Leukemia cells use a sugar-coated protein to hide from the immune system, study reveals

MedicalXpress | 四月 10, 2026

Leukemia is adept at dodging the immune system, making it resistant to many of the newest generation of cancer immunotherapies. Now, researchers have identified a key part of the cancer's disguise: a protein called CD43 on the surface of leukemia cells that is coated so heavily in sugar molecules that it forms a physical barrier, shielding the cells from immune attack.