Professor Sebyung Kang and Professor Sung Ho Park of the Department of Biological Sciences at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Korea (UNIST) and the research team have successfully developed a "micro-drones mounted on killer cells" unprecedented, according to the scientific journal Science Alert.
In the body, the first line of defense is natural killer (NK) cells - a form of innate white blood cells, which are tools that help the body fight cancer.
This microscopic machine has the ability to target and selectively eliminate cancer cells, offering a potential solution for difficult-to-treat cancers.
Natural killer cells
In the body, the first line of defense is natural killer (NK) cells - a form of innate white blood cells, which are tools that help the body fight cancer.
These natural killer cells (killer cells for short) play an important role in the body's immune response in fighting cancer.
The research team took advantage of this by finding a way to design and manufacture "killer cell-embedded nano-drones", called killer drones (NKeND) for short. NKeND has two tasks: targeting cancer cells and activating killer cells.
The results showed that in vitro, NKeND activates killer cells so that they effectively kill cancer cells.
NKeND activates killer cells so that they effectively kill cancer cells
Additionally, tests on mice with tumors showed that NKeND activated killer cells, instructing them to effectively eliminate targeted cancer cells.
Notably, the results showed that infiltration of killer cells in this way significantly inhibited tumors in mice without causing any notable side effects, according to Science Alert.
This groundbreaking research offers enormous potential for the selective treatment of previously difficult-to-treat cancers.
Professor Kang Se-byung expressed excitement about the new research: The study offers new possibilities in immunotherapy through “killer cell delivery nano-drones”, overcoming challenges such as killer cell migration and survival.
