Cancer, kill yourself
New technology causes the tumor to self-destruct
Tatiana Matveeva, "Scientific Russia"
Scientists at the University of Zurich have modified a common respiratory virus called an adenovirus to act like a Trojan horse, delivering cancer treatment genes directly to tumor cells. Unlike chemotherapy or radiation therapy, this approach does not harm healthy cells. Once inside the tumor cells, the delivered genes serve as the basis for therapeutic antibodies, cytokines and other signaling substances that are produced by the cancer cells themselves and act to eliminate tumors from the inside, according to a press release of New Technology Makes Tumor Eliminate Itself.
The technology is described in detail in the journal PNAS (Smith et al., The SHRED gene therapy platform for paracrine delivery improves tumor localization and intratumoral effects of a clinical antibody).
Thus, scientists trick the tumor into self-destructing due to the production of anti-cancer agents by its own cells. At the same time, therapeutic agents – antibodies or signaling substances – mostly remain in the place where they are needed, instead of spreading through the bloodstream, where they can damage healthy organs and tissues, the authors note.
The researchers named their technology SHREAD: short for SHielded, retargeted ADenovirus. With the help of the SHREAD system, scientists forced the tumor to produce antibodies in the mammary gland of mice, which form the basis of the antitumor drug trastuzumab. They found that after a few days, SHREAD produced more antibodies in the tumor than with direct administration of the drug. Moreover, the concentration of SHREAD in the bloodstream and other tissues where side effects could occur was significantly lower. The scientists used a very sophisticated method of high-resolution three-dimensional imaging (the tissues became completely transparent) to show how a therapeutic antibody produced in the body creates pores in the blood vessels of the tumor and, thus, destroys tumor cells from the inside.
The authors of the work also emphasize that SHREAD is applicable not only for the fight against breast cancer, but also, for example, for the treatment of coronavirus infection. So, currently, developers are using their technology in a project aimed at treating COVID-19. AstraZeneca, CanSino Biologics of China, and Sputnik V of Russia are already using adenovirus vectors in several COVID vaccines, including Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, but without the innovative SHREAD technology. "By delivering the treatment of SHREAD to patients using an inhaled aerosol, our approach may allow the targeted production of drugs for the treatment of Covid antibodies in lung cells where they are most needed," the scientists explain. "This will reduce costs, increase the availability of Covid therapy, and improve the delivery of the vaccine by inhalation."
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru