor. This is where immunotherapy intervenes. Specific antibodies are injected into the patient in order to block receptor acti- vation – and thus halt the negative signals to the T-cells. They can now successfully combat the tumor. 1 In tissue close to the melanoma ,
pick up tumor antigens and present them on their surface. These cells migrate via the lymph vessels to the
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In the
, the
dendritic cells present the tumor antigen to naive T-cells . These dock with their T-cell receptors (TCRs) to the tumor structure and are acti- vated. They travel via the lymph vessels to the
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Melanoma Dendritic cells Immunotherapy with specific antibodies Checkpoint blockade: raising the barrier to unleash the immune response
TCR
TCR naive T-cell Tumor cell activated T-cell Cover story MEDICINE Bayer research 28 July 2015 15
One of the work areas in the collaboration is focused on brain tumors. “Our group has already developed a first targeted immu- nization approach against a common feature of gliomas, which is now being tested in a clinical study,” explains Professor Michael Platten of the DFKZ. As leader of the Neuro- and Brain Tumor Immunology Group, he is confident that the general approach of immunotherapies will deliver numerous opportunities. “I expect immunotherapy to become firmly established in cancer treat- ment.” Unlike chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which are concluded after a given treatment cycle, immunotherapy can have a long-term effect: during treatment, the immune system learns how to fight off the cancerous cells under its own power in the long term. T-lymphocytes have the potential to repress the tumor, and memory cells can also be formed. “After success- ful treatment, a patient is protected, at least against recurrent malignancies: if cancer cells that have lain hidden in the body should resurface, the trained immune system can now hunt down and destroy them,” Aswad explains. Another advantage is that the tumors are less likely to de- velop resistance to the treatment, in contrast to chemotherapy drugs. “What’s more, cytostatic drugs do not distinguish between healthy and foreign tissue. These chemicals attack all cells that divide and multiply at a particularly rapid pace,” Kreft says. That includes tumor cells, but also hair follicles, the mucous mem- branes and the nail beds of the fingers and toes. This causes the familiar side effects: patients lose their hair, their sense of taste changes, their nails fall off. “In contrast, checkpoint inhibi- tors are much more targeted, but still act throughout the entire body,” Kreft continues. As a result, patients are often less affected by nausea, for example, and do not feel as exhausted as they do after radiation treatment. “The checkpoint blockade is not a wonder drug, however,” Aswad warns. Like virtually all medical treatments, it also poses certain risks. “The stimulated immune system can sometimes also turn on healthy tissue. Autoimmune responses of this kind can cause severe inflammation in the in- testines, liver or skin. Patients must therefore be monitored very closely and frequently,” Aswad says. Nevertheless, the Bayer researchers are convinced that there is a high chance that the benefits and the treatment potential of checkpoint inhibition will outweigh its risks. First therapies What is the goal of your collaboration with Bayer? Our goal is the development of antibody-based therapeutics for cancer immunotherapy based on two novel immune checkpoint regulators that we discovered at Compugen. These novel pro- teins are involved in immune regulation, and are expressed in the tumor microenvironment in various cancers on both tumor and infiltrating immune cells. Targeting these proteins with antibody therapeutics could overcome their suppressive effect within the tu- mor microenvironment and result in a robust anti-tumor immune response. How do both Bayer and Compugen profit from the collaboration? In this collaboration Bayer and Compugen are working together as a unified team on the development of therapeutics, through its broadly applicable predictive discovery capabilities. Both groups contribute their specific scientific knowledge in the field of im- mune checkpoint blockade and each company shares expertise and knowledge with the other. In the crowded field of immuno-oncolo- gy, many in the industry are focused on known immune checkpoint “ We target novel immune checkpoints” Zurit Levine targets. We, however, develop drugs targeting novel immune checkpoints to generate first-in-class therapeutics, which could increase response rates or extend the range of cancer indications treated, and provide a source for effective drug combinations.
The blockade of immune checkpoints unleashes the potential of the anti-tumor immune response in a fashion that is transforming cancer therapeutics. Checkpoint-blocking antibodies have lately demonstrated impressive clinical benefits and long-term survival, even for end-stage patients, raising hopes that this novel ap- proach might lead to effective therapeutic strategies and valuable additions in the fight against cancer. However, current therapies appear to address only a small percentage of patients. Therefore, the availability of monoclonal antibody drugs addressing addi- tional novel checkpoint targets could significantly broaden the applicability of this breakthrough approach – specifically in cancer indications where current immunotherapies are not efficacious. Dr. Zurit Levine is Vice President of Research and Discovery at Compugen Ltd. in Israel. research spoke to the scientist about the collaboration with Bayer and the future of cancer therapy. Greater quality of life for cancer patients during treatment MEDICINE Cover story 16 Bayer research 28 July 2015 Yüklə 11,94 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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