It has managed to create biodegradable nanoparticles capable of delivering DNA to cells of brain cancer in mice. The results of the first experiments suggest that these particles, if they are loaded with the appropriate lethal genes could be provided in a future brain cancer patients during neurosurgery to selectively kill the remaining tumor cells without harming normal brain tissue.
In the experiments carried out by the team of Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, a professor of neurosurgery at the Medical School of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, the nanoparticles were able to successfully insert a gene into cancer cells brain of mice, which was activated.
On the other hand, in healthy brain cells that did not occur. This shows that it is feasible that these nanoparticles, acting as a Trojan Horse, may in future carry genes that selectively induce death in cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact.
The team of Quinones-Hinojosa, Jordan Green, Hugo Guerrero-Cazares, Stephany Tzeng, Noah Young and Ameer Abutaleb focused on glioblastoma, the most lethal and aggressive form of brain cancer. With standard treatments of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the median survival time of only 14.6 months. To kill tumor cells resistant to standard treatments dramatically increase the life expectancy of patients.
If everything progresses as expected, during surgery, the new nanoparticles loaded with the appropriate lethal genes, could be released in the brain of patients affected by a tumor, and selectively kill any remaining tumor cells without damaging the tissue normal brain.
In recent experiments, the gene that was loaded with nanoparticles started up the production of light-emitting proteins, so it was easy to see if the gene was inserted and activated or not in each cell type.
Particles researchers injected directly into mice with a human cancerous brain tumor, and brain of healthy mice used for comparison. Healthy cells rarely produced the light emitting protein, even though they were given DNA carrier particles similar to that provided by many tumor cells.
These nanoparticles can be lyophilized and kept stored for at least two years without losing its effectiveness. This will make them in large quantities, distribute with fewer constraints, and ultimately, ease of use wherever they are needed.
