據(jù)美國《紐約時報》6月28日報道,，澳大利亞科學家開發(fā)出一種“特洛伊木馬”療法來對抗癌癥。該方法從細菌上摘取納米細胞,，讓其滲透進入癌細胞并讓癌細胞“繳械投降”,，再用另一個帶有化療藥物的納米細胞殺死癌細胞。相關(guān)研究發(fā)表在最新出版的《自然·生物技術(shù)》雜志上,。
進行該項研究的科學家詹尼弗·麥克戴米德和希曼蘇·婆羅姆布哈特表示,，在過去的兩年內(nèi)，他們在具有人類癌癥細胞的老鼠身上使用了“特洛伊木馬”療法,，研究表明,，老鼠的存活率為100%。他們計劃在接下來的幾個月內(nèi)開始在人類身上進行臨床試驗,，這種細胞傳遞系統(tǒng)的人體試驗將從下周開始在皇家墨爾本醫(yī)院展開,。
麥克戴米德表示，“特洛伊木馬”療法同目前的治療方法不一樣,，可以直接攻擊癌癥細胞,。目前，醫(yī)生一般將化療藥物注射進癌癥病人體內(nèi),，藥物會同時攻擊癌癥細胞和正常細胞,。
研究人員稱，第一批名為EnGenelC Delivery Vehicle的“迷你”細胞釋放出核糖核酸分子,，讓癌癥細胞不再能夠生產(chǎn)對抗化學療法的蛋白質(zhì),。接著，第二批“迷你”細胞進入癌癥細胞,，釋放出化學療法藥物,，殺死癌癥細胞。
研究人員一直使用核糖核酸干預法來使某些基因沉默,，這些基因可能產(chǎn)生引發(fā)某些疾病的蛋白質(zhì)，這些疾病包括癌癥,、失明以及艾滋病,，很多公司都在前赴后繼地尋找操縱RNA的方法。
婆羅姆布哈特表示,，傳統(tǒng)的藥物治療會讓一些癌癥細胞死亡,，但有些細胞也會產(chǎn)生使癌癥細胞對化療藥物產(chǎn)生抗藥性的蛋白質(zhì),，導致病人因后續(xù)治療失敗而最終死亡。她指出,，希望通過“特洛伊木馬”療法將癌癥當作一種慢性疾病來管理,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Nature Biotechnology 28 June 2009 | doi:10.1038/nbt.1547
Sequential treatment of drug-resistant tumors with targeted minicells containing siRNA or a cytotoxic drug
Jennifer A MacDiarmid1, Nancy B Amaro-Mugridge1, Jocelyn Madrid-Weiss1, Ilya Sedliarou1, Stefanie Wetzel1, Kartini Kochar1, Vatsala N Brahmbhatt1, Leo Phillips1, Scott T Pattison1, Carlotta Petti1, Bruce Stillman2, Robert M Graham3,4 & Himanshu Brahmbhatt1
The dose-limiting toxicity of chemotherapeutics, heterogeneity and drug resistance of cancer cells, and difficulties of targeted delivery to tumors all pose daunting challenges to effective cancer therapy. We report that small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes readily penetrate intact bacterially derived minicells previously shown to cause tumor stabilization and regression when packaged with chemotherapeutics. When targeted via antibodies to tumor-cell-surface receptors, minicells can specifically and sequentially deliver to tumor xenografts first siRNAs or short hairpin RNA (shRNA)–encoding plasmids to compromise drug resistance by knocking down a multidrug resistance protein. Subsequent administration of targeted minicells containing cytotoxic drugs eliminate formerly drug-resistant tumors. The two waves of treatment, involving minicells loaded with both types of payload, enable complete survival without toxicity in mice with tumor xenografts, while involving several thousandfold less drug, siRNA and antibody than needed for conventional systemic administration of cancer therapies.
1 EnGeneIC Pty Ltd., Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
2 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA.
3 Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia.
4 University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia.
