CAR T cells have been engineered to treat everything from cancer to scarring in the heart. However, one major barrier to wide-spread therapy is the fact that T cells have to be removed from the patient, engineered, and then putting them back in the patient. But what if we could create a drug that makes CAR T cells inside a patient's own body? This type of one-size-fits-all approach could be much more efficient. On this episode of Beyond the Abstract, Derek and Dan discuss how scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have successfully created CAR T cells to treat scarring in the heart with the simple injection of a drug. Using state-of-the-art gene therapy, they are able to temporarily transform T cells into soldiers to fight scarring in the heart.

Rurik et al. CAR T cells produced in vivo to treat cardiac injury. Science, January 2022. DOI: 10.1126/science.abm0594

The information presented here is not medical advice. Consult your physician on any questions regarding your personal health.