A novel remedy technique developed by researchers targets lung most cancers cells with unprecedented precision, utilizing nanoparticles to ship chemotherapy medicine immediately, doubtlessly reworking most cancers care by lowering unwanted side effects and enhancing remedy outcomes.
Technique employs affected person’s personal cells as a Trojan horse to ship cancer-destroying medicines on to tumors.
While lung most cancers is probably not the most typical sort of most cancers, however it’s by far the deadliest.
Despite therapies corresponding to surgical procedure, radiation remedy, and chemotherapy, solely a few quarter of all individuals with the illness will dwell greater than 5 years after prognosis, and lung most cancers kills greater than 1.eight million individuals worldwide annually, in accordance with the World Health Organization.
To enhance the percentages for sufferers with lung most cancers, researchers from The University of Texas at Arlington and UT Southwestern Medical Center have pioneered a novel method to ship cancer-killing medicine immediately into most cancers cells.
“Our method uses the patient’s own cellular material as a trojan horse to transport a targeted drug payload directly to the lung cancer cells,” mentioned Kytai T. Nguyen, lead creator of a brand new examine on the method within the peer-reviewed Bioactive Materials and the Alfred R. and Janet H. Potvin Distinguished Professor in Bioengineering at UTA. “The process involves isolating T-cells (a type of immune cell) from the cancer patient and modifying them to express a specific receptor that targets the cancer cells.”
Jon Weidanz, affiliate vp for analysis and innovation and professor of kinesiology and bioengineering. Credit: UT Arlington
The Technique Explained
The essential step on this new method entails isolating the cell membrane from these modified T-cells, loading the membranes with chemotherapy medicines, after which coating them onto tiny drug-delivery granules. These nanoparticles are roughly 1/100 the dimensions of a strand of hair.
When these membrane-coated nanoparticles are injected again into the affected person, the cell membrane acts as a information, directing the nanoparticles to the tumor cells with precision. This method is designed to deceive the affected person’s immune system, because the coated nanoparticles mimic the properties of immune cells, avoiding detection and clearance by the physique.
Kytai T. Nguyen, the Alfred R. and Janet H. Potvin Distinguished Professor in Bioengineering at UTA. Credit: University of Texas at Arlington
“The key advantage of this method lies in its highly targeted nature, which allows it to overcome the limitations of conventional chemotherapy that often lead to detrimental side effects and reduced quality of life for patients,” mentioned co-author Jon Weidanz, affiliate vp for analysis and innovation and a researcher in kinesiology and bioengineering.
“By delivering chemotherapy directly to the tumor cells, the system aims to minimize collateral damage to healthy tissues,” continued Weidanz, who is also a member of UTA’s Multi-Interprofessional Center for Health Informatics.
Study Findings and Future Potential
In the examine, researchers loaded the nanoparticles with the anti-cancer drug Cisplatin. The membrane-coated nanoparticles accrued in elements of the physique with the tumors relatively than in different elements of the physique. As a consequence, this focused supply system was capable of cut back the dimensions of the tumors within the management group, demonstrating its efficacy.
“This personalized approach could pave the way for a new era of medicine tailored to each patient’s unique characteristics and the specific nature of their tumor,” Nguyen mentioned. “The potential for reduced side effects and improved effectiveness makes our technique a noteworthy advancement in the field of cancer treatment.”
Reference: “Targeted chemotherapy via HER2-based chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engineered T-cell membrane coated polymeric nanoparticles” by Serkan Yaman, Harish Ramachandramoorthy, Priyanka Iyer, Uday Chintapula, Tam Nguyen, Manoj Sabnani, Tanviben Kotadia, Soroush Ghaffari, Laurentiu M. Pop, Raquibul Hannan, Jon A. Weidanz and Kytai T. Nguyen, 11 January 2024, Bioactive Materials.
DOI: 10.1016/j.bioactmat.2023.12.027
Nguyen’s work was supported by a $250,000 grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
