Selective haematological cancer eradication with preserved haematopoiesis. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38778101/)

These scientists wanted to find a better way to treat certain types of blood cancers, which are diseases that affect the blood cells in our bodies. The current treatment involves using strong medicines that can harm both the bad cancer cells and the healthy cells that we need to stay well.

The scientists came up with a new idea to create a special medicine that could target only the bad cancer cells, leaving the healthy cells alone. They made a medicine called an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that specifically targets a marker called CD45 found on all blood cells. This special medicine was designed to destroy all the bad cancer cells in the blood system, including the stem cells that can turn into cancer cells.

To make sure the healthy stem cells were protected, the scientists also engineered them to be shielded from the ADC medicine. By combining the ADC medicine with the engineered healthy stem cells, they were able to kill off the cancer cells while keeping the healthy blood cells safe.

This new approach could potentially be used to treat a wide range of blood cancers, not just one specific type. It's like finding a key that can unlock the door to getting rid of the bad cells while keeping the good cells healthy.

Garaude S., Marone R., Lepore R., Devaux A., Beerlage A., Seyres D., Dell' Aglio A., Juskevicius D., Zuin J., Burgold T., Wang S., Katta V., Manquen G., Li Y., Larrue C., Camus A., Durzynska I., Wellinger LC., Kirby I., Van Berkel PH., Kunz C., Tamburini J., Bertoni F., Widmer CC., Tsai SQ., Simonetta F., Urlinger S., Jeker LT. Selective haematological cancer eradication with preserved haematopoiesis. Nature. 2024 May 22. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07456-3.