10-02-2013, 09:43 PM
Nanoparticles and gene therapy in pancreatic cancer
The previous article highlights the advances and some of the issues in gene therapy for pancreatic cancer. Part of the challenge of gene therapy lies in the limitations of methods of gene delivery in individual cell and tissue environments. For example, generally applying gene therapy in pancreatic cancer, leukaemia and other cancers may be limited by the viral vectors commonly used in gene delivery. Therefore, a lot of research focuses on alternative gene delivery systems which may be more efficient and safer. A lot of attention has recently been paid to the potential of nanoparticles as delivery systems in gene therapy. There is also a lot of interest in the potential of silencing RNA (siRNA) as the mechanism by which the gene therapy can be exercised.
Nanoparticle delivery and siRNA action were combined in a recent study on gene therapeutic effects on pancreatic cancer. The target was the Kras gene. Mutation of this gene, as the previous article mentions, is inherent to the process of pancreatic cancer. siRNA directed against Kras was delivered to pancreatic cancer cells in vitro via Poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(L-lysine) nanoparticles in conjunction with arsenic-encapsulated nanoparticles. Defects in cell proliferation, clonal formation, migration and invasion of the cancer cells was observed, all of which would be relevant to cancer progression. Cell cycle was arrested at the G0/G1 phase, which had the knock-on effect of enhancing the apoptotic effect of the arsenic nanoparticles. In vivo, the two nanoparticles inhibited tumour growth. These studies may have identified a potentially promising therapeutic avenue for future pancreatic cancer gene therapy approaches.
Source
ZENG, L. et al., 2013. Combination of siRNA-Directed Kras Oncogene Silencing and Arsenic-Induced Apoptosis Using a Nanomedicine Strategy for the Effective Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, And Medicine,
The previous article highlights the advances and some of the issues in gene therapy for pancreatic cancer. Part of the challenge of gene therapy lies in the limitations of methods of gene delivery in individual cell and tissue environments. For example, generally applying gene therapy in pancreatic cancer, leukaemia and other cancers may be limited by the viral vectors commonly used in gene delivery. Therefore, a lot of research focuses on alternative gene delivery systems which may be more efficient and safer. A lot of attention has recently been paid to the potential of nanoparticles as delivery systems in gene therapy. There is also a lot of interest in the potential of silencing RNA (siRNA) as the mechanism by which the gene therapy can be exercised.
Nanoparticle delivery and siRNA action were combined in a recent study on gene therapeutic effects on pancreatic cancer. The target was the Kras gene. Mutation of this gene, as the previous article mentions, is inherent to the process of pancreatic cancer. siRNA directed against Kras was delivered to pancreatic cancer cells in vitro via Poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(L-lysine) nanoparticles in conjunction with arsenic-encapsulated nanoparticles. Defects in cell proliferation, clonal formation, migration and invasion of the cancer cells was observed, all of which would be relevant to cancer progression. Cell cycle was arrested at the G0/G1 phase, which had the knock-on effect of enhancing the apoptotic effect of the arsenic nanoparticles. In vivo, the two nanoparticles inhibited tumour growth. These studies may have identified a potentially promising therapeutic avenue for future pancreatic cancer gene therapy approaches.
Source
ZENG, L. et al., 2013. Combination of siRNA-Directed Kras Oncogene Silencing and Arsenic-Induced Apoptosis Using a Nanomedicine Strategy for the Effective Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer. Nanomedicine: Nanotechnology, Biology, And Medicine,
![[+]](https://www.biotechnologyforums.com/images/netpen-pro/collapse_collapsed.png)