A Novel Neutrophil Anticancer Immunotherapy S3KO-TAN

Overview

Research team has discovered that neutrophils, the most abundant immune cell type in human blood, play a key role in cancer. The team successfully enhanced the anticancer capacity of human neutrophils with gene editing technology.

  • A Novel Neutrophil Anticancer Immunotherapy S3KO-TAN 0
  • A Novel Neutrophil Anticancer Immunotherapy S3KO-TAN 1
  • A Novel Neutrophil Anticancer Immunotherapy S3KO-TAN 2
Technical name of innovation
S3KO-TAN
Research completion
2023
Commercialisation opportunities
technology licensing agreement
Problem addressed

Lung cancer is still the first cancer killer in in Hong Kong. Immunotherapy has begun to be applied to lung cancer. However, checkpoint inhibitors, the most used immunotherapy in lung cancer, can only benefit 30% of lung cancer patients when used alone. The novel may shed Neutrophil-based Anticancer Immunotherapynew light on existing clinical dilemmas.

Innovation
  • Neutrophils will first exhibit the pro-tumour state N2 instead of anti-cancer N1 in the lung cancer microenvironment.
  • The team successfully discovered immune regulator that block neutrophils from developing an anti-cancer state in the lung cancer microenvironment.
  • By using gene editing technology successfully mass produce anti-cancer neutrophils from human buffy coat for immunotherapy.
Key impact
  • Neutrophils are immune cells can obtained from the human blood / buffy coat easily.
  • As innate immune cells, neutrophils will not cause rejection when transplanted.
  • Neutrophils may overcome the current unresolved clinical obstacles of T cell immunotherapy, such as targeting solid cancers.
Award
  • First Prize Award in 17th ‘Challenge Cup’ National College Students’ Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Contest
  • First Prize Award of Life Sciences in The 7th HK University Student Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition
  • Bronze Prize in Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions 2022
  • Bronze Prize in 13th International Invention Fair in the Middle East (IIFME)
  • Poster Award, SYSU-CUHK State Key Laboratory Conference
  • Poster Award, Hong Kong Immunology Forum 2018
Application
  • Using gene editing technology to mass-produce anticancer neutrophils from peripheral blood for immunotherapy

Patent

  • Hong Kong Patent HK30056670
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)

Founded in 1963, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a forward-looking comprehensive research university with a global vision and a mission to combine tradition with modernity, and to bring together China and the West. CUHK teachers and students hail from all around the world. Four Nobel laureates are associated with the university, and it is the only tertiary institution in Hong Kong with recipients of the Nobel Prize, Turing Award, Fields Medal and Veblen Prize sitting as faculty in residence. CUHK graduates are connected worldwide through an extensive alumni network. CUHK undertakes a wide range of research programmes in many subject areas, and strives to provide scope for all academic staff to undertake consultancy and collaborative projects with industry. 

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