Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Nanoparticles Could Boost Immunotherapy
Disease Discoveries

Nanoparticles Could Boost Immunotherapy

By Will DossAug 2, 2021
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
Dong-Hyun Kim, PhD, associate professor of Radiology in the Division of Basic and Translational Radiology Research and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, was senior author of the study published in ACS Nano.

Boosting function of natural killer cells with magnetic nanoparticles could make cancer immunotherapy more efficient, according to a Northwestern Medicine study published in ACS Nano.

This method could unlock the potential to use natural killer (NK) cells on a variety of solid tumors, according to Dong-Hyun Kim, PhD, associate professor of Radiology in the Division of Basic and Translational Radiology Research and senior author of the study.

“People have had trouble applying NK cells to solid tumors,” said Kim, who is also director of Biomaterials for Image Guided Medicine (BIGMed) laboratory and a member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. “If we can provide an easy path to modulate NK cells, perhaps this can become a useful therapy.”

Most cell-based immunotherapies target T-cells, part of the body’s adaptive immune system. However, these chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies come with a high price tag, long incubation period and strong side effects.

On the other hand, NK cells are part of the body’s innate immune system and quicker to respond to anything foreign. Many scientists have explored the possibility of NK cell immunotherapy, according to Kim, but that too has barriers.

“It’s pretty hard for these cells to penetrate inside the tumors which have thick barrier tissues,” Kim said.

Magnetically activated NK cells contacting cancer cells.

Methods to boost NK cell function using cytokines have largely fallen flat and are subject to some of the same problems as seen in CAR T-cell therapy — high cost and lengthy manufacturing time. However, Kim’s previous work with nanoparticles inspired a different approach.

Kim and his collaborators designed a magnetic nanocomplex that binds with NK cells and when activated with an alternating magnetic field, exerts force on the exterior of the cell, promoting secretion of cytotoxic compounds. Testing this nanocomplex in animal models of hepatocellular carcinoma, the investigators found that magnetic activation increased the cancer-killing ability of NK cells when injected into solid tumors.

Further, these nanoparticles are easily visualized on magnetic resonance imaging, allowing for precise monitoring of NK cell distribution during and after injection.

“This creates a stronger NK cell, and can hopefully enhance the efficacy of the treatment,” Kim said.

Taehoon Sim, PhD, postdoctoral fellow in the Kim laboratory, was lead author of the study.

This work was mainly supported by grants R01CA218659 and R01EB026207 from the National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. This work was also supported by the Center for Translational Imaging and the Mouse Histology and Phenotyping Laboratory at Northwestern University.

Cancer Nanotechnology Radiology Research
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Sex-Specific Mechanisms for Major Depressive Disorder Identified in Response to Dysregulated Stress Hormones

Mar 23, 2023

Pre-Surgery Immunotherapy May Increase Survival in Advanced Melanoma

Mar 23, 2023

Hormone Therapy Plus Current Treatments Improves Survival in Prostate Cancer

Mar 22, 2023

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Sex-Specific Mechanisms for Major Depressive Disorder Identified in Response to Dysregulated Stress Hormones

Mar 23, 2023

Pre-Surgery Immunotherapy May Increase Survival in Advanced Melanoma

Mar 23, 2023

Hormone Therapy Plus Current Treatments Improves Survival in Prostate Cancer

Mar 22, 2023

How ChatGPT Has, and Will Continue to, Transform Scientific Research

Mar 21, 2023

New Directions for HIV Treatment

Mar 21, 2023
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
20230317_NM651
20230317_NM610
20230317_NM569
20230317_NM537
20230317_NM331
20230317_NM323
20230317_NM316
20230317_NM336
20230317_NM626
20230317_NM662
20230317_NM655
20230317_NM642

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2023 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.