JERUSALEM, April 10 (Xinhua) -- An international team of researchers from Israel, the United States, and China has developed a genetic method to reprogram a type of immune cell, turning them from cancer promoters to inhibitors, Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science said in a statement on Thursday.
The team's study focused on macrophages, a type of immune cell that can induce immune responses. But in many cancers, macrophages become allies that protect the tumor, help it grow, and even aid in spreading it to other tissues.
Using advanced gene-editing tools and artificial intelligence, the researchers analyzed human tumor samples and identified 120 genes potentially responsible for the transformation. Through CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing and single-cell analysis, they zeroed in on a gene named Zeb2.
The researchers found that Zeb2 acts as a master switch. When the gene is active, it turns macrophages into cancer supporters. When silenced, macrophages revert to their natural, cancer-fighting role.
Further studies showed that Zeb2 alters the epigenome, the genome's control center, unlocking genes that help cancer and shutting down those that fight it.
The team designed a DNA molecule that delivers a gene-silencing agent directly into macrophages.
In mice with bladder cancer, injecting the molecule into the tumor successfully reprogrammed the macrophages. The tumors got significantly smaller.
