Medical Discovery News
Science permeates everyday life. Yet the understanding of advances in biomedical science is limited at best. Few people make the connection that biomedical science is medicine and that biomedical scientists are working today for the medicine of tomorrow. Our weekly five-hundred-word newspaper column (http://www.illuminascicom.com/) and two-minute radio show provide insights into a broad range of biomedical science topics. Medical Discovery News is dedicated to explaining discoveries in biomedical research and their promise for the future of medicine. Each release is designed to stimulate listeners to think, question and appreciate how science affects their health as well as that of the rest of the world. We also delve into significant biomedical discoveries and portray how science (or the lack of it) has impacted health throughout history.
Medical Discovery News
Bacteria as a GPS Beacon for Tumor Cell Therapy
901 - Bacteria as GPS for Tumor Cell Treatment
Welcome to Medical Discovery News. I’m Dr. David Niesel.
And I’m Dr Norbert Herzog.
There’s a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. That very well describes a cancer-fighting therapy scientists are exploring.
We’ve known that bacteria can penetrate and colonize human tumors which makes sense that scientists are engineering bacteria to carry a cancer-fighting tool inside tumors. Except, they’re using a bacteria that normally causes disease in humans: E. Coli.
But in this case, researchers engineered an E. Coli strain called Nisle nineteen-seventeen which colonizes tumors.
Once the colonizing begins, the E. coli strain produces and releases a specialized antigen, a protein that binds to the surface of the tumor cell.
The other end of the protein contains the sequences for something called green fluorescent protein or GFP which is exposed on the surface of the tumor cells. The GFP serves as a beacon drawing the attention of the body’s immune cells.
Next they removed the patient’s T-cells and engineer them to carry a new protein molecule on their surface called a chimeric antigen receptor.
The receptor is designed to recognize the GFP, the beacon the E.coli placed on the tumors, and kill those cells whether they’re at the primary site or have metastisized to other parts of the body.
The therapy works in mice with colon and breast cancer, but human tumors may be more difficult to penetrate. If the therapy works in humans, it could become a highly precise and effective tool against cancer.
We are Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, at UTMB and Quinnipiac University, where biomedical discoveries shape the future of medicine. For much more and our disclaimer go to medicaldiscoverynews.com or subscribe to our podcast. Sign up for expanded print episodes at www.illuminascicom.com