THE ESSENTIAL
- The RNA of the virus responsible for Covid-19 allows the development of immune cells capable of reducing the size of tumors.
- These cells, called “inducible non-classical monocytes (I-NCM)” can travel through blood vessels and infiltrate tumors to attack them.
- This discovery could make it possible to develop new treatments against cancer.
What if Covid-19 could cure? American researchers have discovered that an element of Sars-CoV-2, the virus responsible for Covid-19, had beneficial effects on cancer. This team from Northwestern Medicine Canning Thoracic Institute presents its findings in Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Covid-19: unique immune cells capable of fighting tumors
Scientists have observed that the RNA of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for Covid-19, leads to the development of a type of immune cell with anti-cancer properties. These cells, called “inducible non-classical monocytes (I-NCM)“, attack cancer cells and could potentially be exploited to treat cancers resistant to current therapies.
At the time of the pandemic, researchers found that a subset of immune cells could be stimulated in the body when the virus’s RNA activates certain signals in the immune system. “These signals cause common monocytes – an ordinary type of white blood cell – to transform into I-NCM, they explain. These newly formed cells have the ability to move into both blood vessels and surrounding tissues where tumors are growing, something most other immune cells cannot do.”
How do cells from SARS-CoV-2 manage to reduce tumors?
This dual capacity makes these immune cells so special. “Typically, immune cells called nonclassical monocytes patrol blood vessels, looking for threatsrecalls Dr Ankit Bharat, lead author. But they cannot penetrate the tumor site itself due to the lack of specific receptors.”
However, I-NCMs, created during a severe form of Covid-19, retain a unique receptor called CCR2, which allows them to travel beyond the blood vessels and infiltrate the tumor environment. “Once there, they release certain chemicals to recruit the body’s natural killer cells, explains the specialist. These killer cells then invade the tumor and begin to attack the cancer cells directly, helping to shrink the tumor in size.”
Cancer treatment: molecules capable of imitating the functions of SARS-CoV-2
In a trial on human tissue and animal models, American scientists found that these immune cells could be stimulated using small molecules. For them, this could offer a potential new treatment option for cancer patients.
“We specifically observed a response with melanoma, lung, breast and colon cancer in the study, develops Dr Ankit Bharat. Although this approach is still in its early stages and its effectiveness has only been studied in preclinical animal models, it provides hope that we could use this approach to help patients with advanced cancers who have not responded to d ‘other treatments.’
