Home > Press > Nanoparticle-Delivered RNA Interference Drug Stops Head and Neck Cancer Growth
Abstract:
A nanoparticle drug delivery vehicle for small interfering RNA molecules (siRNA), that is already being tested in human clinical trials, now shows promise for the treatment of head and neck cancer. Dong Shin, of Emory University, and Mark E. Davis, of the Nanosystems Biology Cancer Center at the California Institute of Technology, led this study. The results were published in the Journal of Controlled Release.
Drugs based on siRNA technology are designed to turn off the production of specific proteins that are critically involved in a disease such as cancer. While a significant body of evidence has shown this approach to targeting critical disease pathways can be highly effective, siRNA molecules themselves do not survive in the blood stream. Dr. Davis and his colleagues have long been leaders in the effort to use tumor-targeted nanoparticles to protect siRNAs from degradation and deliver them to where they are needed in the body.
In this study Dr. Davis's group, which had previously developed a nanoparticle that encapsulates a siRNA agent aimed at a protein known as RRM2, has teamed up with Dr. Shin's group to evaluate the effectiveness of these particles in head and neck cancer. RRM2, when over expressed in these tumor types, plays an active role in tumor progression and in the development of drug resistance. Initial tests on head and neck tumor cells growing in culture showed that this construct was taken up by the tumor cells, and as a result growth of the cells was inhibited substantially. The investigators obtained similar results when they tested the drug on cultured non-small cell lung cancer cells.
Based on these findings, the researchers tested the siRNA-loaded nanoparticle in a mouse model of human head and neck cancer. One intravenous injection of the drug shut down production of RRM2 for at least 10 days, with the nanoparticle being present in the tumor for three days. Four injections given over 10 days triggered a substantial amount of tumor cell death and significantly reduced tumor progression. The researchers note that they did not observe any adverse effects or changes in body weight during the course of therapy. They also showed that the drug had no effect on RRM2 production in the liver.
####
About The National Cancer Institute (NCI)
To help meet the goal of reducing the burden of cancer, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, is engaged in efforts to harness the power of nanotechnology to radically change the way we diagnose, treat and prevent cancer.
The NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer is a comprehensive, systematized initiative encompassing the public and private sectors, designed to accelerate the application of the best capabilities of nanotechnology to cancer.
Currently, scientists are limited in their ability to turn promising molecular discoveries into benefits for cancer patients. Nanotechnology can provide the technical power and tools that will enable those developing new diagnostics, therapeutics, and preventives to keep pace with today’s explosion in knowledge.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
National Cancer Institute
Office of Technology & Industrial Relations
ATTN: NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer
Building 31, Room 10A49
31 Center Drive , MSC 2580
Bethesda , MD 20892-2580
Copyright © The National Cancer Institute (NCI)
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related Links |
Related News Press |
News and information
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
Nanomedicine
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Good as gold - improving infectious disease testing with gold nanoparticles April 5th, 2024
Researchers develop artificial building blocks of life March 8th, 2024
Discoveries
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Utilizing palladium for addressing contact issues of buried oxide thin film transistors April 5th, 2024
Announcements
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
Premium Products | ||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||