{"id":17550,"date":"2023-05-02T17:59:24","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T17:59:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interhospi.com\/?p=17550"},"modified":"2023-05-05T06:57:58","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T06:57:58","slug":"sound-waves-trigger-immune-responses-to-cancer-in-mice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interhospi.com\/sound-waves-trigger-immune-responses-to-cancer-in-mice\/","title":{"rendered":"Sound waves trigger immune responses to cancer in mice"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sound waves trigger immune responses to cancer in mice<\/h1>\/ in Featured Articles<\/a> <\/span><\/span><\/header>\n<\/div><\/section>
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Technique pioneered at the University of Michigan could improve outcomes for cancer and neurological conditions<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Jim Lynch, College of Engineering, University of Michigan<\/em><\/p>\n

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When non-invasive sound waves break apart tumours, they trigger an immune response in mice. By breaking down the cell wall \u201ccloak\u201d, the treatment exposes cancer cell markers that had previously been hidden from the body\u2019s defences, researchers at the University of Michigan have shown. The technique developed at Michigan, known as histotripsy, offers a two-prong approach to attacking cancers: the physical destruction of tumours via sound waves and the kickstarting of the body\u2019s immune response. It could potentially offer medical professionals a treatment option for patients without the harmful side effects of radiation and chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

Until now, researchers didn\u2019t understand how histotripsy was activating the immune system. A study [1] from last spring showed that histotripsy breaks down liver tumours in rats, leading to the complete disappearance of the tumour even when sound waves are applied to only 50% to 75% of the mass. The immune response also prevented further spread, with no evidence of recurrence or metastases in more than 80% of the animals.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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The 700kHz, 260-element histotripsy ultrasound array transducer used in Prof. Xu\u2019s lab. Image credit: Marcin Szczepanski\/Lead Multimedia Storyteller, Michigan Engineering Credit: Marcin Szczepanski\/Lead Multimedia Storyteller, Michigan Engineering<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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The 700kHz, 260-element histotripsy ultrasound array transducer used in Prof. Xu\u2019s lab. Image credit: Marcin Szczepanski\/Lead Multimedia Storyteller, Michigan Engineering Credit: Marcin Szczepanski\/Lead Multimedia Storyteller, Michigan Engineering<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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We found that histotripsy somehow not only kills cancer cells, but causes them to undergo a unique pathway of cell death that draws the attention of the immune system. — Clifford Cho<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/section>
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\u201cWe found that histotripsy somehow not only kills cancer cells, but causes them to undergo a unique pathway of cell death that draws the attention of the immune system,\u201d said Clifford Cho, the C. Gardner Child Professor of Surgery and vice chair of surgery, whose lab designed immune study protocols and measured immune responses for the study published this month in Frontiers in Immunology.<\/p>\n

The key turned out to be tumour antigens \u2013 proteins only found in cancer cells and hidden behind their cell walls. When cells die by chemotherapy or radiation, these antigens are destroyed in the process. In contrast, sound waves kill the cancer cells by breaking their cell walls, releasing tumour antigens that then trigger the body\u2019s defence systems.<\/p>\n

The immune response occurred throughout the body, not simply in the area where the histotripsy was applied. \u201cWith histotripsy, we\u2019re not destroying the antigens, we\u2019re releasing them while killing the tumour cells,\u201d said Zhen Xu, U-M professor of biomedical engineering and an inventor of the histotripsy approach. \u201cOnce they\u2019re no longer hidden, the body can see them and attack them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team was able to discover the mechanism due to the way mice in cancer studies are typically given genetically identical tumours. After breaking up a tumour in one mouse using histotripsy, the team extracted some of that material, homogenized it and injected it into another mouse. Both mice developed immune protection from that cancer. \u201cInjecting the debris into a second mouse had almost a vaccine-like property,\u201d Xu said. \u201cMice that received this debris were surprisingly resistant to the growth of cancers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 2001, Xu\u2019s laboratory at the University of Michigan has pioneered the use of histotripsy in the fight against cancer, leading to the multi-centre clinical trial #HOPE4LIVER [2] sponsored by HistoSonics, a U-M spinoff company. More recently, the group\u2019s research has produced promising results on histotripsy treatment of brain cancer therapy and immunotherapy.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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Zhen Xu,Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan works in her office. Credit: Marcin Szczepanski\/Lead Multimedia Storyteller, Michigan Engineering<\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Zhen Xu,Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan works in her office. <\/em>
\nCredit: Marcin Szczepanski\/Lead Multimedia Storyteller, Michigan Engineering<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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References<\/em><\/strong>
\n1. Worlikar T, Zhang M, Ganguly A, et. al. Impact of Histotripsy on Development of Intrahepatic Metastases in a Rodent Liver Tumor Model. Cancers. 2022; 14(7):1612. <\/em>doi: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/cancers14071612<\/a> <\/em>
\n2. https:\/\/clinicaltrials.gov\/ct2\/show\/NCT04573881<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
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