A useful side effect
Iron nanoparticles may be the key to fighting cancer
Scientists accidentally discovered that iron nanoparticles, which were created as a cure for anemia, force the immune system to pay attention to cancer cells and destroy them, according to an article published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology (Zanganeh et al., Iron oxide nanoparticles inhibit tumour growth by inducing pro-inflammatory macrophage polarization in tumour tissues).
"We were very surprised that these nanoparticles caused macrophages to attack cancer cells inside the mouse body. We think that the same technique will work in the treatment of tumors in the human body. Many of our colleagues consider nanoparticles to be just a means for drug delivery, but they can cause interesting effects by themselves that we won't see if we don't look closely at them," says Heike Daldrup–Link from Stanford University (USA).
Daldrup-Link and her colleagues made this discovery by developing a drug based on iron nanoparticles that would help people suffering from anemia or who have recently lost a large amount of blood to restore hemoglobin levels in the body. This drug, ferumoxitol, was recently approved by US health authorities, and scientists have been testing it for possible side effects.
Observing the effects of these nanoparticles on various cultures of mouse cells, scientists noticed that they have an extremely unusual effect on the behavior of macrophages – one of the most important cells of the immune system, whose main task is to cleanse the body of "biomusor", bacteria and cancer cells. These cells were discovered by Nobel laureate Ilya Mechnikov in 1884.
This discovery prompted scientists to think that iron nanoparticles can be used to fight cancer. They tested their idea on three groups of mice, into whose body they implanted malignant tumors grown in test tubes. The first rodent population received injections of iron nanoparticles filled with an anti–cancer drug, the second - "empty" nanoparticles, and the third served as a control group.
The experiment showed that both "full" and "empty" nanoparticles suppressed tumor growth equally well and forced macrophages to attack cancer cells and destroy them, which they did not do in the body of control individuals, where the immune system simply ignored the tumor. Similarly, iron nanoparticles prevented the appearance of metastases in the lungs, liver and other organs of the body of mice.
Drawing from the Stanford Medicine press release
Iron nanoparticles make immune cells attack cancer – VM
According to scientists, such a beneficial effect of nanoparticles is due to the fact that their absorption by macrophages changes the electrical properties of the shell of cells of the immune system, thanks to which they acquire the ability to "see" cancer cells that had previously been hiding from them and posing as "their own".
Given that this drug has already been recognized as safe for human health, scientists suggest starting clinical trials on cancer patients in the near future.
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28.09.2016