Double-acting liposome
Chemo-immunotherapy is considered the modern standard of treatment for various types of cancer. Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells, and immunotherapy helps the immune system identify and attack them without destroying healthy cells. However, many patients do not respond to chemo-immunotherapy, which means that treatment aimed at cancer with greater accuracy is needed.
Researchers at Tel Aviv University have developed a nanopreparation for the treatment of malignant neoplasms, which affects the tumor simultaneously in two different ways. It can work faster and with fewer side effects than existing treatments. The new nanoparticle increases the susceptibility of cancer cells resistant to chemotherapy, and also activates immune cells against the tumor.
Potential for healing
In the course of the study, Dan Peer's group showed how a new lipid nanoparticle delivers a two-in-one drug directly to the cancer cells. This drug, an advanced RNA–based compound, alters the metabolism of cancer cells, making them available for chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
The system was tested on laboratory models of metastatic melanoma, the most aggressive type of skin cancer, as well as a solid tumor limited to one organ. In both populations, the researchers observed positive effects of the new drug delivery system.
Targeted treatment
The new development is based on a recent discovery that explained how cancer evades conventional treatments. Cancer cells use the enzyme heme-oxygenase-1 (HO1) both to resist chemotherapy and to mask from the immune system. Thus, knockout of the HO1 gene in tumors could become a clinically important cancer treatment method, but this led to serious side effects. The new nanopreparation specifically inhibits HO1, making the tumor available for chemotherapy and without harming the surrounding healthy cells. After that, the same nanoparticle reprograms the T cells of the immune system to restore their ability to recognize cancer as a foreign body and attack it.
Article by S.B.Yong et al. Dual-Targeted Lipid Nanotherapeutic Boost for Chemo-Immunotherapy of Cancer is published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on TAU materials: TAU Nanodrug Enables 2-in-1 Attack on Cancer.