Chapter 1447: Chapter 1078: Cast a Wide Net, Catch More Fish_2 Chapter 1447: Chapter 1078: Cast a Wide Net, Catch More Fish_2 Yang Ping organized his thoughts, summarized them, and formed a complete proposal, then convened a meeting for discussion.

“We need to adjust our approach and evolve along two paths, continue the research on K virus therapy, and open a new line, embedding the K factor into NK cells. Virus therapy and cell therapy should advance side by side. Professor Zhang, you will continue with K virus therapy in cooperation with Lu Xiaolu; Tang Shun’s Stem Cell Laboratory will work with Lu Xiaolu’s Tumor Laboratory to initiate NK cell research. Professor Lu has a heavy task, as you will be responsible for both sides.” Yang Ping assigned tasks on the spot at the meeting.

“Is this project now handed over to me?” Professor Zhang was somewhat incredulous, as this was akin to moving from a supporting role to a leading position. How could such good fortune be true? The K virus therapy has reached its current phase; even if it ultimately fails, it’s still a world-class topic. Moreover, the chances for success are very high–the ‘success’ mentioned here does not necessarily mean curing tumors. As long as it is effective, it represents the creation of a new path, and in reality, it has already achieved success. It is now merely striving for greater success.

“Yes, you and Professor Lu will take it on.” Yang Ping didn’t waste words; he had too many projects and could only create strategic plans for some, leaving the implementation to them.

“Professor, I have always had great faith in cell therapy. I believe that in the future, 90% of diseases could be treated through cell therapy, while other treatment methods will only account for 10%. The largest department in all hospitals will be cell therapy, all others will be minor. Stem Cells are only a part of cell therapy. I’ve also been thinking recently that we should expand our research scope and rebrand the Stem Cell Laboratory as the Cell Therapy Laboratory. I didn’t expect you to assign me a task directly. Great! We will start our research tomorrow. Professor Lu and I are neighbors, just one floor away, so cooperation will be very easy.” Tang Shun was very enthusiastic about the task Yang Ping assigned him.

“In fact, the most valuable aspect of our tumor treatment research is the K factor; we should build a system around it, figuring out how to maximize its effects, rather than letting it be overshadowed by its carrier virus. So, we center on it to develop multiple research paths and decide to try all potential combination methods we consider.”

“The treatment with K virus should not be limited to the current type of tumor; research on K virus therapy for other tumors should also be started, such as modifying hepatitis virus and combining it with the K factor, to see if it can treat liver cancer, given the high selectivity of the hepatitis virus for liver cells.”

Yang Ping believed it was necessary to fully utilize the advantages of the K factor, which had a very promising outlook. He thought it prudent to cast a wide net and capture more fish, selecting the best amongst them.

It might even be possible to dissect the K factor, that is, to separate the combat component from the navigation component, and conduct individual embedding. Different combinations might yield NK cells with varying levels of combat power.

“Doctor Tang and Professor Lu should be very familiar with NK cells; you have both conducted research in this area. Share with us,” Yang Ping named them to give an introduction.

“I’ll do it, I’ve researched this before.”

Tang Shun immediately took on the task.

“CAR-NK therapy could be seen as the subsequent development of CAR-T cells. The source of NK cells used for CAR-NK cell engineering includes peripheral blood, umbilical cord blood, established NK cell lines, especially the NK-92 cell line, and human pluripotent stem cells. Compared with T cells, this more diverse potential source makes it easier to obtain NK cells, which is very straightforward for us who started with stem cells.”

“What exactly can activated NK cells do? Methods for eliminating target cells are various. For instance: they release perforin and granzyme leading to lysis or apoptosis of target cells; they promote FasL expression to induce apoptosis; they release tumor necrosis factor-a, interferon-g, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and chemokines, recruiting and activating other effector immunocytes; antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and more, with numerous and quite aggressive tactics.”

“Because of these means to attack abnormal cells, CAR-NK has been one of the cutting-edge fields in applied research and clinical medical practice in recent years, demonstrating immense potential in the clinical application of tumor immunotherapy.”

“But CAR-NK cell therapy also has its own drawbacks, such as: NK cells have a short lifespan in the absence of cytokine support, resulting in limited persistence in the body. However, there are now some methods to overcome this disadvantage: such as cytokine armoring; optimization of CAR structure; other genetic modifications and so on.”

“If the K factor is embedded into NK cells, many disadvantages of NK cells can be very well avoided.”

Most of the researchers present are doctors with not broad but very deep knowledge in certain areas, depth not accessible to the average person. The masters and undergraduates who are attending and auditing the discussion are now completely confused; they can understand every word, but have no idea what it means when connected together.

“Theoretically, embedding the K factor into NK cells can endow NK cells with an unprecedented level of strong armor, improving their survival rate and allowing them to identify tumor cells with precision. However, once the K factor is integrated into the NK cells, it fundamentally cannot be released,” Lu Xiaolu shared his view.

Yang Ping understood his concern. The K factor has two trump cards: first, it can precisely identify abnormal cells, and second, it can initiate the apoptotic process of these cells. When the K factor is integrated with viruses, the virus can carry it into tumor cells, where it can function and initiate cell apoptosis within.

Now, integrating it with NK cells, which cannot enter tumor cells, means the ability of the K factor to function is an unknown. The isolated K factor can function, but it’s not certain it will when integrated with NK cells and whether it can kill tumor cells.

“Don’t worry, even if it cannot kill, just the identification alone makes this integration of great value. Moreover, it can provide armor to NK cells, extending their lifespan. These two points alone are sufficient; NK cells can release some of their factors to initiate apoptosis in tumor cells, so we don’t need to be trapped in traditional thinking,” Yang Ping assured Lu Xiaolu.

After thinking for a bit, Lu Xiaolu agreed–the very thought he had was still on the experiments of combining K factors with adenovirus, which lacked the ability to initiate apoptosis in tumor cells but could infect them, and thus required the K factor to kill tumor cells. Now the combination of K factors with NK cells was completely different.

“Since this experiment failed, let’s pause Sisi’s experiment for now,” suggested Song Zimo.

Yang Ping nodded: “Pause.”

This high-end discussion was only understood by a few individuals, with the rest shrouded in fog, regretting their own lack of education for not understanding even a few sentences.

After the meeting, Yang Ping began to draw diagrams on a blank piece of paper in his office, trying out various combinations between the K factor and NK cells. Sometimes, ideas need to be expressed through drawings; words simply cannot express them. For instance, the way the K factor is combined with NK cells, exactly where and how they combine, requires a simple gene map–a situation that can’t be expressed with words. For scientific research, visual thinking is very important.

The sea of knowledge is boundless, and truly understanding the knowledge in a narrow professional scope enables one to achieve outstanding results. If someone can make a little innovation on the basis of understanding, that person is at Nobel Prize level.

Yang Ping almost completely understood all these medical knowledge, so it was relatively easier for him to innovate using this knowledge. Like the combination of the K factor with NK cells, it requires bridging several specialties, all of which must be understood.