Researchers from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have discovered a new stem cell therapy that can kill metastatic tumour cells in the brain. They have developed a technique that delivers a virus to the site of tumours to kill them.
It is a ground breaking stem cell therapy that may lead to a cure for hard-to-treat brain cancers. The research findings were recently published in the journal PNAS.
Metastatic brain tumours are very common and usually occur after breast, lung or skin cancer has spread to the brain. Approximately 40% of advanced melanoma skin cancers result in a brain tumour of this type. Current treatment options for this type of brain cancer are very limited.
The researchers began looking for tumour-specific therapies that could target cancerous cells without damaging adjacent tissue. They began by injecting mice with patient-derived, brain-seeking metastatic cancer cells. These cells created tumours in the brains of the mice. The cells were altered with express markers so they could directly enter the brain. Each cell also had bioluminescent and fluorescent markers so the researchers could track its movement.
The researchers then derived some mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow. The oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) was then attached to the stem cells. This virus has the ability to kill dividing cancer cells, while leaving normal cells alone.
When transplanted into the body, many of the mesenchymal stem cells naturally migrate to metastatic sites in the brain. The researchers injected the stem-cell-loaded oncolytic viruses into the carotid artery. The stem cells transported the virus to the brain, where it began to slow the rate of cancer growth. The transplanted stem cells were also eventually killed by the oHSV mediated oncolysis, which is essential for the safety of the stem cell therapy.
This new stem cell therapy may eventually lead to a cure for this very common form of brain cancer.
Source: Stem cell-based therapy for targeting skin-to-brain cancer
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