Preclinical Testing of Dual Gene Therapy Drastically Suppressed Lung Cancer
Researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center found a combination of gene therapy that drastically reduces the number and size of human non-small cell lung cancer tumors in mice.
The two tumor suppressing genes when separately given intravenously reduced cancer but were found more powerful when combined (delivered in lipid-based nanoparticles):
- p53, a well-known tumor suppressor that works by causing defective cells to commit suicide and is often shut down or defective in cancer cells
- FUS1, a tumor-suppressor discovered by the research group that is deficient in most human lung cancers.
The study findings reported in the Jan. 15 edition of Cancer Research described that FUS1 works with p53 to force the lung cancer cells to kill themselves (a process known as apoptosis).
- Further analysis showed that the combination achieved greater cell suicide because FUS1 suppresses a gene that expresses a protein known to rapidly degrade p53.
- The FUS1/p53 combination also activates a cell suicide pathway based in the cells’ mitochondria, their energy powerhouse.
The research team led by Jack Roth, M.D. (professor and chair of the M. D. Anderson Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery) expects to bring the combination therapies to clinical trials in the near future.
Find more details from the press release.
Tags: FUS1, gene-therapy, lung-cancer, p53Related Stories
POSTED IN: Lung cancer, ~ Anti-cancer treatments ~
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