Your Body’s Cancer-Fighting Superheroes: Discovering the Power of ILC2s!
Hey, amazing students! Today, we’ve got some superhero news straight from the City of Hope researchers – our body has a secret weapon against cancer! Imagine immune cells as tiny warriors fighting off the bad guys, and now we’ve found a new type of warrior called ILC2s that can attack cancer cells. Let’s dive into the exciting details!
So, these ILC2s, or human type 2 innate lymphoid cells, are like the superheroes of our immune system. They were already known for handling allergies and other immune responses, but guess what? They can also take on cancer! The researchers discovered that these immune cells can be taken out of our bodies, multiplied, and then put back in to beat cancer in mouse models.
Professor Jianhua Yu and his team at City of Hope found out that ILC2s are like the Avengers for our body – they can defeat all kinds of cancers, from blood cancers to solid tumours. What’s even cooler is that these cells can be collected from healthy donors, like getting help from a superhero squad, instead of using the patient’s own cells.
In simpler terms, it’s like having a bunch of superhero cells ready to fight off cancer without needing to bother the patient’s own cells.
In the past, when scientists tested these cells in mice, they didn’t always show this amazing cancer-fighting power. But City of Hope researchers focused on human cells, and ta-da! They found out that our ILC2s work differently than mouse ILC2s. It’s like a superhero upgrade!
To test these superhero cells, they took a small sample of blood, grew the ILC2s in a special lab platform, and then injected them into mice with different cancers. The results were mind-blowing – these ILC2s could actually kill the cancer cells directly. It’s like they have a secret power we didn’t know about!
Now, here’s the really cool part – these superhero cells don’t have to come from the person with cancer. They can be collected from healthy people and then used to fight cancer in someone else. It’s like sharing superhero strength!
Professors Jianhua Yu and Michael Caligiuri have been researching another type of cancer fighter called NK cells for a long time. Now, with ILC2s, they’ve discovered a new member of the immune superhero family. They’re super excited to see how these different superhero cells can team up to fight not only cancer but also other diseases.
But wait, there’s more adventure ahead! The researchers still have lots of questions to answer about how ILC2s work against cancer. They’re even thinking about whether these superhero cells could fight viruses like COVID-19. How cool is that?
If you could interview an ILC2 immune cell, what questions would you ask? Think about the day-to-day life of this superhero cell, their training, and their experiences in battling cancer. How do they feel about being able to help not only the person they originated from but also others in need?
Interview with a Superhero Cell
The team is gearing up to take this superhero discovery to the next level – clinical trials. It’s like sending our superheroes into the real world to battle against cancer! And guess what? The City of Hope has some amazing facilities to make sure we have enough superhero cells for these trials.
So, in the future, we might have a whole team of superhero cells ready to fight off diseases and make our bodies even stronger. The adventure continues, and who knows what other secrets our immune system has in store for us? Stay curious, superheroes in the making!
