Fucruz Investigates Cell Reprogramming Against Breast Cancer Science and health

Tests done Lab by researchers from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) indicated the potential for growth inhibition breast cancer Change the type profile cells in defense. The research has been through three in vitro trials, but it is only a starting point for evaluating a potential treatment using this approach.

The cells researched in the study were macrophages, which are part of the body’s defenses. There are two types of these cells, M1 and M2, and the first type is more associated with tumor expansion, while the second is associated with containment. About half of the mass of breast malignancies is made up of macrophages, and research has evaluated what would happen if the type M1 was changed to M2.

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For this change to occur, iron oxide nanoparticles were used, which were produced in the laboratory through a partnership between Fucruz Minas and the Department of Physics of the Federal University of Pernambuco. Camila Salles-Nascimento, a postdoctoral student in the Cellular and Molecular Immunology Group at Fiocruz Minas, was responsible for the project and explains that the suggestion is that, in contact with the compound, M1 macrophages will convert to M2, which enhances the control of cancer expansion.

“The idea was to convert M2 into M1, through local treatment, performed directly on the tumor, which allowed more control in terms of systemic interventions,” she explained to Agência Fiocruz de Notícias.

Laboratory tests were conducted on human cells in two and three dimensions, and the results were positive, as well as laboratory experiments on mice. In this case, tumor cells and nanoparticles were injected into a group of animals, and left under observation for 21 days, in order to compare them to another group that did not receive the nanoparticles. The mice exposed to iron oxide had a 50% smaller tumor mass than the other group at the end of the period.

The results have been published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutics. Positive indications represent a proof of concept for the research to proceed, but a series of other issues still need to be evaluated, such as physiological effects, mechanisms of action, side effects, drug absorption time, and biodistribution in the organization, among others.