RNA-Loaded Nanoparticles Fight Cancer 69
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Soulskill
from the hope-you-all-like-sousa dept.
from the hope-you-all-like-sousa dept.
DirkDaring writes "It's been promised for years: that nanoparticles offer a treatment to many forms of cancer. Today, an important first step has been announced. In a new human trial, nanoparticles carrying RNA have successfully reached cancer cells and silenced the target gene. 'The researchers developed a nanoparticle carrying a molecular marker that binds to the surface of cancer cells, triggering the cells to absorb it. The siRNA carried within the particle was designed to silence a gene called ribonucleotide reductase M2 (RRM2), which regulates DNA synthesis and repair and is known to be an anticancer target. Because it was the first trial using targeted RNAi delivery for cancer, says Mark Davis, a professor of chemical engineering at Caltech and the study's lead author, "we wanted to choose a gene that was suspected to be hugely upregulated in a broad spectrum of cancers" in order to increase the likelihood of being able to observe the novel therapy's effect. The researchers analyzed biopsy samples from three melanoma patients in the trial who had received different doses of the therapy. They tracked the particles in the different samples, finding that the amounts they could see in the tumor cells correlated with the doses the patients received.'"
Interesting article (Score:5, Interesting)
I wonder if this technique could be used for other diseases, e.g. arthritis?
Re:Interesting article (Score:1, Interesting)
HIV, AIDS?
most isn't good enough (Score:2, Interesting)
Cancer evolves and grows rapidly. Kill 90% of a tumor, and the 10% can grow to be a problem again.
Re:Interesting article (Score:1, Interesting)
i think can be used for other diseases so long as we are able to isolate the gene that causes the disease. I would suggest looking at the Human Genome Project to see what genes have been mapped and isolated as the cuase of various diseases.
Re:What if cancer cells are a symptom? (Score:4, Interesting)
The current thinking on cancer is that it can be caused by quite a lot of things. Radiation (e.g. xrays or sunlight), chemicals (e.g. cigarette smoke, solvents, adhesives, fuels, a whole library of other industrial chemicals, and even stuff in your last soda pop), viruses (e.g. cervical cancer), or just plain bad luck (mutation of fragile genetics).
Why you body might kick off a cancer to prevent something else is kind of mind boggling. Certainly it might be *possible* that something wacky like that could happen, but the evolutionary indicators run strongly against it. The "something else" would have to be even worse than trying to fight the cancer with all-natural means, and what in hell could that be?