(ANSA) – ROME, AUGUST 28 – Common table salt (NaCl), also known as sodium chloride, could boost cancer immunotherapies. According to data from new research published in the journal Nature Immunology, adding a specific amount of salt could have unexpected utility in the preparation of cell-based therapies against cancer, such as CAR-T or TCR, in which a patient’s lymphocytes are taken, modified so that they better recognize tumor cells and then infused back into the patient.
Conducted at the IRCCS Istituto Clinico Humanitas in Rozzano, the study shows that if salt is administered to cultured T lymphocytes before infusion into the patient, its therapeutic action can be increased.
The discovery was made by a group of researchers led by Enrico Lugli, head of the Laboratory of Translational Immunology and the Flow Cytometry Core.
The research has a high translational potential: if future clinical studies confirm the results obtained, salt could become an important ingredient, as well as accessible and economical, to add to the combination of cytokines and metabolites already in use in the preparation of cell therapies against cancer.
The group discovered that a single addition of salt to cells grown in the laboratory is able to reawaken the cells themselves, increasing their persistence and anti-tumor action. The experiments focused on the use of salt in the preparation phase of the T cells, before their infusion. The researchers have shown in particular that this preparatory treatment is able to prevent cell exhaustion (that is, it prevents the cells from losing the ability to carry out their action and stop proliferating) once transplanted.
Further studies have revealed that higher sodium levels in the blood are associated with a better response to cancer immunotherapy, including that with so-called checkpoint inhibitors. Although preliminary, the results suggest that it may increase the anti-tumor action of lymphocytes. (ANSA).
2024-08-28 12:00:13