Scientists at the Nanosystems Institute at UCLA have invented a tiny capsule that potentially kills cancer cells; a new way of treating cancer without exposing the living tissues to any form of damage.
This capsule, with a size of 100 nanometres (half the size of the smallest bacterium) is made of a degradable nano-scale shell. It delivers proteins to cancer cells and stunts the growth of tumours without damaging healthy cells.
A major benefit of the use of the capsule over current cancer treatments in place is that it does not present the risk of genetic mutation posed by gene therapies for cancer, or the risk to healthy cells caused by chemotherapy, which does not effectively discriminate between healthy and cancerous cells. This is therefore a potentially pioneering technique; treating cancer cells without harming the healthy cells in the body.
The material that damages the cancer cells, apoptin, is a protein complex derived from an anemia virus in birds. This protein cargo is stored up in the nucleus of cancer cells and communicates to the cell to undergo ‘programmed self-destruction’, or apoptosis.
The research scientists carried out tests on human breast cancer cell lines in laboratory mice and this showed a major reduction in the growth of tumours. This presents an exciting possibility for future management of human cancers.
