New nanoparticle treatment merges two technologies to fight Glioblastoma cancer

Good news! Cancer is history (soon)!

"... The new treatment uses bioadhesive nanoparticles that adhere to the site of the tumor and then slowly release the synthesized peptide nucleic acids that they’re carrying. These peptide nucleic acids target certain microRNAs — that is, short strands of RNA that play a role in gene expression. Specifically, they’re directed at a type of overexpressed microRNA known as “oncomiRs” that lead to the proliferation of cancer cells and growth of the tumor. When the peptide nucleic acids attach to the oncomiRs, they stop the tumor-promoting activity. ..."

From the abstract:

"Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most lethal malignancies with poor survival and high recurrence rates. Here, we aimed to simultaneously target oncomiRs 10b and 21, reported to drive GBM progression and invasiveness. We designed short (8-mer) γ-modified peptide nucleic acids (sγPNAs), targeting the seed region of oncomiRs 10b and 21. We entrapped these anti-miR sγPNAs in nanoparticles (NPs) formed from a block copolymer of poly(lactic acid) and hyperbranched polyglycerol (PLA-HPG). The surface of the NPs was functionalized with aldehydes to produce bioadhesive NPs (BNPs) with superior transfection efficiency and tropism for tumor cells. When combined with temozolomide, sγPNA BNPs administered via convection-enhanced delivery (CED) markedly increased the survival (>120 days) of two orthotopic (intracranial) mouse models of GBM. Hence, we established that BNPs loaded with anti-seed sγPNAs targeting multiple oncomiRs are a promising approach to improve the treatment of GBM, with a potential to personalize treatment based on tumor-specific oncomiRs."

New treatment merges two technologies to fight brain cancer | YaleNews A nanoparticle-based treatment developed by researchers at Yale and the University of Connecticut is aimed at fighting glioblastoma.

Anti-seed PNAs targeting multiple oncomiRs for brain tumor therapy (open access)

A new treatment ... uses bioadhesive nanoparticles that adhere to the site of the tumor and then slowly release the synthesized peptide nucleic acids that they’re carrying. In this image, the nanoparticles (red) are visible within human glioma tumor cells (green with blue nuclei).