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NEW ROLE FOR IMMUNE SYSTEM PLAYER MAY HELP IMPROVE CANCER VACCINES



It is important to read what it says regarding the fact that the research is

based on a cancer vaccine, not treatment.  Of course, you may never hear of

the program again if father investigations do not lead to effective

treatments.



-- John 



John Jacobus, MS

Certified Health Physicist 

3050 Traymore Lane

Bowie, MD  20715-2024



E-mail:  jenday1@email.msn.com (H)      



-----Original Message-----

------------------------------



NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH



National Cancer Institute

<http://cancer.gov>



NIH NEWS RELEASE



EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE

Thursday, October 31, 2002

2:00 p.m. ET



Contact:

Jennifer Michalowski

NCI Press Office

(301) 496-6641



NEW ROLE FOR IMMUNE SYSTEM PLAYER MAY HELP IMPROVE CANCER

VACCINES



Researchers have discovered that a molecule best known for

its anti-microbial properties also has the ability to

activate key cells in the immune response.  This newly

discovered function, reported in the Nov. 1, 2002, issue of

"Science"*, suggests the molecule, a peptide called beta-

defensin 2, may be useful in the development of more

effective cancer vaccines.  Scientists have found that

beta-defensin 2 initiates a chain of events leading to the

growth and multiplication of T cells, components of the

immune system that recognize and kill foreign cells that

have invaded the body.



Defensins are known to be an important component of the

body's immediate response to infection.  beta-defensin 2

attacks and destroys a broad range of bacteria as part of

the innate immune system, the body's first line of defense

against such infections.  The new finding links beta-

defensin 2 to the second arm of the immune system, adaptive

immunity.  The adaptive immune response combats pathogens

that evade the body's initial defense mechanisms.  Unlike

innate immunity, the adaptive immune system develops

specifically in response to an infection, changing as

needed to ward off each invader.



"This link between the innate and adaptive immune systems

is important for our understanding of the body's ability to

detect infection," said Arya Biragyn, Ph.D., National

Cancer Institute (NCI) staff scientist and first author of

the study.  "beta-defensin 2 is likely to play an important

role in the immune system's ability to recognize protein

fragments from the body's own cells, including tumor

cells."



Working in both mice and laboratory cell cultures, Biragyn

and his colleagues found that beta-defensin 2 directly

activates immune cells known as dendritic cells.  Once

activated, dendritic cells interact with other components

of the immune system to stimulate the multiplication of a

subset of T cells that will recognize and destroy infected

cells.  Dendritic cells can also trigger attack of tumor

cells by the immune system.



"When we administered beta-defensin 2 to mice, we observed

a robust response among cells involved in anti-tumor

immunity," noted NCI's Larry W. Kwak, M.D., Ph.D., the

senior investigator on the study.  Researchers hope to take

advantage of this property by incorporating beta-defensin 2

into cancer vaccines.



Cancer vaccines are an investigational therapy designed to

program the body's own immune system to attack a tumor.

The vaccine does this by training T cells to recognize

cancerous cells.  Scientists hope that adding beta-defensin

2 to such vaccines will promote the growth and

multiplication of the tumor-destroying cells, improving

patient response to the therapy.



Similarly, researchers hope that beta-defensin 2 will also

be useful in improving AIDS vaccines in the future.



For more information on cancer, please visit NCI's Web site

at <http://www.cancer.gov>.



--------------------------



* Biragyn A, et al.  Toll-like receptor 4-dependent

activation of dendritic cells by beta-defensin 2.

"Science" 2002;298:1025-1029.



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