斯蒂芬·马修斯2017年9月20日
新的研究表明，供应氧气饿癌细胞可以帮助杀死致命的肿瘤。这一简单的技术灵感来自登山者的海拔训练，强化免疫系统来寻找和破坏肿瘤。
以色列科学家表示，新的免疫疗法促进T细胞，具有杀死有害细胞的专门作用的白细胞。让细胞丧失氧气，使肿瘤萎缩，比传统的免疫疗法更有效。
该研究的主要作者、魏茨曼科学研究所的盖伊·谢克哈尔教授说，T细胞是癌症免疫治疗的重要组成部分，它们攻击和破坏癌细胞，但并不总是设法消除恶性肿瘤。我们已经证明，通过在缺氧环境中培育这些T细胞，可以把它们变成更有效的杀手。就像高空训练提高了人类的耐力，通过健康养生法将T细胞杀死，显然能增强他们的耐力。
免疫疗法的好处
利用免疫系统对抗恶性肿瘤，即免疫疗法，在过去的几年里已经开始拯救癌症患者的生命。这种方法主要是从病人的血液中拿出T细胞，改良为能破坏癌细胞的，再送回去。
迄今为止，这种方法对某些白血病和淋巴瘤效果最好，但对实体肿瘤却没有效果。发表在《细胞报告》上的《氧饥饿的新研究》是第一个对实体肿瘤产生影响的研究。研究小组称，这也是有史以来第一个关于缺氧细胞抗癌能力的报告。
这项研究是如何进行的?
在对老鼠进行的实验室试验中，科学家们在一个只有1%氧气浓度的孵化器中培育出T细胞。海拔训练教运动员如何处理低至6.9%的氧气浓度，这是登山者在珠穆朗玛峰顶端的感觉。一组小鼠注射了缺氧T细胞。另一种是在正常条件下生长的T细胞。
他们发现了什么?
结果显示，缺氧T细胞在对抗癌症方面更有效。用这些细胞治疗的老鼠活得更久，与用普通T细胞治疗的老鼠相比，它们的肿瘤缩小得更明显。这并不是因为缺氧的T细胞更能穿透肿瘤，而是因为它们有更高水平的一种叫做颗粒酶B的破坏性酶，它能穿透并杀死癌细胞。如果这些发现在人体试验中重复，它们可能会直接导致对实体肿瘤的免疫治疗。
氧气的好处
今年5月，每日邮报网站报道了一名28岁的妇女，用天然氧气疗法治疗她的第四阶段癌症。今年10月，萨布里娜·高尔没有办法治疗她的口腔鳞状细胞癌。她选择了一种有争议的方法来反对她的医生的建议:氧气疗法，效果很好。长期以来，这种疗法一直被用于治疗潜水员减压病。一个人坐在房间里，三倍正常气压和纯氧被泵入。肺能够吸收更多的氧气，从而更快地通过血液输送到身体的各个部位。研究表明，这种疗法与修复受损细胞和器官的功能有关。
【原文网址】http://www./health/article-4902000/Starving-cancer-cells-oxygen-destroy-tumours.html
Starving cancer cells of oxygen could destroy tumours: Techniqueinspired by altitude training ''toughens up'' the immune systemIsraeli scientists showed the new immunotherapy treatmentbolstered T cells These white blood cells have the specialised job ofdestroying cancerous cellsDepriving the T cells of their oxygen shrunk tumours morethan other methods
By StephenMatthews For Mailonline
PUBLISHED: 16:42BST, 20 September2017 | UPDATED: 18:30BST, 20 September 2017
Starving cancer cellsof their oxygen supply could help them kill deadly tumours, newresearch suggests.
Thesimple technique, inspired by mountain climbers'' altitude training,''toughens up'' the immune system to seek and destroy tumours.
Israeli scientists showed the new immunotherapy treatment bolsteredT cells - white blood cells with the specialised role of killingharmful cells.
Depriving the cells of oxygen shrunk tumours more effectively thanconventional immunotherapy methods.
Lead author Professor Guy Shakhar, from the Weizmann Institute ofScience, said: ''Killer T cells are the foot soldiers of cancerimmunotherapy.
''They are the ones to target and destroy cancerous cells, but theydon’t always manage to eliminate the malignancy.
''We’ve shown that by growing these T cells in an oxygen-poorenvironment, we can turn them into more effective killers.''
Headded: ''Just as altitude training increases endurance in humans,putting killer T cells through a ''fitness regimen’ apparentlytoughens them up.''
The benefits ofimmunotherapy
Harnessing the immune system to battle malignancy – known asimmunotherapy – has already started saving the lives of cancerpatients in the past few years.
Inone major version of this approach, T cells are removed from thepatient’s blood and adapted to destroy cancerous cells. They arethen returned.
This method has so far worked best against certain leukaemias andlymphomas, but not against solid tumors, trials have shown.
Thenew study of oxygen starvation, published in Cell Reports, is thefirst to show an effect against solidtumours.
Itis also the first ever report on the cancer-fighting ability ofoxygen starved T cells, the team of researcherssaid.
How was the study carriedout?
Forthe laboratory trial on mice, the scientists grew T cells in anincubator with an oxygen concentration of just 1 per cent.
Altitude training teaches athletes to cope with oxygenconcentrations of as low as 6.9 per cent - which is what climbersfeel at the top of Mount Everest.
Onegroup of mice were injected with the oxygen-starved T cells. Theother were given T cells grown in normal conditions.
What did theyfind?
Oxygen-starved T cells proved much more effective at fighting thecancer, the results showed.
Mice treated with these cells lived longer and their tumors shrankmuch more dramatically compared with the mice treated with regularT cells.
However, it wasn''t because the oxygen-starved T cells penetratedtumours better - it was because they had higherlevels of a destructive enzyme called granzyme B, which penetratesand kills cancerous cells.
Ifthe findings are repeated in human trials, they could lead to animmediate means of improving immunotherapy against solidtumours.
THE BENEFITS OF OXYGEN...
InMay, DailyMail.com reported on a 28-year-old woman who used naturaloxygen therapy to cure her stage four mouth cancer.
Sabrina Gauer had run out of options to treat her aggressive oralsquamous cell carcinoma tumor in October.
Sheopted for a controversial method against her doctor''srecommendation: oxygen therapy - and it worked.
Thetherapy has long been used to treat divers with ''the bends'' ordecompression sickness.
Aperson sits in the chamber that is increased up to three times thenormal air pressure and pure oxygen is pumped in.
Lungs are able to absorb more oxygen in this state, which leads toquicker delivery to parts of the body through the blood stream.
Studies have linked the treatment to restoring function to damagedcells and organs.
