PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Just add water and treat brain cancer

Freeze-dried gene therapy system avoids virus, potential complications

2011-07-07
(Press-News.org) Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have developed a technique that delivers gene therapy into human brain cancer cells using nanoparticles that can be freeze-dried and stored for up to three months prior to use. The shelf-stable particles may obviate the need for virus-mediated gene therapy, which has been associated with safety concerns. The report appears in the August issue of Biomaterials.

"Most nonviral gene therapy methods have very low efficacy," says Jordan Green, Ph.D., an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins. "Nanoparticle-based gene therapy has the potential to be both safer and more effective than conventional chemical therapies for the treatment of cancer."

To develop the nanoparticle, Green's team started with store-bought small molecules and systematically mixed combinations together to generate chemical reactions that resulted in different polymers. They then mixed DNA that encodes a glowing protein with each different polymer to allow the DNA to bind to the polymers and form nanoparticles. Each different sample was added to human brain tumor cells and human brain tumor stem cells. After 48 hours, the team examined and counted how many cells glowed from having taken up the nanoparticles and made the glowing protein encoded by the introduced DNA. The team rated success by counting how many cells survived and what percentage of those cells glowed.

Of the many combinations they tested, the researchers found that one particular formulation of so-called poly(beta-amino ester) nanoparticles did particularly well at getting into both glioblastoma and brain tumor stem cells. The researchers then freeze-dried these nanoparticles and stored them at different temperatures (freezer, refrigerator and room temperature) for different lengths of time (one, two and up to three months), and then retested their ability to get into cells. According to Green, after six months storage, the effectiveness dropped by about half, but they found that up to three months storage at room temperature there was virtually no change in effectiveness. Furthermore, the team found that certain nanoparticles had a particular affinity for brain tumor cells over healthy brain cells.

"I could imagine particles based on this technology being used in conjunction with, and even instead of brain surgery," says Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, M.D., Ph.D., an associate professor of neurosurgery and oncology at Johns Hopkins. "I envision that one day, as we understand the etiology and progression of brain cancer, we will be able to use these nanoparticles even before doing surgery—how nice would that be? Imagine avoiding brain surgery all together."

INFORMATION:

This study was funded by the Institute for NanoBioTechnology at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund, National Institutes of Health, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Authors on the paper are Stephany Tzeng, Hugo Guerrero-Cazares, Elliott Martinez, Joel Sunshine, Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa and Jordan Green, all of Johns Hopkins.

On the Web:
http://inbt.jhu.edu/
http://www.bme.jhu.edu/
Jordan Green http://web1.johnshopkins.edu/greengroup/
Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/experts/profiles/team_member_profile/36A35BDE9B71CB08318C8F419FD7ACB4/Alfredo_Quinones-Hinojosa
Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel_cancer_center/

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

IVF 'vanishing twin' linked with birth defects

2011-07-07
A significant discovery by University of Adelaide researchers shows that the loss of a twin during early pregnancy explains the increased risk of birth defects in multiple IVF pregnancies. The annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Stockholm today will hear Associate Professor Michael Davies explain how the "vanishing twin" phenomenon is linked to a nearly two-fold increased risk of congenital malformation in the surviving baby, and a threefold increase in multiple birth defects. The phenomenon occurs when there are fewer babies ...

Study: Breastfeeding does not protect against MS relapses

2011-07-07
ST. PAUL, Minn. – New research finds breastfeeding doesn't appear to protect against multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses, despite previous studies suggesting there may be a protective role. The research is published in the July 6, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). "Breastfeeding should not be encouraged by doctors to protect against MS relapses, especially among women with MS who have high disease activity and high risk of postpartum relapses," said study author Emilio Portaccio, MD, of the University of Florence ...

Canada's Cancer Risk Management model is an important new health tool for policymakers

2011-07-07
If Canada's smoking rates were cut by half to an average national rate of 11% within five years, it would result in 35,900 fewer cases of lung cancer by 2030 and save $656 million in treatment costs, according to analysis using a new web-enabled platform developed for the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer and presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). "The Cancer Risk Management simulation model developed for the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer simulates the demographic ...

Women, elderly, minorities poorly represented in lung cancer drug trial data submitted to US FDA

2011-07-07
Women, older people and minorities are enrolled less frequently in lung cancer drug trials and the numbers do not reflect the prevalence of lung cancer in these populations, according to research presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). "Our results suggest that the trial population used for approval of drugs do not represent well the U.S. population who may receive the marketed agent," said principal investigator Dr. Shakun Malik, a medical officer at the U.S. Food ...

Elderly Dutch lung patients' survival improved by new treatment options between 2003-2009

2011-07-07
New developments such as stereotactic ablative radiotherapy and improvements in surgical care in early-stage lung cancer have led to large survival gains for elderly Dutch patients, according to a population-based study presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). The median survival for Dutch non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients increased by nearly 8 months between 2003 and 2009, following the advent of stereotactic ablative radiotherapy. "In fit patients, surgery ...

