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“UV1 is a therapeutic cancer vaccine used to generate an immune response against the enzyme human telomerase (hTERT). The enzyme is essential for the ability o
by jl2718 3y ago
“UV1 is a therapeutic cancer vaccine used to generate an immune response against the enzyme human telomerase (hTERT). The enzyme is essential for the ability of cancer cells to proliferate. Telomerase is present in 85-90% of all cancers, across the stages of the disease.”
It’s a protein epitope vaccine against a normal human protein. Not stated here, but it may also target normal stem cells needed for repair and renewal processes. This risk may be reduced by the cessation of checkpoint blockades, but, the immune system can’t forget a target, and autoimmunity is an unsolved problem. HLA binding is also not perfectly specific, and any immune response is likely to generate more immunity from the target cell. This universal targeting of normal peptides may be an acceptable last-line defense, but I would be more comfortable targeting a somatic mutation with some significant differentiation from anything in the human exome.
- olifante 3y ago> the immune system can’t forget a target This recent study has developed an “inverse vaccine” for multiple sclerosis that apparently can make the immune system forget stuff: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37528816 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37528816
- justinclift 3y ago> the immune system can’t forget a target Doesn't catching measles reset the immune system's "memory"?
- jl2718 3y agoI don’t know much about this, but I’m not sure “reset” is the right term here. It seems more like “overwhelm” than “reset” to what a newborn might have. Measles can cause autoimmunity, and I’m not sure it’s been shown to abate it.
- justinclift 3y agok. I was going by stuff like this: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211112-the-people-with-immune-amnesia https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211112-the-people-with-...