Biomedical Engineering
Rolling in the deep: Employing blood cells as drug carriers to target disseminating tumor cells
September 26, 2017
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. ET
Doherty Hall A302
Biomedical Engineering
September 26, 2017
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. ET
Doherty Hall A302
Metastasis contributes to over 90% of cancer-related deaths. Many types of cancer metastasize via the bloodstream, where circulating tumor cells (CTCs) originating from the primary tumor can undergo selectin-mediated adhesion with the blood vessel wall and subsequently transmigrate to anatomically distant organs. In an effort to neutralize CTCs with the potential to form metastases, a new therapeutic approach has been developed in which circulating leukocytes are functionalized with TRAIL protein to target and kill cancer cells in the bloodstream. The resulting ‘unnatural killer cells’, proven effective ex vivo with human blood samples and also in the living mouse, holds promise in neutralizing CTCs to interrupt the metastasis process. One can exploit the unique responses of cancer cells to physiological levels of fluid shear stress to identify optimal therapeutics for targeting CTCs in blood. A related approach functionalizes natural killer cells with therapeutic liposomes, which reside in the draining lymph nodes and block the formation of new metastases there. This platform technology of cellular drug delivery will be discussed, along with future directions in the effort to translate liposome-based TRAIL therapy to benefit human patients.
May 17 2024
8:00 AM ET
Carnegie Mellon University Africa
CMU-Africa's 11th Graduation Ceremony
Kigali Serena Hotel, KN 3 Ave Kigali, Rwanda
May 30 2024
5:30 PM - 7:00 PM ET
Mechanical Engineering
Faculty Conversation: Building and Leading Successful Innovation Teams
September 27 2024
12:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET
Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley
Converge: Silicon Valley Technical Recruiting Fair
Computer History Museum, 1401 N Shoreline Blvd, Mountain View, CA 94043