Oncology investigator Xiaoyang Qi says that he's wrapped another animal study that demonstrates the potential of a combination of cellular components into a treatment that's able to vanquish cancer cells.
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| Xiaoyang Qi |
In this latest study Qi and his team at the University of Cincinnati used SapC-DOPS--a lysosomal protein, saposin C (SapC), and a phospholipid named dioleoylphosphatidylserine (DOPS)--to target the cell membranes in lung cancer tumors in animal models as well as cell cultures in the lab.
Using research funds from the National Cancer Institute, Qi has been busily building preclinical evidence that this kind of treatment has potential uses against brain, skin, prostate, blood, breast and pancreatic cancer, while leaving normal cells and tissues unmolested.
One of the keys to its success, he explains, is SapC-DOPS ability to bind to phosphatidylseriine, a lipid found on the membrane surfaces of all tumor cells.
"Using a double-tracking method in live models, we showed that the nanovesicles were specifically targeted to the tumors," says Qi in a statement. "These data suggest that the acidic phospholipid PS is a biomarker for lung cancer, as it has been found to be for pancreatic and brain tumors in previous studies, and can be effectively targeted for therapy using cancer-selective SapC-DOPS nanovesicles."
- here's the release