cancer cell growth

Bacterial Sepsis Protein May Inhibit Cancer Cell Growth

A toxin secreted by Vibrio vulnificus, a water and food-borne bacteria that can cause rapidly lethal infections in persons with liver disease, has potential to prevent the growth of tumors, according to a new study by Northwestern Medicine scientists.

Karla Satchell, a professor in microbiology-immunology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and her team demonstrated in a paper in Nature Communications, that a multifunctional-autoprocessing repeats-in-toxin (MARTX) protein from Vibrio vulnificus can inhibit tumor cell growth by cutting the protein Ras. This protein is central to cell division and survival, and mutations in the gene that codes for Ras are a common cause of human malignancies.

"Ras is important for cell proliferation in cancer, so the toxin could potentially be developed as a treatment for different types of tumors," Satchell says. 'It has been known that Ras has a role in cancer development and targeting Ras has been one of the hardest challenges of cancer research and drug discovery.'

Ras also plays a role in detecting pathogens and activating an immune response. The bacterium uses the MARTX toxin protein to inactivate Ras, increasing its own virulence and allowing it to spread throughout the host.

They used cell biological, genetic and biochemical techniques to show how a specific part of the toxin, an effector domain called DUF5Vv, targets and cleaves Ras. Satchell's team also revealed the ability of this domain to slice both normal and mutant forms of Ras commonly found in cancers.

"What is unique about this study is the ability of the toxin to cleave Ras, rather than modify it, which is a novel mechanism for inactivating Ras," Satchell says.

The scientists plan to continue to study the mechanisms and biochemistry of the MARTX toxin specificity to the Ras protein.

The research was funded by National Institutes of Health grants R01AI051490, R01AI092825, R01AI098369, R01CA152601, R01CA152799, R01CA168292 and a Northwestern University Avon Center of Excellence grant and by the Northwestern Medicine Catalyst Fund.

Source: Northwestern University

http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2015/06/bacterial-sepsis-protein-may-inhibit-cancer-cell-growth.aspx

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polymeric nanoparticles

New technique precisely controls size and shape 

of polymeric nanoparticles

Over the last twenty years, scientists have developed many techniques to synthesize polymeric nanoparticles for a wide range of applications including surface coating, sensor technology, catalysis, and nanomedicine.These so-called reversible-deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) techniques have provided researchers with powerful tools to synthesize well-defined macromolecules with predetermined molecular weight, low polydispersity, and precisely defined end groups.However, the precise control of the size and shape of polymer nanoparticles remains challenging, and RDRP techniques still fall well short of producing large, well-defined macromolecules with the same size and degree of precision as nature (proteins, nucleic acids, etc.).In new work, researchers at The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science & Technology (CBNS) at Monash University, led by Professor Thomas Davis, have developed a new technique to precisely control the size and shape of polymeric nanoparticles.The scientific core of these findings lies in a novel stabilizer of nanoparticles that provide the precise control over particle size and a novel self-assembly method for the synthesis of various nanoparticle shapes. In combination with traditional techniques, this new method provides a useful approach for reproducibly generating an extensive library of nanostructured particles with different sizes and shapes.The team reports their findings in recent online editions of Polymer Chemistry ("Rapid synthesis of ultrahigh molecular weight and low polydispersity polystyrene diblock copolymers by RAFT-mediated emulsion polymerization") and in ACS Macro Letters ("Reproducible Access to Tunable Morphologies via the Self-Assembly of an Amphiphilic Diblock Copolymer in Water").

Various nanoparticle 

shapes synthesized by The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Convergent Bio-Nano Science & Technology at Monash University.By using a novel macromolecular chain transfer agents (CTA) in reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT)-mediated emulsion polymerization, the researchers have overcome a long-standing challenge in the synthesis of UHMW polymers and created a new nanomaterial with promising potential."Our synthesis technique has the following advantages," Nghia Truong Phuoc, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at CBNS, tells Nanowerk: "1) ultrafast synthesis; 2) narrow distribution of particle sizes; 3) precise control over both molecular weight and particle size; 4) no use of organic solvents; 5) high solids content; 6) excellent stability; and 7) tunable morphologies."This makes the method very useful for the preparation of polymeric nanoparticles with predetermined size (from 20 nm to 200 nm) and shape (e.g., sphere, vesicle, worm, flower, etc.), opening the door to novel industrial, sensing and medical applications.Beside traditional applications, polymeric nanoparticles made via this novel technique could have great potential in biomedical engineering. For example, as Truong explains, worm-like nanoparticles can evade clearance by the immune system and achieve prolonged circulation time, which is a special feature similar to that of certain rod-shaped bacteria, viruses, and fungi found in nature."They also have the ability to accumulate in tumors to a very high concentration – i.e., up to 30 wt % of the injected dose – and achieve a higher antitumor efficacy when compared to spheres and vesicles," he points out. "In addition, nanoparticles with rare morphologies such as large compound vesicles and flower-like vesicles are rapidly taken up by cells and able to escape endolysosomal cellular transport compartments."Going forward, the researchers plan to study the structure-property relationship of nano-bio interactions occurring between these novel nanoparticles with biological systems, which could eventually provide highly efficient nanocarriers for drug and gene delivery.The ultimate goal for researchers in this field is to synthesize a library of polymeric nanoparticles possessing different sizes, shapes, surfaces, and cores to render different physicochemical properties which could support vastly different applications in biotechnology and medicine.By Michael Berger. Copyright © Nanowerk

