With targeted drug and gene therapies, finding the target cells is only half the battle. Once these agents reach a cell’s surface, they still have to get inside and do their job.
University of Illinois researchers say they now know how to track and map drug and gene delivery vehicles to evaluate which are most effective at infiltrating cells and getting to their targets, insight that could guide development of new pharmaceutical agents. The researchers described their tracking system and their findings on the most effective delivery vehicles in the journal Nature Communications (“Single quantum dot tracking reveals the impact of nanoparticle surface on intracellular state”).
Gene therapies have shown promise in cell culture and animal studies but have been less effective in clinical trials, said study leader Andrew Smith, a professor of bioengineering at the U. of I. This class of pharmaceuticals, called biologics, are different from traditional drugs in that they need to be attached to specialized delivery agents, such as nanoparticles or proteins, to reach their intended cellular targets.
Their lack of efficacy stems from their difficulty in reaching targets within cells, and the obstacles hampering them are poorly understood, Smith said.
“We have these really great models that tell us how classical drugs work, but there’s no model that works for these new biologics that have to have some additional mechanism to deliver to cells. This has been a key missing part of pharmaceutical medicine,” Smith said. “If we don’t understand the mechanisms of the problem, we can’t solve it. Now we can pinpoint why that happens and figure out how to overcome the key bottlenecks, which has never been possible.”
Image Credit: Andrew Smith
News This Week
New Research Reveals That Your Sense of Smell May Be Smarter Than You Think
A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience indicates that the sense of smell is significantly influenced by cues from other senses, whereas the senses of sight and hearing are much less affected. A popular [...]
Deadly bacteria show thirst for human blood: the phenomenon of bacterial vampirism
Some of the world's deadliest bacteria seek out and feed on human blood, a newly-discovered phenomenon researchers are calling "bacterial vampirism." A team led by Washington State University researchers has found the bacteria are [...]
Organ Architects: The Remarkable Cells Shaping Our Development
Finding your way through the winding streets of certain cities can be a real challenge without a map. To orient ourselves, we rely on a variety of information, including digital maps on our phones, [...]
Novel hydrogel removes microplastics from water
Microplastics pose a great threat to human health. These tiny plastic debris can enter our bodies through the water we drink and increase the risk of illnesses. They are also an environmental hazard; found [...]
Researchers Discover New Origin of Deep Brain Waves
Understanding hippocampal activity could improve sleep and cognition therapies. Researchers from the University of California, Irvine’s biomedical engineering department have discovered a new origin for two essential brain waves—slow waves and sleep spindles—that are critical for [...]
The Lifelong Cost of Surviving COVID: Scientists Uncover Long-Term Effects
Many of the individuals released to long-term acute care facilities suffered from conditions that lasted for over a year. Researchers at UC San Francisco studied COVID-19 patients in the United States who survived some of the longest and [...]
Previously Unknown Rogue Immune Key to Chronic Viral Infections Discovered
Scientists discovered a previously unidentified rogue immune cell linked to poor antibody responses in chronic viral infections. Australian researchers have discovered a previously unknown rogue immune cell that can cause poor antibody responses in [...]
Nature’s Betrayal: Unmasking Lead Lurking in Herbal Medicine
A case of lead poisoning due to Ayurvedic medicine use demonstrates the importance of patient history in diagnosis and the need for public health collaboration to prevent similar risks. An article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association [...]
Leave A Comment