Scientists from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (Unist), South Korea, have made a significant breakthrough in the treatment of cancer. They have created nanodrones that activate the body’s natural killer cells (NK) to destroy infected and sick cells, including cancer cells. This discovery paves the way for the development of targeted immunotherapy for hard-to-treat types of cancer.
For the past decade, researchers have been studying the use of NK cells in immunotherapy. The unique feature of these newly developed nanodrones is their ability to directly target cancer cells. To deliver NK cells to tumors, the scientists utilized nanoparticles made from protein extracted from the bacterium Aquifex aelicus.
In order to effectively target cancer cells, the surface of the nanodrones was attached with ligands that interact with the CD16 receptors of NK cells and the HER2/EGFR receptors of cancer cells. These ligands ensure selective binding with cancer cells and activation of NK cells.
The scientists conducted experiments using cellular lines of ovarian and breast cancer. They found that the nanodrones successfully associated with target cancer cells and activated NK cells. The cytotoxicity of the NK cells increased depending on the concentration of the nanodrones and the number of NK cells present.
In further studies on mice with tumors, the combination of the nanodrone Her2@nkend and peripheral mononuclear blood cells (PBMCS) significantly inhibited tumor growth. The researchers observed specific cell death in the tumors without any harm to other organs. They also noted that the presence and infiltration of NK cells in the tumors played a pivotal role in suppressing tumor growth.
The scientists stress that the effectiveness of tumor suppression depends on the presence and interaction of NK and T cells. They believe that this relationship could contribute to the effective suppression of tumor growth and plan to conduct further research to study these mechanisms.
The discovery of nanodrones targeted at cancer cells opens up new possibilities in the development of specific immunotherapeutic drugs for cancer treatment. The study detailing this breakthrough was published in the journal nanotoday.