New nanoparticles shrink tumors in mice

By sequencing cancer-cell genomes, scientists have discovered vast numbers of genes that are mutated, deleted or copied in cancer cells. This treasure trove is a boon for researchers seeking new drug targets, but it is nearly impossible to test them all in a timely fashion.

To help speed up the process, MIT researchers have developed RNA-delivering nanoparticles that allow for rapid screening of new drug targets in mice. In their first mouse study, done with researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute, they showed that nanoparticles that target a protein known as ID4 can shrink ovarian tumors.  


“If we could figure out how to make this work [in humans], it would open up a whole new class of targets that hadn’t been available,” says Hahn, who is also director of the Center for Cancer Genome Discovery at Dana-Farber and a senior associate member of the Broad Institute.

Lead authors of the paper are Yin Ren, an MD/PhD student in Bhatia’s lab, and Hiu Wing Cheung, a postdoc in Hahn’s lab.

In a study of mice with ovarian tumors, the researchers found that treatment with the RNAi nanoparticles eliminated most of the tumors. Gordon Mills, chair of the systems biology department at the University of Texas’ MD Anderson Cancer Center, says the work is an important step toward generating new targets for drugs to treat ovarian cancer, which is the fifth-leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States.

Bron: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/new-nanoparticles-shrink-tumors-in-mice-0816.html