While the world of cosmetic surgery may seem far removed from cancer treatment, innovative research at UC San Francisco is breaking that mold.
Scientists have developed a fascinating technique that repurposes modified fat cells to starve tumors of essential nutrients, hindering their growth.
By harnessing CRISPR gene editing technology, they’ve transformed traditional white fat cells into “beige” fat cells, which burn calories and produce heat.
The Mechanism of Action
This shift—from energy-storing white fat to calorie-burning beige fat—creates fierce competition between the engineered cells and cancerous tumors for nutrients.
Initial laboratory trials indicated that this method successfully stifled five different cancer types, showcasing its potential.
The approach involves implanting these specialized fat cells near tumors, similar to how fat may be transferred during cosmetic procedures.
Once positioned, these engineered cells efficiently absorb nearby nutrients, leading to the depletion of resources for tumor cells.
Remarkably, this protocol showed promise even when fat cells were situated away from tumors in mouse models.
Research Insights
What makes this technique even more appealing is its foundation on procedures already commonplace in medicine.
Nadav Ahituv, PhD, who heads the UCSF Institute for Human Genetics and is a professor in the Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, believes that existing familiarity with methods such as liposuction and fat grafting will facilitate a smoother transition to clinical applications.
The inspiration behind this breakthrough stemmed from earlier research that found cold exposure could help suppress tumor growth in mice.
This led Ahituv and his former postdoctoral researcher, Hai Nguyen, to speculate whether brown fat cells—activated by cooler temperatures—could be the key to utilizing nutrients effectively.
However, they recognized that cold therapy might not be suitable for all cancer patients, so they sought out the potential of beige fat cells to achieve similar metabolic effects without the need for chilly conditions.
Tailored Solutions for Cancer Treatment
Using CRISPR, Nguyen reactivated genes long dormant in white fat but vital in brown fat, effectively converting them into beige fat cells that could burn calories.
The gene UCP1 proved crucial in this transformation.
To test the effectiveness of these cells, Nguyen set up experiments where UCP1 beige fat cells were grown alongside cancer cells in a specialized dish that allowed nutrient sharing but kept them physically separate.
Surprisingly, only a few cancer cells managed to survive, leading the team to replicate the experiment multiple times with consistent results.
This confirmed that beige fat cells could combat various cancers, including those affecting the breast, colon, pancreas, and prostate.
Further exploration involved creating fat organoids—clusters of these modified cells—which were implanted beside tumors in mice.
This method successfully deprived cancer cells, particularly from breast, pancreatic, and prostate cancers, of necessary nutrients, demonstrating how effective engineered fat could be in curbing tumor growth.
In collaboration with breast cancer specialist Jennifer Rosenbluth, MD, PhD, the researchers examined the performance of these transformed fat cells in human tissues.
Rosenbluth had collected mastectomy samples with both fat and cancer cells, allowing the team to modify the fat and observe how it interacted with each patient’s cancer.
Impressively, these modified fat cells not only outperformed breast cancer cells in lab settings but also maintained their efficacy in implanted mouse models.
The researchers also made note that different cancer types have varying nutritional requirements.
They adapted the fat cells to target specific nutrients.
For example, some pancreatic tumors thrive on uridine during high glucose conditions, and the engineered fat was designed to consume this particular nutrient, thereby outcompeting the cancer cells for it.
This suggests a future where fat cells could be tailored to address the unique dietary demands of specific malignancies.
Ahituv emphasized the many advantages of using fat cells for living cell therapies.
Firstly, they can be easily harvested from patients.
Secondly, they possess a great capacity for growth in laboratory environments and can be engineered to perform specific functions with reduced risks of adverse reactions upon reintroduction into the body.
Given the existing research within plastic surgery, their compatibility and ability to integrate into human tissue are well established.
With a low risk of these cells migrating and causing complications, fat cells offer exciting possibilities for programming therapeutic roles—everything from monitoring glucose levels to managing excess iron in conditions like hemochromatosis.
Ahituv’s optimistic outlook on these engineered fat cells suggests that their potential applications could reach far beyond current treatment methods.
Source: ScienceDaily