 

Read more: New technique precisely controls size and shape of polymeric nanoparticles 

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Benign tumor

UAE hospital doctors remove rare tumour

A medical team in Sheikh Khelifa Specialty Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah (SKSH-RAK) succeeded in conducting an operation to remove a rare benign tumour for a UAE patient aged 58. The patient was suffering from shortness of breath due to a big mass of 3.5 cm that blocked her airway 

path at just behind the tongue.

Dr. Myung-Whun Sung, CEO of SKSH-RAK and head of the team who conducted the operation, stated that the surgery which took three hours had been done in three medical procedures to remove the rare tumor. “The tumour consisted of a vascular mass inside the airway track in the neck, anatomically called the hypopharynx; the patient had several previous CT scans and MRI in two different hospitals in the UAE but did not get the final. 

He noted that the patient who was referred to Sheikh Khelifa Specialty Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah (SKSH-RAK), conducted MRI to make a correct diagnosis of the mass  and to check its vascularity. The tests proved that the mass has blocked the airway and trachea causing severe shortness of breath. An MRI was done to define the size of the tumour since it was in a sensitive area.

Dr. Sung emphasized that prior to the operation, the surgeons conducted an important procedure called 'angiography embolization' to confirm the diagnosis and prevent any significant bleeding during the operation. “We then had to do the operation within a couple of days to have this preoperative procedure effective. ”, he said.

He added that the operation was conducted by a team of three doctors, achieving a successful complete removal of the tumor with minimal blood loss, and reconstructed the airway at the same time enable the patient to breath. The histopathologic diagnosis of the tumor was “paraganglioma”, which is rare but notorious for its difficulty in operation due to high Speaking about the condition of the patient. 

Dr. Sung said she is now in a good health condition and the operation was successful with no complications. We are waiting for her complete recovery to discharge her from the hospital in a few days.

“The procedures we have done before the operation made us able to define the size and type of the tumor and definitely led to its successful treatment. This uncommon case required a step-by-step team approach including radiological intervention and skilled surgery.”, he 

concluded.

source :   http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/uae-hospital-doctors-remove-rare-tumour-2015-06-05-1.592825

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Nano Drug Made From Lemon Juice Cures Jaundice Faster: Scientists 

 

 

Indian scientists recently claimed that the age-old home remedy of treating jaundice with lemon juice is one the fastest methods of treating the disease. The claim came after the scientists created a nano drug from the squeezed lemon juice to notice the speed and accuracy by which it treats the disease.
The nano particles developed by the scientists break down the bilirubin in the human body. Bilirubin is the pigment found in the bile juice produced by the liver. Higher levels of bilirubin in the blood are a marker of certain diseases, including jaundice. The discovery is believed to have opened new avenues in the field of nano medicine in the country.
"High levels may lead to brain damage or even death in newborns and adults, if not treated. To combat this, we designed manganese oxide nano particles capped with citrate, a derivative of citric acid found in citrus fruits such as lemons," said lead researcher Nabarun Polley, reported the Times of India. Polley further said that the new nano-hybrid efficiently brings down the level of bilirubin in blood by degrading the pigments.
Polley and his colleagues tested the nanoparticle in the lab on mice. According to the researchers, the nanoparticles are completely safe and compatible. In addition, the team claimed that the nano-hybrid is target-specific -- that is, it acts directly and already identifies the bilirubin pigments on which it needs to act. Therefore, the use of the nanoparticles thus eliminates its chances of targeting any other organ in the human body.
The study will be published in the Nanomedicine journal.

Contact the writer at: emailtoguneet@gmail.com.

for more ; http://www.ibtimes.com/nano-drug-made-lemon-juice-cures-jaundice-faster-scientists-1923859

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