Zika Virus - A New Cure For Cancer
- 5 years ago
Zika virus destroys brain cancer stem cells - Virus potentially could be used to treat deadly disease. While Zika virus causes devastating damage to the brains of developing fetuses, it one day may be an effective treatment for glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. New research shows that the virus kills brain cancer stem cells, the kind of cancer cells most resistant to standard treatments. A new study shows that the virus, known for killing cells in the brains of developing fetuses, could be redirected to destroy the kind of brain cancer cells that are most likely to be resistant to treatment.
New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine shows that the virus kills brain cancer stem cells, the kind of cells most resistant to standard treatments.
The findings suggest that the lethal power of the virus -- known for infecting and killing cells in the brains of fetuses, causing babies to be born with tiny, misshapen heads -- could be directed at malignant cells in the brain. Doing so potentially could improve people's chances against a brain cancer -- glioblastoma -- that is most often fatal within a year of diagnosis.
"We showed that Zika virus can kill the kind of glioblastoma cells that tend to be resistant to current treatments and lead to death," said Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine and the study's co-senior author.
The findings are published Sept. 5 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Each year in the United States, about 12,000 people are diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most common form of brain cancer. Among them is U.S. Sen. John McCain, who announced his diagnosis in July.
The standard treatment is aggressive -- surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation -- yet most tumors recur within six months. A small population of cells, known as glioblastoma stem cells, often survives the onslaught and continues to divide, producing new tumor cells to replace the ones killed by the cancer drugs.
In their neurological origins and near-limitless ability to create new cells, glioblastoma stem cells reminded postdoctoral researcher Zhe Zhu, PhD, of neuroprogenitor cells, which generate cells for the growing brain. Zika virus specifically targets and kills neuroprogenitor cells.
In collaboration with co-senior authors Diamond and Milan G. Chheda, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine, and Jeremy N. Rich, MD, of UC San Diego, Zhu tested whether the virus could kill stem cells in glioblastomas removed from patients at diagnosis. They infected tumors with one of two strains of Zika virus. Both strains spread through the tumors, infecting and killing the cancer stem cells while largely avoiding other tumor cells.
Music: The Loss Of You by Dhruva Aliman
https://dhruvaaliman.bandcamp.com/album/hello-moon
http://www.dhruvaaliman.com/
New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine shows that the virus kills brain cancer stem cells, the kind of cells most resistant to standard treatments.
The findings suggest that the lethal power of the virus -- known for infecting and killing cells in the brains of fetuses, causing babies to be born with tiny, misshapen heads -- could be directed at malignant cells in the brain. Doing so potentially could improve people's chances against a brain cancer -- glioblastoma -- that is most often fatal within a year of diagnosis.
"We showed that Zika virus can kill the kind of glioblastoma cells that tend to be resistant to current treatments and lead to death," said Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine and the study's co-senior author.
The findings are published Sept. 5 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Each year in the United States, about 12,000 people are diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most common form of brain cancer. Among them is U.S. Sen. John McCain, who announced his diagnosis in July.
The standard treatment is aggressive -- surgery, followed by chemotherapy and radiation -- yet most tumors recur within six months. A small population of cells, known as glioblastoma stem cells, often survives the onslaught and continues to divide, producing new tumor cells to replace the ones killed by the cancer drugs.
In their neurological origins and near-limitless ability to create new cells, glioblastoma stem cells reminded postdoctoral researcher Zhe Zhu, PhD, of neuroprogenitor cells, which generate cells for the growing brain. Zika virus specifically targets and kills neuroprogenitor cells.
In collaboration with co-senior authors Diamond and Milan G. Chheda, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine, and Jeremy N. Rich, MD, of UC San Diego, Zhu tested whether the virus could kill stem cells in glioblastomas removed from patients at diagnosis. They infected tumors with one of two strains of Zika virus. Both strains spread through the tumors, infecting and killing the cancer stem cells while largely avoiding other tumor cells.
Music: The Loss Of You by Dhruva Aliman
https://dhruvaaliman.bandcamp.com/album/hello-moon
http://www.dhruvaaliman.com/