A quick zap of electricity makes T cells more receptive to taking in new genetic material and gene-editing reagents, researchers report July 11 in Nature. The discovery could expedite protocols for creating immunotherapies to treat a range of cancers.
“What takes months or even a year may now take a couple weeks using this new technology,” Fred Ramsdell, vice president of research at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy in San Francisco, where one of the authors of the study is a member, tells The New York Times. “If you are a cancer patient, weeks versus months could make a huge difference.”
Traditionally, researchers genetically alter immune cells for immunotherapy treatments using disabled viruses. The viruses inject new genes into T cells, which, when infused into cancer patients, target tumors for destruction. But developing new viruses to edit the genetic material of T cells can take several years, and the ...
