From Lab to Life: Huge Supply of AntiCancer Cells

A widely reported account in Science Daily reveals this: “Scientists have created a potentially renewable source of engineered immune cells that fight cancer, offering a promising path toward longer-lasting, ready-made immunotherapies.”  The research comes from the University of Southern California. **

** Shi Yue, Zheng Guo, Crystal Pan, Xueyuan A. Jing, Litao Tao, Tai Nguyen, Jiaqi Tang, Yanpui Chan, Humberto Contreras-Trujillo, Du Jiang, Xue Yan, Hang Xiang, Xugeng Liu, Celia Bloom, Asiri Ediriwickrema, Sebastian Koschade, Xiao Wang, Ziyuan Wang, Natalie Shu, Yingxiao Shi, Daniel B. McKim, Rong Lu, Ravindra Majeti, Chao Zhang, Qi-Long Ying. Expansion and CAR engineering of granulocyte-monocyte progenitors for cellular immunotherapy. Cell, 2026; 189 (17): 5378 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2026.05.043

Here are the details:

USC scientists have discovered a way to create a potentially renewable supply of genetically engineered immune cells that can attack cancer and strengthen the body’s natural defenses. By growing and modifying immature immune cells rather than mature ones, researchers developed a system that can continuously produce tumor-fighting cells inside the body.

“The USC Stem Cell-led team focused on a type of immature immune cell called granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (GMPs). These cells normally develop into macrophages and other immune cells that protect the body from infections and participate in immune responses. The researchers found that GMPs could be grown extensively in the laboratory while retaining their ability to develop into functioning immune cells. They could also be genetically modified to recognize specific cancer markers and strengthen broader immune responses.”

By thinking out of the box, USC scientists focused not on mature immune cancer-fighting cells but on ‘baby’ cells,  easier to grow in the laboratory and still able to mature into the Mike Tyson punch-to-the-solar-plexus anti-cancer cells that are needed in quantity.

“The breakthrough, described in a study published in Cell, could help overcome some of the biggest obstacles facing cancer immunotherapy, including the difficulty of manufacturing enough immune cells and keeping them active in the body. In experiments involving mice, the engineered cells established themselves in bone marrow, produced new immune cells, and slowed the progression of both blood cancers and solid tumors.”

A small comment:  I’ve written close to 100 columns on From Lab to Life, and it is striking how many of the scientists mentioned in breakthrough research are not American-born.  Note the list of authors’ names for this study: Shi Yue, Zheng Guo, Crystal Pan, Xueyuan A. Jing, Litao Tao, Tai Nguyen, Jiaqi Tang, Yanpui Chan, Humberto Contreras-Trujillo, Du Jiang, Xue Yan, Hang Xiang, Xugeng Liu, Celia Bloom, Asiri Ediriwickrema, Sebastian Koschade, Xiao Wang, Ziyuan Wang, Natalie Shu, Yingxiao Shi, Daniel B. McKim, Rong Lu, Ravindra Majeti, Chao Zhang, Qi-Long Ying.

The Trump anti-immigrant policy has shut off the supply of foreign brains to the US, and led many to leave.  It will be hard to repair the damage, even after the Blue Wave election on November 3.