Professor Sebyung Kang and Professor Sung Ho Park from the Department of Biological Sciences at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea (UNIST) and their research team have successfully developed an unprecedented "micro-drone with killer cells", according to Science Alert magazine.
In the body, the first line of defense is natural killer (NK) cells - a type of innate white blood cell that is the body's tool to fight cancer.
This tiny machine has the ability to selectively target and eliminate cancer cells, offering a potential solution to difficult-to-treat cancers.
Natural killer cells
In the body, the first line of defense is natural killer (NK) cells - a type of innate white blood cell that is the body's tool to fight cancer.
These natural killer cells (referred to as killer cells) play an important role in the body's immune response to fight cancer.
The team took advantage of this by designing and building “killer cell-attached nanodrones,” or killer drones (NKeNDs). NKeNDs have two jobs: targeting cancer cells and activating killer cells.
Results showed that in vitro, NKeND activated killer cells so that they effectively destroyed cancer cells.
NKeND activates killer cells so they can effectively destroy cancer cells
Additionally, tests in mice with tumors showed that NKeND activated killer cells, instructing them to effectively eliminate target cancer cells.
Remarkably, the results showed that the infiltration of killer cells in this way significantly inhibited tumors in mice without causing any noticeable side effects, according to Science Alert.
This groundbreaking research holds huge potential for selectively treating previously difficult-to-treat cancers.
Professor Kang Se-byung expressed excitement about the new research: The research offers new possibilities for immunotherapy through "nano-drones delivering killer cells", overcoming challenges such as the migration and survival of killer cells.
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