| Genetically
engineered neural stem cells can track and attack migrating cells
of glioblastome multiforme Neural stem cells genetically engineered to express the apoptosis-inducing protein called tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis inducing ligand, or TRAIL, show promise as a therapy for glioblastome multiforme, according to an article in the December 15th issue of Cancer Research. The same research team had previously shown that neural stem cells have the ability to track tumor cells as they migrate away from the original tumor site. The current study used neural stem cells that had been genetically engineered to deliver the TRAIL protein, which triggers apoptosis in several types of cancers without toxicity to normal cells. In vitro studies conducted by the research team demonstrated that protein-secreting neural stem cells induced significant cancer cell death and the genetically engineered stem cells maintained their viability, strongly expressing the apoptotic protein for as long as 10 days. Similar
results were found in vivo when human glioblastoma cells in mice
were treated with protein-secreting neural stem cells or with a
control substance. One week after treatment, strong secretion of
protein was visible in the main tumor mass and in disseminating
tumor pockets and satellites, indicating that the engineered cells
were actively tracking and attacking tumor cells. The tumors treated
with genetically engineered stem cells decreased significantly in
size compared with tumor size in the control animals. Furthermore,
although the active treatment was dramatically effective in killing
tumor cells, it was not toxic to normal brain tissue. |