Engineered immune progenitors offer endless supply of cancer-fighting cells

USC researchers developed a stem-cell–inspired method to expand granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (GMPs), enabling long-term self-renewal and genetic engineering to produce macrophages that can target cancer. Engineered GMPs carrying a CAR and an additional immune-activating signal demonstrated tumor-fighting activity and sustained production of immune cells in mice, suggesting a scalable, off-the-shelf cellular immunotherapy with potential applications beyond cancer.