Many cancers tumors are actually quite easy to kill, if not for our extremely skeptical immune systems. There are proteins, for example, that are quite toxic to some cancers, but they get broken down rapidly as soon as they are injected into the body.
Researchers at Penn State University have now created a way of encapsulating a protein called gelonin, derived from a plant, within a nano-package that stays below the radar of the immune system. This so-called biomimetic nanosystem consists of self-assembled metal-organic framework nanoparticles that hold the cargo, but which are wrapped in a layer made from cells derived from the tumor being targeted. Since the cells release special chemical signals that indicate to the immune system to stay away, the nanoparticles are able to travel safely through the body on their way to the tumor.
“We designed a strategy to take advantage of the extracellular vesicles derived from tumor cells,” said Siyang Zheng, associate professor of biomedical and electrical engineering at Penn State. “We remove 99 percent of the contents of these extracellular vesicles and then use the membrane to wrap our metal-organic framework nanoparticles. If we can get our extracellular vesicles from the patient, through biopsy or surgery, then the nanoparticles will seek out the tumor through a process called homotypic targeting.”
The particles end up stuck on the tumor, which eats them. While inside, the high acidity cracks open the particles and releases the killer proteins within.
Study in Journal of the American Chemical Society: Self-Assembly of Extracellular Vesicle-like Metal–Organic Framework Nanoparticles for Protection and Intracellular Delivery of Biofunctional Proteins…
Via: Penn State…
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