(JNS) Tel Aviv University researchers have for the first time studied the development of the most common type of brain cancer in animal models with normal immune systems to best simulate the development of the tumor in humans. The findings revealed immune-system cells acting as “double agents” that increase and intensify the aggressiveness of the tumor, despite their primary function being to attack and kill cancer cells. Glioblastoma is the most violent and deadly type of cancer in humans. The study, published in the journal Cell Reports, was led by Dr. Dinorah Friedmann-Morvinski of TAU’s George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, and Ph.D. student Prerna Magod. Also participating were researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science. The researchers hope that the new discovery can be implemented in future efforts to decipher the mechanism of interaction between the immune system and cancerous tumors.

Main Photo: 3D illustration of T cells or cancer cells. Shutterstock