Despite the vast amount of research that has been devoted to chemotherapeutics for cancer treatments, the most effective method remains surgical resection of cancer tissues. While it is the standard of care for carcinomas detected prior to metastasis, it is also the most prone to human error. Surgical resection of tumors requires a skilled oncology surgeon being able to remove the entirety of the cancer tissue to eliminate positive margins of cancer cells surrounding the tumor, while also avoiding damage to healthier tissue. In order to combat this issue, a new field of cancer research has emerged which utilizes fluorescent imaging technology to help guide the surgeon through fluorescent image guided surgery.
In the lab I did my research in, we primarily relied on fluorescent dyes conjugated to hyaluronic acid (HA) based nanoparticles. Of course anyone with a solid skin care routine has heard of HA as a way to rejuvenate skin for a younger look. It is often implemented into anti-aging creams due to its ability to retain water molecules within its hydrophilic moieties. What many don't realize is that its chemical properties make it an impressive delivery method for cancer therapeutics.
The reason HA is an effective molecule for the targeting of cancer tissues is because most of our organs already have HA incorporated into the surrounding meshwork. Cancers utilize this and upregulate the expression of CD44 receptors as well as HA binding protein (Qi et al., 2020). Along with this, the increased growth rate of cancer cells provides larger gaps between cells allowing nanoparticles to enter between cells and disperse throughout the tumor framework. By utilizing this simple little molecule, and some very expensive cameras, a surgeon could essentially make the entirety of the tumor 'light up'. This research is currently being conducted for pancreatic as well as breast cancer, but could be further implemented into other types of adenocarcinomas. In this sense, hyaluronic acid could allow for further reduction of positive margins, fewer occurrences of relapse, and improved cancer survival. Oh, and healthier looking skin.
Qi, B., Crawford, A.J., Wojtynek, N.E., Talmon, G.A., Hollingsworth, M.A., Ly, Q.P., & Mohs, A.M. (2020). Tuned near infrared fluorescent hyaluronic acid conjugates for delivery to pancreatic cancer for intraoperative imaging. Theranostics, 10(8), 3413-3429. https://doi.org/10.7150/thno.40688
Hi Lucas! Great post. I used to work in a neurodegenerative disease lab back in undergrad. The professor/PI of that lab taught a class called cell physiology and we had an entire unit on anti-aging and how it works, so I found your post to be intriguing.
ReplyDeleteAll of our anti-aging knowledge stemmed from telomeres. Telomeres are caps at the ends of chromosomes that protect our DNA from damage. As we get older, these caps continue to get shorter and shorter. An enzyme called telomerase helps to protect these caps at the end and sometimes even rebuild them. Shortening of these telomeres leads to cell apoptosis or even oncogenic transformation of somatic cells, thereby negatively affecting the individual's health as well as their lifespan (Shammas et al., 2011). So, our professor told us... If there was a way to keep this enzyme to always work that way our telomeres would not shorten as much or as quickly- would people age slower?
It makes me wonder... For those individuals who age well, is it something to do with their telomerase activity?
Just food for thought!
Shammas M. A. (2011). Telomeres, lifestyle, cancer, and aging. Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care, 14(1), 28–34. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCO.0b013e32834121b1