国产精品99一区二区三_免费中文日韩_国产在线精品一区二区_日本成人手机在线

Light-triggered nanoparticles promise cure for metastatic cancer

Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-26 06:24:35|Editor: Mu Xuequan
Video PlayerClose

CHICAGO, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Light emitted as part of traditional cancer-imaging techniques to locate metastatic tumors can also trigger light-sensitive drugs, according to a study of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Researchers at the university found that when such drugs are packaged into nanoparticles that target lit-up cancer cells, the light-sensitive drug produces toxic free radicals that kill the tumor cells, and the technique worked effectively in mice with multiple myeloma, a cancer of white blood cells, and aggressive metastatic breast cancer.

The technology harnesses a chemotherapy drug called titanocene. As a chemotherapy agent alone, titanocene has not worked well in clinical trials, even at relatively high doses. But when exposed to the radiation emitted by visible light, titanocene produces reactive particles that are toxic to cells, even at low doses.

Researchers at Washington University packaged low doses of titanocene inside nanoparticles they targeted to proteins known to sit on the surface of cancer cells, and found that when the nanoparticles make contact with cancer cells, their membranes fuse together, releasing the titanocene into the cells.

They then deliver a common cancer imaging agent called fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), a type of sugar. Energy-hungry cancer cells take up the FDG at high rates, causing tumors to glow in a positron emission tomography (PET) scan. This glow also triggers the titanocene, releasing free radicals and killing the cells.

As the titanocene and the light-emitting FDG are targeted to the same place at the same time only in tumors, the technique is believed to be less toxic than standard radiation and chemotherapy.

Research also shows that the body rids itself of titanocene through the liver, while FDG is cleared through the kidneys. The fact that the two components are disposed of separately minimizes damage to other organs.

The researchers have tested the strategy on mice with multiple myeloma once a week for four weeks. In the weeks following, the treated mice had significantly smaller tumors and survived longer than the control mice. Fifty percent of treated mice survived at least 90 days, while 50 percent of control mice survived 62 days.

The mice with breast cancer also showed an anti-tumor effect when treated using this strategy, though less pronounced than in those with multiple myeloma, likely due to the extreme aggressiveness of the breast cancer cell line, the researchers said.

The researcher also found that certain types of multiple myeloma were resistant to this technique.

The study has been published online in Nature Communications.

TOP STORIES
EDITOR’S CHOICE
MOST VIEWED
EXPLORE XINHUANET
010020070750000000000000011105091369252951
主站蜘蛛池模板: 正镶白旗| 岳西县| 莒南县| 迁安市| 泽州县| 苗栗市| 汉沽区| 年辖:市辖区| 南投市| 宁陵县| 察隅县| 东方市| 平安县| 灵寿县| 景德镇市| 稷山县| 巨野县| 三原县| 故城县| 滦平县| 深州市| 万年县| 沅江市| 比如县| 安新县| 呼和浩特市| 资兴市| 沂水县| 祁门县| 临安市| 特克斯县| 沿河| 醴陵市| 三亚市| 辽中县| 河间市| 上犹县| 崇文区| 钟山县| 宿州市| 北海市|