Post by Vene on Aug 5, 2009 21:14:08 GMT -5
Nanotech Therapy Delivers Suicide Gene To Ovarian Cancer Cells
Some excerpts:
Naturally, I really hope that this works and it can be applied to other cancers. But, I can see so many people freaking out because of two simple things, nanotechnology and because this is essentially genetic engineering.
Some excerpts:
The treatment, which involves the use of nanotechnology to deliver genetic material into cells, could be ready for human clinical trials in as little as one year, the researchers said.
"What we did was deliver DNA that basically tells cells to die. But it is only turned on in ovarian cells," said Dan Anderson of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who worked on the study.
The team tested different compounds until they identified a biodegradable polymer that would be a suitable delivery vehicle. To create the nanoparticle, the polymers were mixed with a gene that produces a modified form of the diphtheria toxin that is only harmful to ovarian cancer cells.
The study is just one demonstration of the potential uses for nanoparticles in non-viral gene therapy, Anderson said. The team also plans to study nanoparticle-delivered toxin genes in cancers of the liver, lung and brain. The lab has also partnered with biotech firm Alnylam Pharmaceuticals to study the use of nanoparticles to transport treatments in a promising new field of genetic therapy called RNA interference, which can shut down or mute the activity of genes.
Naturally, I really hope that this works and it can be applied to other cancers. But, I can see so many people freaking out because of two simple things, nanotechnology and because this is essentially genetic engineering.