A team of researchers from the University of Trieste, in collaboration with international institutes such as the China Pharmaceutical University and the Aix Marseille University, has made a significant step forward in the field of therapies against aggressive tumors. Thanks to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Pnas).
A team of researchers from the University of Trieste, in collaboration with international institutes such as the China Pharmaceutical University and the Aix Marseille University, has made a significant step forward in the field of therapies against aggressive tumors. Thanks to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers have developed two nanoparticles capable of transporting RNA and DNA-based therapies inside cells in a selective and targeted way, in order to counteract progression of very aggressive tumors.
Therapies based on the transport and release of nucleic acids represent an important research area to combat serious diseases, including aggressive tumors, metastases and rare genetic diseases. However, in order for these therapeutic molecules to reach the cell, they must be masked to avoid being recognized as external agents and attacked by the body’s immune system.
To overcome this obstacle, researchers at the University of Trieste have developed two different types of vectors that exploit self-assembling nanomaterials, which can autonomously organize themselves around nucleic acids, hide them and selectively transport them inside cells. This mechanism can be likened to a “Trojan horse” that tricks the cell into allowing nanoparticles to deliver therapies directly to their target.
An important aspect of this research is that the researchers have created two nanoparticles with different characteristics: one specific for RNA-based therapies and the other for DNA-based ones. This distinction is fundamental since RNA and DNA molecules have different mechanisms and characteristics, and therefore require a specifically constructed vector to allow them to effectively penetrate inside the cell and perform their therapeutic function.
Despite the promising results obtained in the laboratory, there is still a long way to go before these nanoparticles can be used in clinical settings. Future research goals mainly concern the industrial-scale process for the production of these nanoparticles, which requires a complex set of requirements for the production of pharmaceutical materials. These challenges will need to be overcome in order to conduct further clinical trials on nanoparticles.
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