Israeli drug-free nanomedicine breakthrough

(TIMES OF ISRAEL) In a breakthrough, scientists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have engineered nanoparticles that treat aggressive “triple-negative” breast cancer tumours without chemotherapy or drugs, potentially paving the way for a chemical-free treatment for the deadly disease.

In a peer-reviewed study published in the journal ACS Nano, the researchers’ lab-engineered nanoparticles were able to halt the tumours in female mice.

The project was led by PhD candidate Ofri Vizenblit and assisted by Rawan Mhajne, under the supervision of Associate Professor Assaf Zinger, head of the Technion’s Bioinspired Nano Engineering Lab in the Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering.

“We managed to design nanoparticles that got the same results as some advanced immunotherapy treatments currently in use,” Zinger told The Times of Israel.

“We had significant success.”

Zinger said he hopes to advance the technology to human clinical trials.

Triple-negative breast cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. It is called triple-negative because it does not have three specific cellular markers: estrogen, progesterone and a protein known as HER2.Without these, the cancer is not treatable by conventional hormone therapies. However, it can be treated by chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and certain inhibitors that block the cancer cells from repairing.

While triple-negative breast cancer accounts for about 13 per cent of all breast cancers, it accounts for 40 per cent of breast cancer-related mortality, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Zinger explained that the cancer cells employ a range of strategies to dodge a patient’s immune system. One is to recruit white blood cells, known as macrophages, which normally fight bacteria, viruses and other infections in the body. The tumour hijacks these macrophages so that they feed it and help it grow instead of fighting it.

The unique nanoparticles developed by the researchers, called MPsomes, are injected into the bloodstream. They flow through the body, flood around the tumours, and block the macrophages from approaching. Then other immune cells can move in, attack, and shrink the tumours by using the body’s own natural defence mechanisms.

In preclinical testing on mouse models and cell cultures, the MPsomes inhibited tumour growth without causing any observable harm to vital organs.

Moreover, the particles consist of materials that international regulatory bodies have already classified as safe, a factor that could greatly facilitate the transition to human clinical trials.

Zinger’s research group is currently developing other nanoparticles to treat neurodegenerative paediatric diseases, traumatic brain injuries and ovarian cancer.

The earlier that cancer is detected, he said, the higher the chances of a cure.