What Are Induced pluripotent Cells (iSP)?
In short, induced pluripotent cells are produced from skin and blood cells which have been reprogrammed back into a point in a cell's life called the pluripotent embryonic state. This is the state in which cells can differentiate into any type of cell ( liver cell, stomach cells, etc.).
iPC and Dendritic Cells
Dendritic cells (DC) can trigger immature T-lymphocytes during an immune response, it has an important role in the rapid reproduction of the main component of immune system regulation. DCs capture antigens, that pierce through tissue, through phagocytosis (it engulfs the antigen). To summarize, they present the antigen and activate the T lymphocytes which go out and kill the disease.
Now you might be thinking, how come they don’t go after cancer? The proteins of tumor cells may be different from regular cells, but they are not viable enough to trigger a response in the immune system. DC’s have been made more sensitive towards tumors and this encourages T cells to activate, but it is not as strong as DCs generated from embryonic stem cells (ESC). Unfortunately, there is an ethical issue and the practice has difficulty in being pursued, However, this is where the scientist can use iPS cells instead of eSC. They will result specific to the person but will enhance the dendritic cells by it being able to limit cell growth, better apoptosis, and lessens colony formation. The downside is, it’s very costly. This has hindered scientist from performing trial studies. As of this research, it has been limited to certain cancers so it may not apply to every type of cancer.
iPS and T cells
The problem with T cells is: they die before they actually get any damage on cancer. So, we use induced pluripotent cells to make them much stronger. But then the next problem prevails, they need to make these T cells tumor-specific so it would only target the cancer. Scientist modify the iPS cells so, when they differentiate into T-cells, they can be cancer specific. Scientist Kawamoto has successfully created antigen specific T-cells by taking the iPS cells, reprogramming them, and differentiating the cells back into T-Cells. However, more trials must be done to be absolutely sure that they do not harm any other part of the body or create any problems. Scientist Kawamoto hopes that his research will help more scientist come closer to finding the perfect cure.
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