First Home-Grown Gene Therapy for Cancer

General Studies Paper -3

Context: The President of India, launched India’s first home-grown gene therapy which is CAR-T cell therapy (NexCAR19) for cancer at IIT Bombay.

About

• NexCAR19 is the indigenously developed therapy for B-cell cancers (types of cancers that form in the immune system’s cells) such as leukemia and lymphoma.
• It has been developed collaboratively by Immuno ACT,a company incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), and Tata Memorial Hospital.

CAR-T Cell Therapy

• T cells are the cells of the immune system that fights infections and can kill cancer.
• But, sometimes cancers can evade the T cells and there comes the use of “CAR-T cell therapy” or Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy.
• In this, patients own T cells are taken and modified in the lab so that they can recognise and react against the cancer.
• These modified T cells, also called CAR-T cells are then reinfused back into the patients. Now, these cells can better recognise cancer and are able to attack it.

What are B and T-Cells?

• B-cells and T-cells are a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes.
• Types of T cells:
  • Cytotoxic T-cells: They kill cells infected with viruses and bacteria, and they also destroy tumor cells.
  • Helper T-cells:They send signals that direct other immune cells to fight infection.
  • Regulatory T-cells (Tregs): These cells suppress excessive immune responses to prevent autoimmune reactions and maintain immune tolerance. They play a crucial role in preventing the immune system from attacking the body’s own cells and tissues.
• T-cells start in bone marrow, mature in thymus and eventually relocate to lymph tissue or bloodstream.
• B-cellsmake antibodies in response to antigens (antibody generators).
  • There are two main types of B-cells: plasma cells and memory cells. Both types help to protect from infection and disease.