Nanorobot for oncologists
Russian scientists have created a nanorobot that kills cancer cells
Scientists from ITMO University in St. Petersburg have proposed a new concept of a means to combat cancer. The nanorobot created by them from DNA fragments will not only be able to destroy cancer cells, but also simultaneously recognize them throughout the body. The results of the study are published in the journal Chemistry – A European journal (Spelkov et al., Bifunctional RNA‐targeting deoxyribozyme nanodevice as a potential theranostic agent).
The creation of effective drugs to combat cancer that would not cause severe side effects is one of the most important tasks for chemists, pharmacists and biologists. Scientists have high hopes for gene therapy aimed at combating mutations that occur in human cells.
"DNA is the basis of a cell, it contains genetic information that is needed to encode proteins vital for the existence of a cell," Ekaterina Goncharova, one of the authors of the study, is quoted in a university press release. – When a cell becomes cancerous, it has a malfunction in the genome, after which it begins to synthesize “bad” proteins – not the ones that our body needs. As a result, the cells begin to multiply uncontrollably, this process cannot be stopped – the tumor mass increases and increases."
If the process of producing disease-related proteins is stopped, then cancer cells will not be able to divide and will begin to die. DNA enzymes called deoxyribozymes can, under certain conditions, cleave bonds in RNAs encoding pathogenic proteins.
Scientists from ITMO together with their American colleagues from the University of Central Florida have studied the properties of some deoxyribozymes capable of recognizing pathogenic RNA molecules and cutting them.
Having synthesized such self-copying deoxyribozymes in the laboratory, the authors created on their basis a kind of nanorobot capable of marking certain types of cancer cells with the help of luminous molecules and destroying them.
"Our DNA nanorobot consists of two parts: detection and therapeutic," explains Goncharova. – The therapeutic part cuts pathogenic RNA: the more we cut it, the less protein is produced, which is harmful. The second part of our robot allows detecting affected cells – if there is an "incorrect" RNA in the cell, our substance combines with an oligonucleotide that is artificially introduced into the cell, splits it, and a fluorescent glow occurs."
The scientists tested their development on the KRAS model gene, which in most oncological diseases serves as a "molecular switch" that activates unlimited cell growth. The nanorobot successfully detected the RNA responsible for the synthesis of pathogenic proteins and was able to split it. The new nanodevice selectively highlights and cleaves the RNA molecules associated with KRAS, ignoring all other molecules.
Experiments on living cells and animals are ahead. Scientists will also have to solve the problem of delivering a nanorobot to the affected cells. Work on nano-containers for targeted drug delivery is currently actively underway in various laboratories, including at ITMO University.
The press service of ITMO University noted that another potential advantage of the proposed concept is the price. The creation of such a nanorobot even in laboratory conditions costs 1000-1500 rubles.
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