Major
Psychology
Anticipated Graduation Year
2023
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
Current treatments for cancer have been successful in decreasing the size of the tumors and prolonging life, but often do not result in long-term remission. A promising new type of therapy uses a patient’s blood or tumor tissue to help their immune system fight cancer. Chimeric antigen receptors provide antigen-binding and T-cell activating functions which strengthen the immune system and selectively target the patient’s tumor. New research has investigated the use of CAR-T cell-derived exosomes in the treatment of cancer in the hope of more effective oncolytic properties and lasting remissions. The specific hypothesis of the current project is that CAR-T exosomes transfer RNA to cancer cells.
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Will Zhang, PHD Candidate, Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics; Dr. W. Keith Jones, Research Mentor, Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Supported By
Dr. Michael Nishimura, Loyola University Chicago Cancer Center; Gina Scurti, Lab tech, Loyola University Chicago Cancer Center
Streaming Media
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Frankie Diaz
Current treatments for cancer have been successful in decreasing the size of the tumors and prolonging life, but often do not result in long-term remission. A promising new type of therapy uses a patient’s blood or tumor tissue to help their immune system fight cancer. Chimeric antigen receptors provide antigen-binding and T-cell activating functions which strengthen the immune system and selectively target the patient’s tumor. New research has investigated the use of CAR-T cell-derived exosomes in the treatment of cancer in the hope of more effective oncolytic properties and lasting remissions. The specific hypothesis of the current project is that CAR-T exosomes transfer RNA to cancer cells.