Nanoparticles Deliver 1-2 Punch To Aggressive Tumors
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have formulated a novel cancer therapy that destroys aggressive tumor cells by first disabling their defenses and then inflicting a deadly dose of DNA damage.
The one-two punch treatment approach depends on a nanoparticle that delivers two drugs and strategically releases them at different times. Paula Hammond, the David H. Koch Professor in Engineering, member of MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and co-leader of the research team said, “I think it’s a harbinger of what nanomedicine can do for us in the future. We’re moving from the simplest model of the nanoparticle — just getting the drug in there and targeting it — to having smart nanoparticles that deliver drug combinations in the way that you need to really attack the tumor.”
Led by Michael Yaffe, the David H. Koch Professor in Science, the team found that tumor cells could be made more susceptible by using the drug erlotinib, which weakened the cells, and then releasing doxorubicin, in contrast to administering the two drugs simultaneously.
Erlotinib shuts down one of the pathways that triggers excessive tumor growth by targeting the protein epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor found on tumor cell surfaces. Doxorubicin is a DNA-damaging drug used to treat different cancers including leukemia, lymphoma, lung, and bladder cancer. Staggering delivery of the drugs was shown to be effective against a type of aggressive breast cancer cell known as a triple negative, the researchers found.
The team tested the nanoparticle one-two punch approach in mice with implanted triple-negative breast tumors and non-small cell lung tumors. Both cancer types were significantly reduced, especially when the drugs were packaged in liposome nanoparticles. “With a nanoparticle delivery platform that allows us to control the relative rates of release and the relative amounts of loading, we can put these systems together in a smart way that allows them to be as effective as possible,” said Professor Hammond.
The MIT team’s findings appeared in the online edition of Science Signaling.