Cancer ResearchActivating PPARD in immune cells turns a cancer-fueling protein into a tumor-fighting weapon
Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory found that a protein known to help cancer cells grow can be repurposed to help immune cells destroy tumors. The protein, PPARD, regulates how cells burn fat for energy. Cancer cells use it to fuel themselves, but when the team activated it in immune cells, those cells burned more fat and became better at attacking cancer. In mice with colorectal cancer, this shifted the tumor environment in favor of the immune response. The scientists then activated PPARD in engineered CAR T cells and tested them against colorectal cancer organoids, cultured human cancer cells, and tumors implanted in mice. The treated cells slowed or stopped tumor growth. The work, published in Nature Immunology, may eventually help patients whose cancers resist chemotherapy and current immunotherapies. It remains early-stage, preclinical research, and it has not been tested in people.
