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Apr 5, 2017

Artificial thymus can produce cancer-fighting T cells from blood stem cells

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, life extension

The first step in producing an artificial thymus which has potential for cancer age related immune decline.


UCLA researchers have created a new system to produce human T cells, the white blood cells that fight against disease-causing intruders in the body. The system could be utilized to engineer T cells to find and attack cancer cells, which means it could be an important step toward generating a readily available supply of T cells for treating many different types of cancer.

The preclinical study, published in the journal Nature Methods, was led by senior authors Dr. Gay Crooks, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and of pediatrics and co-director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA, and Amelie Montel-Hagen, an associate project scientist in Crooks’ lab.

The thymus sits in the front of the heart and plays a central role in the immune system. It uses to make T cells, which help the body fight infections and have the ability to eliminate cancer cells. However, as people age or become ill, the thymus isn’t as efficient at making T cells.

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