Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 3, 2025

In Vivo Immunogenicity Screening of Tumor-Derived Extracellular Vesicles by Flow Cytometry of Splenic T Cells
08:02

In Vivo Immunogenicity Screening of Tumor-Derived Extracellular Vesicles by Flow Cytometry of Splenic T Cells

Published on: September 23, 2021

2.6K

Immunoengineering can overcome the glycocalyx armour of cancer cells

Sangwoo Park1,2, Marshall J Colville1,2, Justin H Paek3

  • 1Field of Biophysics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.

Nature Materials
|February 16, 2024
PubMed

Insights

Cancer cells shield themselves from immune attack using their glycocalyx. Reducing glycocalyx thickness or engineering immune cells can enhance natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity against cancer.

Area of Science:

  • Cancer Biology
  • Immunology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • The cancer cell glycocalyx acts as a barrier against immune surveillance.
  • Understanding the molecular regulation of glycocalyx physical properties is crucial for overcoming immune evasion.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how cancer-associated mucins and their glycosylation influence glycocalyx thickness.
  • To determine the impact of glycocalyx thickness on immune cell interactions and cytotoxicity.
  • To explore immunoengineering strategies to enhance anti-cancer immunity.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of cancer-associated mucins and their glycosylation.
  • Measurement of glycocalyx nanoscale material thickness.
  • Assays for natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity.
  • Engineering of effector cells with chimeric antigen receptors and glycocalyx-editing enzymes.

Main Results:

  • Cancer-associated mucins and their glycosylation determine glycocalyx thickness.
  • Natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity is inversely correlated with glycocalyx thickness.
  • A ~10 nm change in glycocalyx thickness significantly impacts susceptibility to immune attack.
  • Enhanced stimulation of natural killer and T cells via chimeric antigen receptors improves cytotoxicity against mucin-expressing cells.
  • Engineering effector cells with mucinases and sialidases enhances cytotoxicity.

Conclusions:

  • The glycocalyx serves as a physical barrier contributing to cancer immune evasion.
  • Immunoengineering strategies, including glycocalyx editing and enhanced immune cell stimulation, can overcome this barrier.
  • Targeting the cancer cell glycocalyx offers a promising approach for cancer immunotherapy.

More Related Videos

Non-Viral Engineering of Primary Human T Cells via Homology-Mediated End-Joining Targeted Integration of Large DNA Templates06:10

Non-Viral Engineering of Primary Human T Cells via Homology-Mediated End-Joining Targeted Integration of Large DNA Templates

Published on: May 9, 2025

216
Monitoring the Cancer-Immunity Cycle and Exploring Tumor Microenvironment Dynamics12:19

Monitoring the Cancer-Immunity Cycle and Exploring Tumor Microenvironment Dynamics

Published on: June 7, 2024

991

Related Concept Videos

Tumor Immunotherapy01:27

Tumor Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is a treatment that boosts or manipulates the immune system to fight diseases, including cancer. For instance, by stimulating an immune response through vaccinations against viruses that cause cancers, like hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus, these diseases can be prevented. Nonetheless, some cancer cells can avoid the immune system due to their rapid mutation and division. The immune response to many cancers involves three phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape.
524
Cancer Vaccines01:30

Cancer Vaccines

Cancer treatment vaccines are a rapidly evolving field that offers a promising approach to immunotherapy. Unlike traditional vaccines that prevent diseases, cancer treatment vaccines are designed to treat existing cancers by stimulating the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.
Cancer vaccines come in two categories: preventive (prophylactic) and treatment (active). Preventive vaccines, such as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, protect against viruses that cause certain...
367
Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response01:27

Cytotoxic T Cells-mediated Immune Response

Cytotoxic T cells are a vital component of the immune system. They have the remarkable ability to identify and target antigens on infected or abnormal cells. These antigens often originate from intracellular pathogens such as viruses or abnormal proteins cancer cells produce.
Immunological surveillance is the ability of immune cells to monitor and eliminate infected cells with intracellular pathogens, neoplastically transformed cells, and cells with non-self antigens. Cytotoxic T cells and NK...
910
Glycocalyx and its Functions01:14

Glycocalyx and its Functions

The glycocalyx is a carbohydrate-rich, fuzzy-appearing layer on the outer surface of the cell membrane. It is highly hydrophilic, because of this it attracts large amounts of water to the cell's surface. This aids the cell's interaction with the watery environment and also helps it to obtain substances dissolved in the water. It is also important for cell identification, self/non-self determination, and embryonic development and is used in cell-to-cell attachments to form tissues.
4.0K
Targeted Cancer Therapies02:57

Targeted Cancer Therapies

The targeted cancer therapies, also known as “molecular targeted therapies,” take advantage of the molecular and genetic differences between the cancer cells and the normal cells. It needs a thorough understanding of the cancer cells to develop drugs that can target specific molecular aspects that drive the growth, progression, and spread of cancer cells without affecting the growth and survival of other normal cells in the body.
There are several types of targeted therapies against...
7.6K
Antigens Involved in Adaptive Immunity01:26

Antigens Involved in Adaptive Immunity

An antigen is any substance the immune system identifies as foreign and potentially harmful to the body, prompting an immune response. Antigens have two functional properties: immunogenicity and reactivity. Immunogenicity is the ability of an antigen to stimulate a specific immune response. At the same time, reactivity describes the antigen's ability to react with the cells and antibodies produced in response to it.
Complete Antigens
Complete antigens possess both immunogenicity and...
492