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Dec 26, 2023

Cancer Cells Steal Mitochondria from T Cells

Posted by in category: biotech/medical

In theory, the immune system can recognize cancer cells as foreign and destroy them. In practice, this is often difficult, particularly after a tumor has become established in the body.

And even when immune cells, especially certain killer T cells, make it into a tumor, they face a hostile environment. This can include molecules that can disable T cells, low oxygen, and a lack of nutrients for energy. The end result is often a dysfunctional state known as T-cell exhaustion.

Now, a new study has confirmed the existence of yet another way that tumors can thwart T cells. In some tumors, a subset of cancer cells can act like a thief siphoning fuel from a car’s gas tank: they drain mitochondria —the tiny structures within cells that produce energy—from T cells and use them for their own energy needs.

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