Stealth virus for cancer therapy

Viral Oncology: Stealth virus for cancer therapy

Scientists have redesigned an adenovirus for use in cancer therapy. They have developed a new protein shield that hides the virus and protects it from being eliminated. Adapters on the surface of the virus enable the reconstructed virus to specifically infect tumour cells.
             Viruses have their own genetic material which can infect human cells in a very specific manner. They will then reproduce as directed by their own genes but using the resources of the host cell. These properties proofs that they can fight with hereditary diseases or cancer. There are uncountable different viruses, but the human adenovirus 5, which normally causes the symptoms of a typical cold, has substantial advantages. Without any of the viral genes
left, the virus cannot replicate and trigger diseases. In addition, the genome of the adenovirus is very large and does not assimilate into human chromosomes.
Adapter molecules dock the virus to the tumor
Until now the use of adenoviruses in tumor therapy has not been employed. Because they lack the ability to infect cancer cells and therefore cannot inject the genetic blueprints for the therapeutic molecules to fight the disease. Moreover, adenoviruses are normally neutralized by the immune system and very rapidly eliminated by the liver. Researchers are now rebuilding the viruses so that they effectively recognize and infect tumor cells. For this purpose they are creating molecules which act as an adapter between the virus and the tumor cell.
         The adapters, which cling very tightly to the coat of the virus, can bind to different surface molecules on the tumor cell. The scientists are testing adapters for several receptors such as HER2 and EGFR, which are present on various types of cancer cells.
New protein shield masks and protects against the immune system
Researchers hid the virus under a novel protein coat, which serves as camouflage for the virus and which protects it from the immune system. As a basis for this shield the researchers used an existing antibody that they had already redesigned.
       The protein shield protected the virus from the immune cells & prevented the virus from being eliminated by the liver, which normally quickly removed unmodified adenoviruses from the bloodstream, often making therapeutic applications impossible. The virus redesigned using sophisticated protein engineering techniques, worked & efficiently infected the tumor cells. Using this stealth gene shuttles, the scientists wants to develop novel therapies for different types of cancer. The success of Adenoviruses will help to tackle one of the greatest problems of cancer medicine & therapy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Petting zoos transmit Virulent drug-resistant bacteria to visitors

Image
Human infectious diseases :  Petting zoos transmit Virulent drug-resistant bacteria to visitors Petting zoos are a popular attraction around the world, allowing direct and indirect exposure of both children and adults to a diverse range of animal species. They are different from regular zoos because rather than visitors just looking at the animals, petting zoos are interactive with children visiting, holding and petting the animals. Extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and AmpC-producing Enterobacteriaceae (AmpC-E), which are resistant to a number of commonly used antibiotics, have become a matter of great concern in both human and veterinary medicine, so understanding the likelihood of them colonizing the animals is critical to evaluating the risk that may be posed to visitors. The researchers did a survey across randomly chosen petting zoos geographically distributed throughout the world, taking samples of faecal matter as well as from the body surface (skin, fur, or ...
Read more

How to block new antibiotic resistance gene???

Image
A new antimicrobial-resistance gene, VCC-1, a ß-lactamase gene, has been discovered in benign close relatives of virulent Vibrio cholerae, which causes cholera. Now, researchers have found a way to block the VCC-1 enzyme, which disables that resistance gene. The research is published in the journal Antimicrobial agents & chemotherapy . VCC-1 was first found in Canada, by investigators from the Public Health Agency of Canada, on frozen shrimp that had been imported from India, and sold in a Canadian grocery store. A handful of other ß-lactamase resistance genes have also emerged from India. ß-lactamase genes code for enzymes that can break down ß-lactams, which are a critically important class of antimicrobials . The researchers identified the gene in a non-toxigenic strain of Vibrio cholerae. Since then, VCC-1 has also been found in non-toxigenic V. cholerae off of the German coastline. The danger is that it's a short jump for a gene from non-toxigenic V. cholerae to...
Read more

How the mode of delivery plays key role in shaping the child's skin microbiome?

Image
Microbial Virulence : Key roles in shaping the child's skin microbiome.. The maturation of skin microbial communities during childhood is important for the skin of the children and development of the immune system into adulthood, but only a few studies have analyzed the presence of microbiota in young children. Recently investigators in China found that bacterial genera in children were more similar to those of their own mothers than to those of unrelated women. They suggest that the mode of delivery at birth could be an important factor in shaping the child's microbiome. To date, research into the maternal influence on her child's skin microbiome has been mostly limited to a narrow postpartum window in children younger than one year old and fewer studies have explored the maternal relationship with the child's microflora after infancy explained by chinese investigators. Therefore, we expanded the scope of our analysis to include sampling from different bod...
Read more