A team of Andalusian scientists, led by the University of Granada (UGR) and the biotechnology company Cellbitec, has designed a new effective nanodrug for patients with advanced colon cancer from biomolecules obtained from the seeds of Euphorbia Lathyris or spurge, a plant of whose seeds extract an oil that can be used in numerous industrial applications.
Colon cancer has a high incidence in our society and a high cost for health. Despite the advances made in recent years in its diagnosis and treatment, advanced (metastatic) colon cancer requires new therapies that improve the prognosis and quality of life of these patients. The possibility of obtaining active ingredients derived from plant matter to prevent or treat this disease opens a new avenue of research to increase the therapeutic tools against this type of cancer.
The multidisciplinary research group of the UGR and Cellbitec SL has managed to develop amorphous calcium phosphate nanoparticles (similar to those that form our bones) with excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability properties and a high efficiency of adsorption into the bloodstream), managing to transport together the molecules of esculetin and euphorbetin extracted from seeds of Euphorbia Lathyris
The tests carried out show that these nanodrugs are highly harmful to colon cancer cells and yet do not show toxicity to other cells, such as human blood cells. Its mechanism of action is still being studied, although it is known that the inhibition of carbonic anhydrase and autophagy processes are involved. In addition, it has been shown that they are capable of restoring antioxidant systems in the colonic mucosa.
Tumor size reduction of up to 62%
On the other hand, in vivo tests using two different models of colon cancer have shown a highly effective treatment that is capable of reducing tumor size by up to 62%, and significantly reducing the number and size of polyps. This effect is accompanied by a significant reduction in the vessel-forming capacity of the tumor (angiogenic capacity), a key phenomenon for the continued growth of cancer in humans. All these data suggest that this new nanodrug could be a promising new avenue for the treatment of colon cancer, although more trials are needed to confirm it.
“Trials show that these nanodrugs are highly harmful to colon cancer cells, yet show no toxicity to other cells, such as human blood cells”
The results of this work have been published in the prestigious Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy magazine. It is a multidisciplinary investigation that has been developed in recent years through the achievement of different national and regional competitive projects, with very positive results, in which the researchers José Carlos Prados and Consolación Melguizo (Biomedical Research Center (CIBM) and Biosanitary Research Institute ibs.Granada), Jesús María Porres Foulquie (Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INyTA), Biomedical Research Center (CIBM) collaborate and Mixed University Institute for Sports and Health (iMUDS)); José Manuel Delgado (UGR Department of Inorganic Chemistry) and Francisco J. Bermúdez, president of the company Cellbitec SL of Almería.
Source: University of Granada
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