The following abstract is from an interesting article published in the American Journal of Cancer Research:
"The American Journal of Cancer Research (AJCR) (ISSN 2156-6976), is an independent open access, online only journal to facilitate rapid dissemination of novel discoveries in basic science and treatment of cancer. It was founded by a group of scientists for cancer research and clinical academic oncologists from around the world, who are devoted to the promotion and advancement of our understanding of the cancer and its treatment."
Published online 2022 Jan 15.
Photodynamic therapy of melanoma with new, structurally similar, NIR-absorbing ruthenium (II) complexes promotes tumor growth control via distinct hallmarks of immunogenic cell death...
Cancer therapies that generate T cell-based anti-cancer immune responses are critical for clinical success and are favored over traditional therapies. One way to elicit T cell immune responses and generate long-lasting anti-cancer immunity is through induction of immunogenic cell death (ICD), a form of regulated cell death that promotes antigenicity and adjuvanticity within dying cells. Therefore, research in the last decade has focused on developing cancer therapies which stimulate ICD. Herein, we report novel photodynamic therapy (PDT) compounds with immunomodulatory and ICD inducing properties. PDT is a clinically approved, minimally invasive anti-cancer treatment option and has been extensively investigated for its tumor-destroying properties, lower side effects, and immune activation capabilities. In this study, we explore two structurally related ruthenium compounds, ML19B01 and ML19B02, that can be activated with near infrared light to elicit superior cytotoxic properties. In addition to its direct cell killing abilities, we investigated the effect of our PSs on immunological pathways upon activation. PDT treatment with ML19B01 and ML19B02 induced differential expression of reactive oxygen species, proinflammatory response-mediating genes, and heat shock proteins. Dying melanoma cells induced by ML19B01-PDT and ML19B02-PDT contained ICD hallmarks such as calreticulin, ATP, and HMGB1, initiated activation of antigen presenting cells, and were efficiently phagocytosed by bone marrow-derived dendritic cells. Most importantly, despite the distinct profiles of ICD hallmark inducing capacities, vaccination with both PDT-induced dying cancer cells established anti-tumor immunity that protected mice against subsequent challenge with melanoma cells.
....more proof of our vaccine potential, spanning not only multiple types of viral/infectious disease, but also multiple cancer types. It's nice to be invested in a team that's leading the charge for organometallic PDT (& potentially other activation sources...x-ray, etc.). The current wave of confirmatory research in this field continues to grow, & any clinical confirmation of our ACT (an AA) should rapidly accelerate global research & clinical study. The clinical finish line is in sight, & it's looking like only a matter of time before Big Pharma's coffers finally get ruffled...so close I'm starting to taste the metal.