CALS-Affiliate, Denise Montell, Works on Potentially Ground-breaking Improvements to Cancer Treatment

Researching Drosophila fruit flies, Dr. Montell had previously discovered the RAC2 gene, a core protein-producing gene that plays a role in cell movement, cytoskeleton scaffolding, and cell eating. Turning her attention to cases of a rare type of immunodeficiency in humans, Dr. Montell found that a mutation in the gene had caused macrophages, a key cell in our immune systems, to eat significantly more cells than their normal counterparts. 

In collaboration with Dr. Morrissey, Dr. Montell is now working on genetically engineering macrophages that can target and consume cancer cells more effectively than the traditional CAR-T approach, which focused on mutating T-cells to kill cancer cells. They call this new approach the RaceCAR-M treatment, and they have recently filed a provisional patent for the technique. Dr. Montell and Dr. Morrissey are now seeking biotech companies to partner in further developing the approach, which could surpass the limitations of the CAR-T approach and be applicable to a wider range of cancers.

Photo Credit: Matt Perko