Special Delivery
Researchers are designing treatments that train our own cells to make us better at fighting disease. The large blue cell is an immune cell responsible for telling other immune cells what they should look for. The tan discs on the surface of the cell are a new type of therapy that can provide these cells with the information they need to train the immune system to find and fight cancer.
DownloadSpecial Delivery
Researchers are designing treatments that train our own cells to make us better at fighting disease. The large blue cell is an immune cell responsible for telling other immune cells what they should look for. The tan discs on the surface of the cell are a new type of therapy that can provide these cells with the information they need to train the immune system to find and fight cancer.
What am I looking at?
The large blue cell is a dendritic cell (1) in culture. The tan discs on the dendritic cell surface (2) are a nano-vaccine delivery system composed of porous silicon loaded with immune-stimulating molecules and tumor antigens.
Biology in the Background
Dendritic cells are a key part of our immune system. They present antigens to other cells in the immune system, signaling the presence of a pathogen and conveying the ability to recognize it. T cells then carry this process forward. Once they encounter an antigen, they can activate different immune responses that identify and destroy the pathogens, including cancer cells.
The new nano-vaccine delivery system featured in this image presents dendritic cells with antigens uniquely present in cancer cells, essentially training the immune system to find and fight the cancer cells. This system also contains immune-stimulating molecules that help activate the dendritic cells to ensure that they present the antigens contained within. The goal is the ability to produce a strong immune response against the target cancer cells without targeting other healthy cells in the body.
In humans, dendritic cells can grow up to 15 micrometers across, or roughly five times smaller than the width of a human hair.
Technique
This image was created using scanning electron microscopy.
Brenda Melendez and Rita Serda, National Cancer Institute