| Multiple myeloma is an incurable bone marrow cancer that kills over 100,000 people every year. Known for its quick and deadly spread, this disease is one of the most challenging to address. As these cancer cells move through different parts of the body, they mutate, outpacing possible treatments. People diagnosed with severe multiple myeloma that is resistant to chemotherapy typically survive for only three to six months. Innovative therapies are desperately needed to prevent the spread of this disease and provide a fighting chance for those who suffer from it. | |
| Michael Mitchell, J. Peter and Geri Skirkanich Assistant Professor of Innovation in Bioengineering (BE), and Christian Figueroa-Espada, doctoral student in BE at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science, created an RNA nanoparticle therapy that makes it impossible for multiple myeloma to move and mutate. The treatment, described in their study published in PNAS (“In vivo bone marrow microenvironment siRNA delivery using lipid–polymer nanoparticles for multiple myeloma therapy”), turns off a cancer-attracting function in blood vessels, disabling the pathways through which multiple myeloma cells travel. |
| By shutting down this “chemical GPS” that induces the migration of cancer cells, the team’s therapy stops the spread of multiple myeloma, helping to eliminate it altogether. | |
| Endothelial cells, those that line blood vessels, produce a protein we need to survive. This protein, CyPA, is responsible for folding and transporting other proteins. It also activates T-cell responses when we get sick. | |
| However, when multiple myeloma is present, endothelial cells overexpress CyPA and secrete it into the blood vessels where its functions become malignant. Here, CyPA is a chemo-attractant, meaning it pulls multiple myeloma cells from the bone marrow into the blood vessels where they travel quickly to other bones in the body. | |
| “To stop the spread, we aimed to turn off this function of CyPA using RNA therapy, targeting the microenvironment of the cancer instead of the cancer cell itself,” says Mitchell. “But getting nucleic acids into the marrow was challenging due to the complex biological barriers.” | |
| To get the RNA into the hard-to-reach bone marrow, the team needed to redesign the traditional delivery vehicle for the lipid nanoparticle. | |
| “We designed a new hybrid nanoparticle that could deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA) to endothelial cells,” says Figueroa-Espada. “The siRNA stops cells from producing CyPA. When tested in vitro, the therapy prevented the spread of cancer cells. When tested in mice, both alone and in combination with chemotherapies, our therapy was able to decrease the size of tumors, extend survival rates and decrease the cancer’s resistance to chemotherapy.” | |
| “This work can help improve current treatments for multiple myeloma as well as other cancers that spread through the blood vessels,” adds Mitchell. “Using our platform for targeted nanoparticle development, we are looking forward to investigating other cancers and diseases where CyPA is overexpressed.” | |
| By creating a roadblock in cancer’s commute through the body, the Penn Engineering team is removing a longstanding barrier in the treatment of multiple myeloma, providing real hope for people diagnosed with this disease. | |
| In future work, the team plans to investigate silencing additional functions in the microenvironments of cancers to better overcome drug resistance, cancer initiation, and metastasis. They are currently working with Ruben Carrasco, Professor of Pathology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and co-corresponding author of this study, to identify potential targets for this kind of therapy. Once RNA nanoparticle therapy is proven safe in larger animals, this proof-of-concept study can move forward to clinical trials. |
| Source: By Melissa Pappas, University of Pennsylvania (Note: Content may be edited for style and length) |
News
Scientists Just Overturned a 100-Year-Old Belief About Bacteria in the Lungs
New findings raise questions about the role of microbes living in the lungs. More than 35 trillion bacteria live throughout the human body, forming microbiomes in the gut, mouth, lungs, skin, and urogenital tract. [...]
GHCE Concept
From the preface of the book Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artificial Intelligence, Edited by Frank Boehm: Since the publication of my first book (Nanomedical Device and Systems [...]
Novartis, Ionis drug failure spurs questions
Pelacarsen didn’t protect heart health despite lowering levels of a protein particle, “Lp(a),” in a large clinical trial — a result with important implications for cardiovascular drug research. Dive Brief: An RNA drug from [...]
New injectable treatment helps the brain rebuild after stroke
Biomedical engineers at Duke University have created an injectable biomaterial that may help the brain recover from damage left behind by an ischemic stroke. In experiments with mice, the material transformed the cavity created [...]
Scientists Discover a Hidden “Immune Organ” Inside the Skull
Researchers discovered lymph node-like immune hubs inside skull bone marrow that appear to act as rapid-response centers for the brain. For decades, the brain was thought to operate largely apart from the immune system. [...]
Engineered tRNAs and lipid nanoparticles target nonsense mutation cystic fibrosis
Researchers have developed a potential new approach for treating a form of cystic fibrosis caused by so-called nonsense mutations, combining chemically modified transfer RNAs with lipid nanoparticles designed to deliver the therapy directly to [...]
New pancreatic cancer drug carries a $39,800 monthly list price
A groundbreaking treatment for one of the most common forms of pancreatic cancer has been approved in pill form by the FDA. Revolution Medicines’ oral tablet daraxonrasib, branded as Rasonque, reduced the risk of [...]
Researchers Have Discovered a New Way To Reduce Chronic Nerve Pain
A cancer-linked protein called BRAF may help drive chronic nerve pain, and existing cancer drugs targeting it reduced pain sensitivity in preclinical models. Chronic nerve pain can persist long after an injury and often [...]
Our books now available worldwide!
Online Sellers other than Amazon, Routledge, and IOPP Indigo Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artifcial Intelligence Global Health Care Equivalency In The Age Of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine And Artificial [...]
Quantum-Enabled Regenerative Health: Reimagining Wellness, Precision Health and Longevity Medicine
Introduction Healthcare is approaching a frontier where the quantum portfolio could influence not only how disease is diagnosed and treated, but how health itself is measured, modeled, predicted and preserved. Quantum computing, quantum simulation, [...]
FDA Clears First-of-Its-Kind Nonmedication Treatment for PTSD
The FDA has cleared a system that uses brain activity data to personalize magnetic stimulation for PTSD, adding a new nonmedication treatment option. Every day in the United States, approximately 17.5 veterans die by suicide, [...]
FDA approves breakthrough drug to treat advanced pancreatic cancer
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved on Wednesday a drug that could extend the survival of those with metastatic pancreatic cancer. The drug, called daraxonrasib, will be sold under the brand name Rasonque [...]
AI Decodes a Hidden DNA Signal Linked to Disease-Causing Mutations
Machine learning identifies the likely “initiator” and enables new predictions about DNA mutations that can cause disease. Every human cell depends on tens of thousands of genes being switched on at the right time [...]
Pope Leo Urges Global Response to Congo’s Deadliest Ebola Outbreak
Pope Leo called for international action to address the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The epidemic has claimed over 2,500 lives and is the nation's largest recorded outbreak. The Pope emphasized [...]
Is there a summer COVID-19 surge this year? Yep, it’s ramping up again
Hantavirus. Ebola. West Nile. Measles. And, of course, cyclospora — that stomach parasite making people miserable across the country. Americans have plenty to worry about this summer. But remember COVID-19? It may not be [...]
Natural Compound in Broccoli Could Help Treat a Rare, Incurable Neurological Disease
Swinburne researchers have discovered how broccoli could help treat an extremely rare and incurable disease that affects only about 200 Australians. A naturally occurring compound in broccoli is being investigated as a possible treatment [...]
