Cancer Cells Under an Electron Scan (License: Creative commons]:
Pixabay photos The fact that viruses have been recently explored for their other benefits is not something new in the wold of science. Engineering viruses, taking away their virulent strain(what makes them infectious) and using them to prevent the disease they cause from affecting us(creation of vaccines) has been an existent form of treatment for ages.
INDUCING AN IMMUNE RESPONSE.
Lets examine a case of a person robbed at home. After the incident, such individual would ensure that he or she is well protected from then. Either by higher security personnels or perhaps security dogs for protection Incase of a second attack.
The same happens when an infection occurs. The cells that fight the infection also has the ability to store information on how to fight the infection in case of a reoccurrence (memory cells).
Inducing an immune response through taking vaccines(inactivated form of a virus) would help to prevent infection from that particular virus by providing the individual immunity.
A LOVE- HATE RELATIONSHIP.
This reminds me of a song I hate you, I love you by Gnash and Olivia 'O' Brien. Just as the song describes a state of confusion of the human heart not being to completely hate an individual you once cared about or loved, same thing happens to the body in cancer.
Under normal conditions, when infections occur. The immune system is programmed in such a beautiful basis of hate and love. They love our cells and hate the invaders.
So when infections occur, the first line of defense is to send signals and release cells(fighters) that would destroy these invaders.
That is under normal conditions. Nothing about cancer is normal.
The rate of cell division is accelerated and other normal control systems are interrupted such as programmed cell death, rate of growth and division.
Cancer as a disease arises from our own cells. Our immune system is supposed to love our cells and hate the invader causing the disease, but in this situation the invader is our own cells.
Intriguing. How do we fight of invaders that belong to our kingdom!!! (that was supposed to be funny).
The body's immune system is set into a confused state, trying to decide if to fight off these invaders that used to be part of us or if to love them as they are supposed to.
Sometimes they fight of and some times they help. The invaders(cancer) develop a way to avoid whatever action the fighters(immune system) want to use to protect themselves(bribe the fighters) and it becomes more difficult for the immune system to properly protect the body.
The fact that the immune system is confused doesn't mean it doesn't respond to this threat.
THE KILLER CELLS AND MACROPHAGES FORMED A GREAT DEFENSE LINE.
They formed a very strong cytotoxic response to the cancerous cells by phagocysing them. But the cancer cells found ways to evade this attack.
Secretion of inhibitory cytokinnes like TGF Beta, expression of death ligands against the Tcells, and secretion of chemokinnes.
Cancer cells also evade the action of macrophages by secreting CD47 a transmembrane protein found on the surface of macrophages from engulfing them.
How Immunotherapy Was Born.
Tcell Immunotherapy (License: CCO-BY-SA 3.0]:
Wikkipedia commons Coley's Toxins
Doctor Coley had a patient diagnosed with cancer. When this patient contacted a serious bacterial infection and tarted to make a remarkably recovery Coley thought..... If a bacterial infection stimulated the immune system to begin to fight cancer cells and also bacteria cells why don't we intentionally create an infection. Immunotherapy.
Today, this therapy is widely used to treat various cancers.
An Enemy Becomes A Friend:
Glioblastomas (brain cancer) Being Treated By The Genetic Engineering Of Poliovirus.
Oh Yes !!!
The poliovirus is definitely an enemy of the immune system.
It enters through the mouth, then moves to the gastrointestinal tract, throat, bloodsteam and finally the central nervous system where it affects the motor neurons, and destroys the nerve cells leading to paralysis and ultimately death.
The Glioblastomas(tumor) arises form the astrocytes found in the brain. These astrocytes support the nerve cells of the brain and are connected to so many blood vessels for their fast growth and reproduction which makes tumor in this areas malignant.
The rapid growth of the tumor puts pressure on the certain parts of the brain causing symptoms like:
- Headache
- Nausea
- Drowisness
- Vomiting
- Memory loss and so on.
The ability of the polio virus to invade the nervous cells just like the Glioblastomas is what makes it a good choice for immuno-therpay treatment of this cancer type.
The polio virus cannot just be used like that. I mean we are not trying to make a cancer patient suffer from poliomyelitis to.
The virus is genetically modified by swapping out one of the polio genes for another gene found in the rhino virus(causative organism of common cold). This modification is to ensure that the polio virus does not create symptoms associated with poliomyelitis.
Now the Modified virus targets the CD155 receptor found in the motor nerves in spinal cord. When it invades the cancer cells it stimulates the immune system to launch an attack on the cancer cells. The virus retains cytotoxicity in neoplastic cells leading to
- Lysing tumor cells to release a mix of tumor and viral anitgens.
- Sublethally infecting antigen presenting cells, and stimulating an interferon driven immune system in response to the tumor. It affects the tumor cells in such a way that it produces T cells that can infiltrate and destroy the tumor.
Final Thoughts
immunotherapy methods may differ for cancer cells. Some cancer cells develop ways of evading the action of Tcells. For such the anti-CD47 antibodies might work to allow macrophages do their job.
Clinical trials are still being carried out Immunotherapy./sub>
References
- https://corporate.dukehealth.org/news-listing/poliovirus-therapy-induces-immune-responses-against-cancer
- https://amhistory.si.edu/polio/virusvaccine/how.htm
- https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/cell-division-and-cancer-14046590
- https://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/bio2.0/engineering_viruses_is_hard_let8217s
- https://www.curetoday.com/articles/fda-accelerates-development-of-polio-virus-treatment-for-brain-cancer/