The prestigious journal "Nature Communications" has published the results of groundbreaking research conducted at the Department of Immunology. Article titled “Harnessing macrophage-drug conjugates for allogeneic cell-based therapy of solid tumors via the TRAIN mechanism,” is co-authored by our two employees Marcin Skórzyński, and Tomasz Rygiel (corresponding author).

The study describes an innovative Macrophage-Drug Conjugate (MDC) platform. This technology utilizes macrophages’ natural ability to uptake ferritin-drug complexes through the macrophage scavenger receptor 1, enabling efficient drug loading. The research demonstrates that drug-loaded macrophages transfer ferritin to cancer cells via direct cell-to-cell contact and immune synapse-like structures.

The MDC platform has been successfully tested with various anti-cancer drugs, showing robust safety and anti-tumor efficacy in multiple syngeneic mouse and orthotopic human tumor models. A key advantage is its clinical practicality—MDCs can be pre-prepared, stored frozen, and used immediately, making them a promising new approach for real-world cancer therapy.

Congratulations to all authors!

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11790938/