Blocking METRNL to Boost Immunotherapy Effectiveness in Cancer Treatment
Cancer Research Institute (CRI) shared on LinkedIn:
“According to researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine, including CRI Scientific Advisory Council member Dr. Drew Pardoll, a protein known as Meteorin-like (METRNL) in the tumor microenvironment drains energy from T cells, significantly limiting their ability to fight cancer.
Blocking the effects of METRNL signaling on tumor-infiltrating T cells may allow these immune cells to regain the energy necessary to eliminate tumors, investigators suggest. ‘We think that one of the reasons that some current immunotherapies fail is they require more energy from immune cells that already are functioning at decreased capacity,’ says lead study author Dr. Christopher Jackson.
‘Blocking the pathway may allow these immunotherapies that maybe have not been effective in the past to be more effective because there will be enough fuel for the T cells to meet that increased demand.’ More.”