Increased investment in thoracic surgical expertise increased UK lung cancer resection rate

2011-07-07
Increased investment in specialist thoracic surgical expertise can lead to a significant rise in the lung cancer resection rate, based on data from England between 2008 and 2009 that was presented at the 14th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Amsterdam, hosted by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). In England, lung cancer resection is less common than in other countries, and is performed by both cardiothoracic and pure thoracic surgeons. Researchers tested the hypotheses that resection rate was related to the caseload and local provision ...

Celecoxib may prevent lung cancer in former smokers

2011-07-07
PHILADELPHIA — Celecoxib may emerge as a potent chemopreventive agent for lung cancer, according to a recent study in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. Researchers tested celecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor, among patients who were former smokers and found a significant benefit in bronchial health as measured by the Ki-67 labeling index, a marker of cellular proliferation or growth, as well as a number of other biomarkers. The findings follow a previous report published in Cancer Prevention Research that showed a similar effect ...

New study: Cheap, common drug could dramatically reduce malaria transmission in Africa

2011-07-07
(Deerfield, Ill., USA - July 6, 2011) A cheap, common heartworm medication that is already being used to fight other parasites in Africa could also dramatically interrupt transmission of malaria, potentially providing an inexpensive tool to fight a disease that kills almost 800,000 people each year, according to a new study published today in the July edition of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The study by scientists from Senegal and Colorado State University found that transmission of malaria parasites by mosquitoes fell substantially among people ...

Teaching workshops fail to spur learner-centered teaching

2011-07-07
Professional development workshops for college teachers, designed to encourage the use of active, "learner-centered" teaching methods, may be less effective than the participants believe, according to research reported in the July issue of BioScience. Diane Ebert-May of Michigan State University and her colleagues studied the teaching of participants in two such established programs for faculty teaching introductory biology courses. Although after the workshops most of the faculty judged themselves to be providing the favored, learner-centered teaching, which encourages ...

Gray whales likely survived the Ice Ages by changing their diets

2011-07-07
Gray whales survived many cycles of global cooling and warming over the past few million years, likely by exploiting a more varied diet than they do today, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, and Smithsonian Institution paleontologists. The researchers, who analyzed California gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) responses to climate change over the past 120,000 years, also found evidence to support the idea that the population of gray whales along the Pacific Coast before the arrival of humans was two to four times today's population, which ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Placental research may transform our understanding of autism and human brain evolution

Mapping the Universe, faster and with the same accuracy

Study isolates population aging as primary driver of musculoskeletal disorders

Designing a sulfur vacancy redox disruptor for photothermoelectric and cascade‑catalytic‑driven cuproptosis–ferroptosis–apoptosis therapy

Recent advances in dynamic biomacromolecular modifications and chemical interventions: Perspective from a Chinese chemical biology consortium

CRF and the Jon DeHaan Foundation to launch TCT AI Lab at TCT 2025

Canada’s fastest academic supercomputer is now online at SFU after $80m upgrades

Architecture’s past holds the key to sustainable future

Laser correction for short-sightedness is safe and effective for older teenagers

About one in five people taking Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro say food tastes saltier or sweeter than before

Taking semaglutide turns down food noise, research suggests

Type 2 diabetes may double risk of sepsis, large community-based study suggests

New quantum sensors can withstand extreme pressure

Tirzepatide more cost-effective than semaglutide in patients with knee osteoarthritis and obesity

GLP-1 drugs shown cost-effective for knee osteoarthritis and obesity

Interactive apps, AI chatbots promote playfulness, reduce privacy concerns

How NIL boosts college football’s competitive balance

Moffitt researchers develop machine learning model to predict urgent care visits for lung cancer patients

Construction secrets of honeybees: Study reveals how bees build hives in tricky spots

Wheat disease losses total $2.9 billion across the United States and Canada between 2018 and 2021

New funding fuels development of first potentially regenerative treatment for multiple sclerosis

NJIT student–faculty team wins best presentation award for ant swarm simulation

Ants defend plants from herbivores but can hinder pollination

When the wireless data runs dry

Inquiry into the history of science shows an early “inherence” bias

Picky eaters endure: Ecologists use DNA to explore diet breadth of wild herbivores

Study suggests most Americans would be healthier without daylight saving time

Increasing the level of the protein PI31 demonstrates neuroprotective effects in mice

Multi-energy X-ray curved surface imaging-with multi-layer in-situ grown scintillators

Metasurface enables compact and high-sensitivity atomic magnetometer

[Press-News.org] Just add water and treat brain cancer
Freeze-dried gene therapy system avoids virus, potential complications