![Boosting T Cells’ Attack]()
Cell-membrane molecules called glycolipids help cells recognize one another and play an important part in launching immune responses. One class of glycolipids, called alpha-galactosylceramides, have been used as a drug to activate a portion of the immune system’s T cells and effectively treat cancers in laboratory mice, although so far this has been difficult to achieve in people with cancer. Steven Porcelli, M.D. and colleagues have found that simultaneously making two different chemical changes to the structure of alpha-galactosylceramides renders them more effective at stimulating T cells to attack cancers, especially in experiments that more accurately replicate cancer in humans. Their approach, described online on March 22 in Cell Chemical Biology, is a step toward improving current drugs and creating new immunotherapies for cancer. Dr. Porcelli is professor and chair of microbiology & immunology, professor of medicine and the Murray and Evelyn Weinstock Chair in Microbiology and Immunology at Einstein.
Posted on: Monday, April 16, 2018