Developer of placenta-based cell therapy products, Pluristem Therapeutics, has revealed that its PLX cells have been shown to significantly inhibit cancer cell growth in a recently published peer-reviewed article.
Cancers
The article, published in Scientific Reports, is based on studies, the first of which examined the effect of PLX cells, that had been induced with tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) and interferon-gamma (IFN-g), on the proliferation of more than 50 lines of human cancerous cells. It was found in this first study that the modified PLX cells exhibited an anti-proliferative effect on 45% of the tested cancer cell lines, with a strong inhibitory effect on various lines of breast, colorectal, kidney, liver, lung, muscle and skin cancers.
Additionally, the researchers identified common characteristics of the cancer cell lines that were inhibited by PLX cells using comprehensive bioinformatics analysis, which may be useful information for a future screening programme to identify patients that are most likely to have a positive response to treatment.
Taking these positive results on board, Pluristem then conducted a pre-clinical study of female mice harbouring human triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) — an aggressive form of the disease that does not respond to standard hormonal therapy. Current treatment for TNBC consists of a combination of surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, however, the prognosis remains poor for patients with this type of breast cancer.
In this study, the researchers injected the mice intramuscularly with induced PLX cells on a weekly basis. This treatment regimen produced a statistically significant reduction (p = 0.025) in mean tumour size in the treated group compared with the untreated group, with 30% of the treated mice exhibiting complete tumour remission. In addition, a statistically significant reduction (p = 0.003) was seen in the percentage of proliferating tumour cells as well as in the level of blood vessels within the tumours.
“The findings of this study published in a peer-reviewed journal are the outcome of over two years of research as well as the vast knowledge of PLX cell properties we have developed over the last 10 years. We believe the findings show promise for the utilisation of our induced PLX cells in slowing and reversing the growth of cancer cells, particularly for some cancers that don’t have viable treatment options,” stated Zami Aberman, chairman and co-CEO of Pluristem. “The findings also confirm the effectiveness of IM administration and support a mechanism of action involving immunomodulation and inhibition ofangiogenesis and cell proliferation in cancerous conditions. Our unique patented manufacturing platform allows us to alter our cells’ secretion profile in correlation with the targeted cancer cells, which may open new possibilities in the field of oncology to treat solid tumors and may also offer new paths to help millions of patients around the world. As in immunotherapy technology, PLX cells potentially have the ability to communicate with the body and to secrete biological components that enhance regeneration processes and support the body in fighting cancer cells.”
Pluristem has filed patent applications relating to the technology for the induction of PLX cells and the use of these cells for the treatment of cancer.