'The Trojan horse' is a strategy that stealthily infiltrates behind enemy lines to bring down the enemy from within. Domestic researchers have discovered an innovative method for treating cancer by using the Trojan horse strategy to build an 'antibody factory' inside tumors.
Professor Kim Won-jong and his research team at Pohang University of Science and Technology POSTECH announced on the 4th that they have developed a NANO particle platform called 'CAPRN (Controlled Antibody Production and Releasing Nanoparticle)' that directly produces and releases antibodies inside tumors. The research results were published online on Jan. 2 in the international journal 'Advanced Materials.'
'Immune checkpoints' are proteins that help T cells, a type of immune cell, distinguish between normal cells and cancer cells. However, cancer cells can exploit this to evade attacks from T cells. Therefore, it is necessary to block the defense mechanisms of cancer cells and induce T cells to effectively attack cancer cells, which is precisely what 'immune checkpoint inhibition therapy' aims to achieve. This treatment method has shown effectiveness in various cancers, including melanoma and lung cancer, but some cancers have issues where T cells cannot infiltrate tumors or the surrounding environment suppresses immune cells, limiting the therapeutic effect.
To overcome this, the research team developed the CAPRN particle, which delivers genes capable of generating antibodies to tumor cells, enabling them to produce antibodies autonomously. CAPRN is designed to activate in the mildly acidic environment where tumors are located. As a result, it transforms the tumor itself into an 'antibody factory' that promotes immune response, initiating the fight against cancer cells from within the tumor.
Additionally, CAPRN contains a photosensitizer that generates reactive oxygen species in response to specific wavelengths of light, leading to the destruction of tumor cells. In this process, antibodies accumulated inside tumor cells are released, and these antibodies stimulate surrounding T cells, further enhancing the immune response. This dual mechanism of antibody production and release, along with tumor elimination via reactive oxygen species, explosively amplifies the immune response and maximizes the therapeutic effect.
Animal experiments showed that CAPRN demonstrated a strong tumor-suppressing effect in malignant melanoma models, including both primary and bilateral tumor models. Notably, it displayed significantly higher anti-cancer effectiveness compared to traditional external antibody injection methods, proving the potential to present a new paradigm in cancer treatment.
Professor Kim Won-jong, who led the study, noted, "The method of selectively producing and releasing antibodies with high efficiency within tumor cells that are more active than normal cells is very innovative," expressing expectations that the research team's CAPRN, which combines gene and antibody therapies, will bring about a revolutionary change in cancer treatment paradigms.
Reference material
Advanced Materials (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202417735