AI creates cancer-fighting proteins that can "navigate like Google Maps" to tumors

Using a trio of different AI tools, the researchers created tens of thousands of artificial proteins, then selected the best one that was able to bind tightly to melanoma cells.

Scientists have used artificial intelligence (AI) to design proteins that can guide immune cells to destroy skin cancer.

This is seen as a "GPS navigation" system at the molecular level, helping T cells easily identify and precisely attack melanoma cancer cells, similar to how Google Maps gives directions to a new location.

A new study published in Science on July 24th was conducted by scientists at the Technical University of Denmark. By applying a trio of different AI tools, the researchers created tens of thousands of artificial proteins and then selected the optimal protein capable of binding tightly to melanoma cells.

When this protein was introduced into T cells, the immune cells quickly detected and destroyed cancer cells and prevented tumor growth in the laboratory.

These proteins were designed using a technique similar to the protein structure prediction technology that won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The key feature of this method is that protein design takes only one to two days, and actual testing takes place within a few weeks, much faster than current techniques which often take months.

According to Timothy Jenkins, head of the research team at the Technical University of Denmark, the long-term goal of the project is to create effective immunotherapy treatments that can even be customized for individual cancer patients.

He emphasized that this was preliminary research, a "proof-of-concept" study, but it held promise for opening up a new approach in cancer treatment.

Stanley Riddell, an immunotherapy expert at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center (Seattle, USA), commented that this discovery is "a remarkable step forward," showing the potential for applying AI to medicine to create entirely new treatments not only for cancer but also for many other diseases.

Although the results are currently in the initial testing phase and will require many years of animal testing as well as clinical trials on humans, this research is expected to become a valuable tool in the future cancer treatment "toolbox".

(VNA/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/ai-tao-protein-tri-ung-thu-biet-dinh-vi-nhu-google-maps-toi-khoi-u-post1052201.vnp