CRISPR-Engineered Fat Cells Show Promise for Starving Cancer Tumors
By
mrtnmrtn
5mo ago· 7 min readenNews
90/100
Golden Brown
Bagelometer↗
An everything bagel for the brain. Substantive, layered, well-seasoned.
Score90TypenewsSentimentpositive
Summary
Researchers at UC San Francisco have developed a novel cancer treatment approach using CRISPR-engineered fat cells to starve tumors. They transformed ordinary white fat cells into 'beige' fat cells that consume calories to generate heat, then implanted these engineered cells near tumors to deplete the nutrients available to cancer cells. This innovative method, inspired by plastic surgery techniques, shows promise as a targeted therapy that could potentially treat various cancers by cutting off their nutritional supply.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledResearchers at UC San Francisco used the gene editing technology CRISPR to turn ordinary white fat cells into 'beige' fat cells, which voraciously consume calories to make heat.
Then, they implanted them near tumors the way plastic surgeons inject fat from one part of the body to another.
Liposuction and plastic surgery aren't often mentioned in the same breath as cancer. But they are the inspiration for a new approach to treating cancer that uses engineered fat cells to deprive tumors of nutrition.
Scientists used implanted fat cells to gobble up available nutrients around cancer tumors, starving the tumors to death.
Scientists used implanted fat cells to gobble up available nutrients around cancer tumors, starving the tumors to death.
