Thanks to a recent study published infrom Dan Cappabianca and Krishanu Saha at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell therapy can be improved by altering the conditions the T cells are grown in. And it was all discovered by chance.
"We were comparing two distinct T-cell media formulations with varying nutrient levels," explains Cappabianca."Interestingly, our breakthrough came entirely by chance. I inadvertently placed the cells in the wrong medium, which unexpectedly became the focal point of my entire thesis!" In the body, T cells develop from stem cells in the bone marrow.
The two-step process also appeared to help with cell memory. In CAR T-cell therapy, boosting these memory properties helps T cells better recognize and combat cancer over time. "A famous aphorism by French chemist, Louis Pasteur is that 'chance favors only the prepared mind,'" says Saha."Our unplanned media switch -- really by chance -- led us on a new path of discovery."Dan Cappabianca, Dan Pham, Matthew H. Forsberg, Madison Bugel, Anna Tommasi, Anthony Lauer, Jolanta Vidugiriene, Brookelyn Hrdlicka, Alexandria McHale, Quaovi H. Sodji, Melissa C. Skala, Christian M. Capitini, Krishanu Saha.