Xanne

Understanding T cell exhaustion in cancer

The immune system is very good at detecting invaders (bacteria, viruses, parasites). Over the last couple of years, we have also learned that the immune system provides an important protection against the development of cancer. Unfortunately, sometimes the immune system is unable to completely destroy a tumor. When this happens, the immune system will be continuously activated and this results in an "exhausted" cell. This exhausted cell is less capable to destroying tumor cells, allowing the tumor to grow and spread.

Gene editing as a treatment for sickle cell disease

Sickle cell anemia is a debilitating disease that causes patients excruciating pain, among many other symptoms. Patients with sickle cell disease often have shorter life spans than healthy people. Interestingly, sickle cell anemia is caused by a single nucleotide mutation in the DNA. This has led researchers to try to cure the disease by fixing the mutation on a genetic level using a relatively new technique called CRISPR.