Tag Archives: johns-hopkins

New nanoparticle gene therapy strategy effectively treats deadly brain cancer in rats

Previous research on mice found that nanoparticles carrying genes can be taken up by brain cancer cells, and the genes can then be turned on. However, this is the first time these biodegradable nanoparticles have effectively killed brain cancer cells and extended survival in animals. For their studies, the Johns Hopkins team designed and tested a variety of nanoparticles made from different polymers, or plastics. When they found a good candidate that could deliver genes to rat brain cancer cells, they filled the nanoparticles with DNA encoding an enzyme, herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (HSVtk), which turns a compound with little effect into a potent therapy that kills brain cancer cells. …

‘Sugar-coated’ microcapsule eliminates toxic punch of experimental anti-cancer drug

“We developed 3BrPA to target a hallmark of cancer cells, namely their increased dependency on glucose compared with normal cells. But the nonencapsulated drug is toxic to healthy tissues and inactivated as it navigates through the blood, so finding a way to encapsulate the drug and protect normal tissues extends its promise in many cancers as it homes in on tumor cells,” says Jean-Francois Geschwind, M.D., chief of the Division of Interventional Radiology at Johns Hopkins Medicine. …

Real-time tracking system developed to monitor dangerous bacteria inside body

“What we have produced is essentially a system that localizes the epicenter of infection and provides real-time tracking of bacterial activity, giving us rapid feedback on how the bacteria respond to antibiotics,” says principal investigator Sanjay Jain, M.D., an infectious disease specialist at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and director of the Center for Inflammation Imaging and Research at Johns Hopkins. Describing their work in the Oct. …

Drug regimen enough to control immune disease after some bone marrow transplants

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists first used cyclophosphamide to prevent severe graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after bone marrow transplant involving haploidentical or “half-matched” transplants, a treatment first used in 2000 at the Cancer Center to treat leukemias and other blood cancers. The scientists began to use post-transplant cyclophosphamide in clinical trials of fully matched bone marrow transplants in 2004. Now, the new multi-center study confirms that the post-transplant cyclophosphamide is safe and effective for people who have received fully-matched bone marrow transplants. The shortened regimen, described online Sept. …

Study adds to cancer-fighting promise of combined immunotherapy-radiation treatment

The study, led by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers, shows how in principle, radiation may specifically activate immune system cells responsible for attacking cancer cells, leading immune cells to “remember” how to fight cancer long after the cancer is gone. Andrew Sharabi, M.D., Ph.D., a resident in the Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Science at Johns Hopkins, is expected to present details of the study at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) in San Francisco Sept. 15…

‘Prepped’ by tumor cells, lymphatic cells encourage breast cancer cells to spread — ScienceDaily

Writing in the Sept. 2 issue of Nature Communications, the researchers describe animal and cell-culture experiments that show increased levels of so-called signaling molecules released by breast cancer cells. These molecules cause lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) in the lungs and lymph nodes to produce proteins called CCL5 and VEGF. CCL5 attracts tumor cells to the lungs and lymph nodes, and VEGF increases the number of blood vessels and makes them more porous, allowing tumor cells to metastasize and infiltrate the lungs. …

Triple therapy revs up immune system against common brain tumor

Mice with implanted, mouse-derived glioblastoma cells lived an average of 67 days after the triple therapy, compared with mice that lasted 24 days when they received only the two immunotherapies. Half of the mice who received the triple therapy lived 100 days or more and were protected against further tumors when new cancer cells were re-injected under the animals’ skins. The combination treatment described in the July 11 issue of PLOS One consists of highly focused radiation therapy targeted specifically to the tumor and strategies that lift the brakes and activate the body’s immune system, allowing anti-cancer drugs to attack the tumor…

Vaccine ‘reprograms’ pancreatic cancers to respond to immunotherapy

In their study described in the June 18 issue of Cancer Immunology Research, the Johns Hopkins team tested the vaccine in 39 people with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC), the most common form of pancreatic cancer. The disease becomes resistant to standard chemotherapies and is particularly lethal, with fewer than 5 percent of patients surviving five years after their diagnosis. PDACs do not typically trigger an immune response against the cancer cells that comprise, but with the help of a vaccine developed by Johns Hopkins researcher Elizabeth Jaffee, M.D., the scientists were able to “reprogram” tumors to include cancer-fighting immune system T cells…