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Originally shared by EuroTechA Virus That Kills Cancerby Sophie Wrobel
, EuroTech
; GermanyTwo hours is all it takes for an adenovirus to send over 30% of NET cancer cells into suicide. The oncolytic adenovirus is a new therapeutic reagent for cancers. It is a genetically manipulated virus containing a payload to bind to targeted receptors, and inject a viral DNA snippet into the cell. The cell then executes the new DNA code, which, in cancer-fighting adenoviruses, contains a suicide signal.
This particular adenovirus is Ad5(CgA-E1A-miR122) or for short Ad5fk-FWKT. The cryptic name explains what exactly the virus is: Ad5 stands for human adenovirus serotyp 5, and everything after that describes the modifications to the Ad5 virus: fk stands for the fiber knob, and FWKT identifies the receptor that the adenovirus targets. Ad5 binds to the coxsackie-adenovirus receptor (CAR) – an expression that vanishes on neuroendocrine tumor cells, making them immune to the Ad5 attack vector. So, Dr. Magnus Essand’s team (or more specifically Dr. Justyna Leja, as this project was her thesis) has modified the target sequence to pick somatostatin receptors instead, which are plentiful on the neuroendocrine tumor cells, and attack those cells, effectively forcing them to commit suicide.
How do you recognize and target a cancer cell?Neuroendocrine tumors are cancers of the gastrointestinal and lower respiratory tract. These cells express somatostatin 2 receptors (SSTRs), containing the ligand somatostain, and recognizable by the Phe-Trp-Lys-Thr loop (also known as FWKT) pattern marker. When the SSTRs are activated, the cells cannot grow anymore.
Safe treatment: No serious side effectsAdenoviruses have been around in medical research for over 15 years already. A dose of Ad5fk-FWKT may give you flu-like symptoms during treatment, but otherwise none of the serious side effects commonly associated with cancer treatment.
Lab studies on mice and on cultured tumor cells suggest that around a sixth of the cells are heavily infiltrated after 30 minutes of exposure to the adenovirus, and by heavily infiltrated, I mean that the chance of the cancer cell surviving is less than 10%. After two hours, a third of the cells are heavily infiltrated, and over 90% of the cells look like they might already have been infiltrated by the adenovirus.
When will we see it?At the moment, never. The virus is currently sitting dormant in a freezer in Sweden. The researchers have already published their details in academic journals, which means it can’t be patented anymore. And without a patent, no big pharma business wants to invest the £2 million to take it through the next round of trials. But, perhaps we can help them raise sufficient funds – with the promise of an unpatentable (and therefore inexpensive) cancer miracle treatment waiting at the other side.
Further readingTelegraph article (with a juicy narrative):
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9508895/A-virus-that-kills-cancer-the-cure-thats-waiting-in-the-coldc.htmlFull text journal article:
http://www.bionity.com/de/fachpublikationen/264133/oncolytic-adenovirus-modified-with-somatostatin-motifs-for-selective-infection-of-neuroendocrine-tumor-cells.htmlDonate on the project website:
http://www.uu.se/en/support/oncolyticTags: #ScienceEveryday
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