Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > Researchers Identify and Shut Down Protein that Fuels Ovarian Cancer

Anil Sood, M.D., professor in the M. D. Anderson Departments of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology.
Anil Sood, M.D., professor in the M. D. Anderson Departments of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology.

Abstract:
A protein that stimulates blood vessel growth worsens ovarian cancer, but its production can be stifled by a tiny bit of RNA wrapped in a fatty nanoparticle, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Researchers Identify and Shut Down Protein that Fuels Ovarian Cancer

Houston, TX | Posted on February 26th, 2008

A protein that stimulates blood vessel growth worsens ovarian cancer, but its production can be stifled by a tiny bit of RNA wrapped in a fatty nanoparticle, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

"The protein interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a potential therapeutic target in ovarian cancer," said senior author Anil Sood, M.D., professor in the M. D. Anderson Departments of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology.

The paper demonstrates that high IL-8 expression in tumors is associated with advanced tumor stage and earlier death for ovarian cancer patients. Lab experiments and research in a mouse model show that short interfering RNA (siRNA) can cut IL-8 expression, reducing tumor size by attacking its blood supply.

"This comprehensive analysis - with human data, animal data and lab experiments to highlight the molecular mechanisms involved - helps us develop the new targets needed for a more effective approach against ovarian cancer," Sood said.

Interleukin-8 is overexpressed in many types of cancer and has previously been shown to promote tumor growth, new blood vessel growth known as angiogenesis, and metastasis, the spread of cancer to other organs. "In the long run, this research will have applications in other cancers as well," Sood said.

His research focuses on ovarian cancer, for example, while senior co-author Menashe Bar-Eli, Ph.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Cancer Biology, examines IL-8's role in melanoma.

Impact on survival

Ovarian cancer is often detected in late stages. Initial treatment includes surgery and taxane- or platinum-based chemotherapy regimens that keep the cancer at bay for a time in most patients. Recurrence is common and often lethal.

To examine IL-8's role in ovarian cancer, the researchers analyzed tumors from 102 patients diagnosed and treated between 1988 and 2006 at M. D. Anderson and the University of Iowa. Of those, 43 had tumors with high levels of IL-8 and 59 had low levels. The median survival of those with high IL-8 tumors was 1.62 years, compared with 3.79 years for those with low expression of the protein.

All 43 tumors with high expression of IL-8 were of high grade and 42 of 43 were advanced, either stage III or IV tumors. By comparison, 10 of 59 tumors with low IL-8 expression were early stage tumors and six were of low grade.

Shrinking tumors

Genes transcribe single strands of RNA that in turn are "read" by ribosomes to produce proteins. siRNAs are short, double-stranded bits of RNA capable of halting that process. The team confirmed in a lab experiment that a specific siRNA silences IL-8 and then tested it against two lines of ovarian cancer in a mouse model.

Sood, Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, M.D., professor in M. D. Anderson's Department of Experimental Therapeutics, and colleagues are building an arsenal of siRNAs capable of silencing genes that produce cancer-promoting proteins. They packaged siRNA that stymies IL-8 into a small ball of fat known as a liposome, a combination they developed to overcome a problem - siRNA is hard to deliver to tumors.

Tumors shrank by a median of 32 percent and 52 percent in the two cancer lines among mice that received injections of the IL-8 siRNA liposome compared to those receiving control siRNA or empty liposomes.

Mice that got both the IL-8 siRNA plus the taxane-based chemotherapy drug docetaxel had median tumor weight reduction of 90 percent and 98 percent in the two cell lines. Mice with control siRNA plus docetaxel saw reductions of 67 and 84 percent.

Finally, they tested the approach in mice with an ovarian cancer cell line known to be resistant to taxane-based drugs such as docetaxel. IL-8 siRNA alone reduced the size of these tumors by 47 percent, and when combined with docetaxel reduced tumor size by 77 percent, suggesting that the combination re-sensitizes a resistant tumor to taxanes.

The team gauged the impact of IL-8 siRNA on tumor blood supply by measuring the density of blood vessels in the tumor. The IL-8 siRNA alone reduced blood vessel density by 34 percent and 39 percent in two cancer lines.

Clinical Prospects

"These are encouraging results. We want to move one of our siRNA agents into the clinic to test its potential for therapy," Sood said, "and then in the longer term, we'll consider moving additional siRNA agents into the clinical arena."

The IL-8 siRNA liposome is the third developed by Sood's and Lopez-Berestein's team. Two others target the oncoproteins FAK and EphA2. The EphA2 siRNA liposome is closest to Phase I clinical trial, with required toxicology studies nearly complete. A clinical trial could begin within a year.

Methods used to inject siRNA in high volumes for research purposes are impractical for human therapy. Sood and Lopez-Berestein developed the liposomal approach to ensure that the siRNA reaches the cell intact so it can silence the targeted gene. Their research has shown that the liposome penetrates deeply into cells to deliver its siRNA.

Research reported in JNCI was funded by grants from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health, including M. D. Anderson's Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Ovarian Cancer; the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, Inc.; and the Zarrow Foundation.

Co-authors with Sood, Bar-Eli and Lopez-Berestein are first author William Merritt, Yvonne G. Lin, Whitney Spannuth, Aparna Kamat, Liz Han, Charles Landen, and Nicholas Jennings, all of M. D. Anderson's Department of Gynecologic Oncology; Robert Langley and Gabriel Villares, both of M. D. Anderson's Department of Cancer Biology; Angelina Sanguino, of M. D. Anderson's Department of Experimental Therapeutics; Mavis Fletcher of the Nebraska Medical Center Department of Pathology and Microbiology; Koen De Geest of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; and Susan Lutgendorf of the University of Iowa Department of Psychology.

####

About University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston ranks as one of the world's most respected centers focused on cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. M. D. Anderson is one of only 39 Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Institute. For five of the past eight years, M. D. Anderson has ranked No. 1 in cancer care in "America's Best Hospitals," a survey published annually in U.S. News and World Report.

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Scott Merville
713-792-0661

Copyright © Newswise

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.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related News Press

News and information

New method in the fight against forever chemicals September 13th, 2024

Energy transmission in quantum field theory requires information September 13th, 2024

Breakthrough in proton barrier films using pore-free graphene oxide: Kumamoto University researchers achieve new milestone in advanced coating technologies September 13th, 2024

Quantum researchers cause controlled ‘wobble’ in the nucleus of a single atom September 13th, 2024

Nanomedicine

NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop novel covalent organic frameworks for precise cancer treatment delivery: NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop novel covalent organic frameworks for precise cancer treatment delivery September 13th, 2024

Unveiling the power of hot carriers in plasmonic nanostructures August 16th, 2024

Nanobody inhibits metastasis of breast tumor cells to lung in mice: “In the present study we describe the development of an inhibitory nanobody directed against an extracellular epitope present in the native V-ATPase c subunit.” August 16th, 2024

The mechanism of a novel circular RNA circZFR that promotes colorectal cancer progression July 5th, 2024

Announcements

Giving batteries a longer life with the Advanced Photon Source: New research uncovers a hydrogen-centered mechanism that triggers degradation in the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles September 13th, 2024

NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop novel covalent organic frameworks for precise cancer treatment delivery: NYU Abu Dhabi researchers develop novel covalent organic frameworks for precise cancer treatment delivery September 13th, 2024

New discovery aims to improve the design of microelectronic devices September 13th, 2024

New method in the fight against forever chemicals September 13th, 2024

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project