News summary produced by Claude AI
Researchers at Oregon State University have created an experimental treatment approach for glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer that affects approximately 3.19 people per 100,000 in the United States. The current clinical challenge is substantial, with fewer than 30% of patients surviving for two years after diagnosis and over 95% dying within five years of being diagnosed.
The research team, led by Oleh Taratula, Olena Taratula and Yoon Tae Goo at the OSU College of Pharmacy, addressed two major obstacles in glioblastoma treatment: enabling therapies to cross the blood-brain barrier and ensuring treatment reaches tumor cells without damaging healthy tissue. The researchers tested lipid nanoparticles containing genetic material designed to restore the body’s tumor-suppressing capabilities. The particles were coated with mannose, a sugar that resembles glucose, enabling them to enter the brain through the same transport mechanism that normally delivers glucose to the central nervous system.
The nanoparticles delivered messenger RNA that instructs cells to produce PTEN, a protein that prevents uncontrolled tumor growth and is frequently absent or inactive in glioblastoma cells. The researchers enhanced the approach by chemically bonding mannose to cholesterol, a structural component of the nanoparticles, which improved sugar surface coverage sixfold. Additionally, they incorporated a positively charged cholesterol derivative to protect the genetic material from degradation before reaching its target.
In mouse models, the sugar-coated nanoparticles preferentially accumulated in tumor tissue because glioblastoma cells express the glucose transporter GLUT1 at three times the levels of normal brain tissue. According to findings published in the Journal of Controlled Release, the approach increased median survival time by 50% in mice with glioblastoma. The treatment resulted in tumor shrinkage across repeated doses without measurable organ toxicity. The research was supported by the National Cancer Institute, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Research Foundation of Korea.