Researchers from the Anderson and Langer labs have developed a new way to supercharge T-cell response to cancer with an mRNA-based therapeutic vaccine adjuvant. Unlike most immunotherapies, which activate immune cells via external signals, this approach targets the cells’ internal machinery. In a Nature Biotechnology study of mouse models of various cancers, the adjuvant enabled the immune system to completely eradicate most tumors, alone or combined with tumor antigen. It also boosted the T-cell response to influenza and Covid-19 vaccines, suggesting the approach’s utility for viral infections as well.
This work was supported in part by the Marble Center for Cancer Nanomedicine