They design a new nanodrug for patients with advanced colon cancer from biomolecules obtained from spurge seeds
Researchers from ibs.GRANADA and the University of Granada in collaboration with the company Cellbitec SL have developed calcium phosphate nanoparticles to transport active molecules against colon cancer that have been previously purified from seeds
The studies, both in cell cultures and preclinically in experimental animals, have given very positive results that open up the possibility of continuing to advance for its possible application in patients.
A team of Andalusian scientists, from research group Technology Applied to Oncology and Gene Therapy of the ibs.GRANADA and belonging to the University of Granada (UGR) and the biotechnological 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 from whose seeds a Oil that can be used in numerous industrial applications.
This 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 (Centro de Investigación Biomédica (Biomedical Research Center) collaborate CIBM) and Biosanitary Research Institute ibs.Granada); Jesús María Porres Foulquie (Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INyTA), Biomedical Research Center (CIBM) and Mixed University Institute of Sports and Health (iMUDS)); José Manuel Delgado (UGR Department of Inorganic Chemistry) and Francisco J. Bermúdez, president of the company Cellbitec SL of Almería.
This project is part of the strategic collaboration agreement University of Granada-Cellbitec and the objectives of the Cellbitec Foundation, which articulates a joint action in the field of research and the transfer and support of culture and social development.
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 and/or treat this disease opens a new avenue of research to increase therapeutic tools against this type of cancer.
The multidisciplinary research group of the ibs.GRANADA, the UGR and Cellbitec SL have managed to develop amorphous calcium phosphate nanoparticles (similar to those that form our bones) with excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability properties and high adsorption efficiency towards the torrent blood), managing to jointly transport the esculetin and euphorbetin molecules extracted from Euphorbia Lathyris seeds.
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.
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.
The results of this work have been published in the prestigious journal Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy whose authors are Cristina Mesas, Víctor Garcés, Rosario Martínez, Raúl Ortiz, Kevin Doello, Jose M Dominguez-Vera, Francisco Bermúdez, Jesús M Porres, María López-Jurado , Consolación Melguizo, José M Delgado-López and José Prados