Scientists from the Lambe Institute for Translational Research at NUI Galway have developed a new stem cell treatment to help breast cancer patients. The treatment stops breast cancer cells from spreading to other organs in the body. Details of this new stem cell treatment were recently published in the journal Oncogene.
Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer. Approximately 12% of women living in the United States will suffer from breast cancer at one time in their life. Approximately 15% of the women who have breast cancer will die from it.
Women with breast cancer that has metastasised tend to have the worst outcomes. That’s because breast cancer cells can cause cancer in many other organs, including the lungs and brain.
The researchers decided to use engineered adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) to help them deliver anti-cancer drugs to metastatic sites in the body. They began by isolating vesicles secreted by MSCs. They are tiny cellular components that contain genetic information. Vesicles can also be used to share messages between cells.
They engineered the stem cell’s vesicles to include a message that suppresses tumours. The MSCs could now move to the site of the cancer cells and prevent them from becoming tumours.
One of the lead researchers, Dr Dwyer explains the process, saying: “When cancer has spread it is difficult to deliver therapy to many sites of disease while protecting healthy tissue. However, adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the natural ability to home to the sites of tumours. We engineered MSCs to express high levels of a tumour supressing microRNA [a short RNA sequence], and we used the MSCs as vehicles to deliver it to the tumour site. The MSCs were found to release the microRNA in tiny vesicles. We then isolated the vesicles to determine if they could be used to treat the cancer, without the cells. This could also reduce potential side effects.”
Source: Lambe institute researchers use adult stem cells to treat breast cancer
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