MU researchers develop radioactive nanoparticles that target cancer cells
This is an early step toward developing therapies for metastasized cancers, MU scientist says
2013-05-22
(Press-News.org) COLUMBIA, Mo. — Cancers of all types become most deadly when they metastasize and spread tumors throughout the body. Once cancer has reached this stage, it becomes very difficult for doctors to locate and treat the numerous tumors that can develop. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found a way to create radioactive nanoparticles that target lymphoma tumor cells wherever they may be in the body. Michael Lewis, an associate professor of oncology in the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, says being able to target secondary tumors is vital to successfully treating patients with progressive cancers.
"Depending on the type of cancer, primary tumors usually are not the cause of death for cancer patients," Lewis said. "If a cancer metastasizes, or spreads creating hard-to-find tumors, it often becomes fatal. Having a way to identify and shrink these secondary tumors is of utmost importance when fighting to save people with these diseases."
In an effort to find a way to locate and kill secondary tumors, Lewis, in collaboration with J. David Robertson, director of research at the MU Research Reactor and professor of chemistry in the College of Arts and Science, have successfully created nanoparticles made of a radioactive form of the element lutetium. The MU scientists then covered the lutetium nanoparticles with gold shells and attached targeting agents.
In previous research, Lewis has already proven the effectiveness of similar targeting agents in mice and dogs suffering from tumors. In that research, the targeting agents were attached to single radioactive atoms that were introduced into the bodies of animals with cancer. The targeting agents were able to seek out the tumors existing within the animals, which were then revealed through radio-imaging of those animals.
In their current research, the MU scientists have shown the targeting agents can deliver the new radioactive lutetium nanoparticles to lymphoma tumor cells without attaching to and damaging healthy cells in the process. Robertson says this is an important step toward developing therapies for lymphoma and other advanced-stage cancers.
"The ability to deliver multiple radioactive atoms to individual cancer cells should greatly increase our ability to selectively kill these cells," Robertson said. "We are very optimistic about the synergy of combining the targeting strategy developed in Dr. Lewis's lab with our work on new radioactive nanoparticles."
Lewis has been invited to present his research at the City of Hope National Medical Center this June in Duarte, Calif.
This study is an example of the collaborative research taking place in the One Health, One Medicine area of Mizzou Advantage. The early-stage results of this research are promising. If additional studies, including animal studies, are successful within the next few years, the researchers will request permission from the federal government to begin human drug development. After this status has been granted, Lewis and Robertson may conduct human clinical trials with the hope of developing new treatments.
Lewis also is a principal investigator in the Research Service at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital. This research was supported by awards from the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Veterans Affairs as well as resources made available by Department of Veterans Affairs through use of facilities at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital in Columbia, Mo.
INFORMATION: END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2013-05-22
DURHAM, N.C. – An attack on glioblastoma brain tumor cells that uses a modified poliovirus is showing encouraging results in an early study to establish the proper dose level, researchers at Duke Cancer Institute report.
The treatment, developed at Duke and tested in an ongoing phase 1 study, capitalizes on the discovery that cancer cells have an abundance of receptors that work like magnets drawing the poliovirus, which then infects and kills the cells.
The investigational therapy, known as PVSRIPO, uses an engineered form of the virus that is lethal to cancer cells, ...
2013-05-22
RICHLAND, Wash. – A new analysis shows that the nation's land and water resources could likely support the growth of enough algae to produce up to 25 billion gallons of algae-based fuel a year in the United States, one-twelfth of the country's yearly needs.
The findings come from an in-depth look at the water resources that would be needed to grow significant amounts of algae in large, specially built shallow ponds. The results were published in the May 7 issue of Environmental Science and Technology, published by the American Chemical Society.
"While there are many ...
2013-05-22
Concerns continue to grow about the effects of climate change on fire. Wildfires are expected to increase 50 percent across the United States under a changing climate, over 100 percent in areas of the West by 2050 as projected by some studies. Of equal concern to scientists and policymakers alike are the atmospheric effects of wildfire emissions on climate.
A new article published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management by U.S. Forest Service scientists synthesizes recent findings on the interactions between fire and climate and outlines future research needs. Authored ...
2013-05-22
The results of a new study led by George Washington University Professor Tianshu Li provide direct computational evidence that nucleation of ice in small droplets is strongly size-dependent, an important conclusion in understanding water's behavior at the nanoscale. The formation of ice at the nanoscale is a challenging, basic scientific research question whose answer also has important implications for climate research and other fields.
The crystallization of ice from supercooled water is generally initiated by a process called nucleation. Because of the speed and size ...
2013-05-22
When infections occur in the body, stem cells in the blood often jump into action by multiplying and differentiating into mature immune cells that can fight off illness. But repeated infections and inflammation can deplete these cell populations, potentially leading to the development of serious blood conditions such as cancer. Now, a team of researchers led by biologists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has found that, in mouse models, the molecule microRNA-146a (miR-146a) acts as a critical regulator and protector of blood-forming stem cells (called ...
2013-05-22
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University engineers have developed a novel method for producing clean hydrogen, which could prove essential to weaning society off of fossil fuels and their environmental implications.
While hydrogen is ubiquitous in the environment, producing and collecting molecular hydrogen for transportation and industrial uses is expensive and complicated. Just as importantly, a byproduct of most current methods of producing hydrogen is carbon monoxide, which is toxic to humans and animals.
The Duke engineers, using a new catalytic approach, have shown in ...
2013-05-22
Researchers at USC have found that a class of pharmaceuticals can both prevent and treat Alzheimer's Disease in mice.
The drugs, known as "TSPO ligands," are currently used for certain types of neuroimaging.
"We looked at the effects of TSPO ligand in young adult mice when pathology was at an early stage, and in aged mice when pathology was quite severe," said lead researcher Christian Pike of the USC Davis School of Gerontology. "TSPO ligand reduced measures of pathology and improved behavior at both ages."
The team's findings were published online by the Journal ...
2013-05-22
(Santa Barbara, California) –– About 12,800 years ago when the Earth was warming and emerging from the last ice age, a dramatic and anomalous event occurred that abruptly reversed climatic conditions back to near-glacial state. According to James Kennett, UC Santa Barbara emeritus professor in earth sciences, this climate switch fundamentally –– and remarkably –– occurred in only one year, heralding the onset of the Younger Dryas cool episode.
The cause of this cooling has been much debated, especially because it closely coincided with the abrupt extinction of the majority ...
2013-05-22
URBANA - As many as 35 percent of Mexican young adults may have a genetic predisposition for obesity, said a University of Illinois scientist who conducted a study at the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosί.
"The students who inherited genetic risk factors from both parents were already 15½ pounds heavier and 2 inches bigger around the waist than those who hadn't. They also had slightly higher fasting glucose levels," said Margarita Teran-Garcia, a U of I professor of food science and human nutrition.
In the study, 251 18- to 25-year-olds were tested for risk ...
2013-05-22
A new report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) highlights the plight of great apes in the forest concessions of Central Africa and recommends actions to improve protection for gorillas and chimpanzees in these mixed-used landscapes, according to authors from the Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF, IUCN, Lincoln Park Zoo and Washington University.
While most conservation efforts are focused on protecting great apes and other species in Central Africa's protected areas, a significant area of the region's rainforest used by gorillas and chimpanzees ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] MU researchers develop radioactive nanoparticles that target cancer cells
This is an early step toward developing therapies for metastasized cancers, MU scientist says
