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Healthy cells in our body release nano-sized bubbles that transfer genetic material such as DNA and RNA to other cells. It is your DNA that stores the important information needed for RNA protein production and ensures that they act accordingly.
According to a new study by Michigan State University and Stanford University, these extracellular bubble vesicles could become mini-treatment transporters, containing a combination of therapeutic drugs and genes that target and kill cancer cells.
The study, focused on breast cancer cells in mice, is published in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.
"What we have done is to improve a therapeutic approach to deliver enzyme-producing genes that can convert certain drugs into toxic agents and target tumors," said Masamitsu Kanada, lead author and assistant professor. pharmacology and toxicology at MSU's Institute for Quantitative Health. Science and engineering.
These drugs, or prodrugs, start out as inactive compounds. But once they metabolize in the body, they are immediately activated and can effectively fight everything from cancer to headaches. Aspirin is an example of a common prodrug.
In this case, the researchers used extracellular vesicles, or EVs, to deliver the enzyme-producing genes that could activate a combination therapy of ganciclovir precursors and CB1954 in breast cancer cells. Minicircle DNA and the regular plasmid – two different gene vectors that act as additional delivery mechanisms for DNA – have been loaded into the vesicles to determine the best way to facilitate transport processing. This is known as a gene-driven enzyme, prodrug therapy.
They discovered that the minicircle's DNA was 14 times more effective at delivery and even more effective at killing cancerous tumors.
"It's interesting to note that the plasmid delivery method showed no tumor cell destruction," Kanada said. "Yet, minicircle-based DNA therapy has killed more than half of breast cancer cells in mice."
According to Kanada, this new approach could actually become a better cancer treatment option than chemotherapy.
"Conventional chemotherapy does not differentiate tumors from normal tissues, so it attacks everything," said Kanada. "This nonspecificity can cause severe side effects and insufficient concentration of the drug in tumors."
With electric vehicles, the treatment can be targeted and, because of its compatibility with the human body, this type of administration could minimize the risk of undesirable immune responses that may be associated with other gene therapies.
"If EVs prove effective in humans, it would be an ideal platform for gene transmission and it could be used in humans sooner than expected," Kanada said.
A Phase 1 clinical trial, separate from Canada's work, is expected to begin soon in the United States. He will use electric vehicles and a type of therapeutic RNA molecule for the treatment of metastatic pancreatic cancer.
As this trial progresses, Mr. Kanada and his team will continue to design and test electric vehicles, thus improving their efficiency and safety, so that their use as gene therapy for cancer control in the US, Canada, Canada and the United States. man becomes a reality.
The study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health.
(Note to media: Please include a link to the original article in the online coverage: https://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2019/08/28/1535-7163.MCT-19- 0299.long)
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