how artificial DNA can detect and eliminate cancer cells; see research here

The research group, led by Assistant Professor Kunihiko Morihiro and Professor Akimitsu Okamoto of the Graduate School of Engineering, was inspired to create a new anticancer drug using artificial DNA.

“We thought that if we could make new drugs that work through a different mechanism than conventional drugs, they might be effective against cancers that have not been treated so far,” Okamoto said.

The process was successful in laboratory tests against cells derived from human cervical cancer, human breast cancer and mouse malignant melanoma.

The group was given a pair of hairpin-shaped, cancer-curing DNA molecules made using chemical synthesis. The DNA pairs are attached to microRNA (miRNA) molecules that are overproduced in some tumors when they are injected into cancer cells. They unfolded and combined after binding to miRNA to form long DNA chains, which induced an immunological response.

In addition to destroying cancer cells, this reaction also inhibited the spread of malignant tissue. It is envisaged that this approach, which is different from conventional anticancer drug therapies, will usher in a new era of drug discovery.

cancer is a sadly familiar global health concern and existing methods of treatment have their limits. However, drugs based on nucleic acids – namely DNA and RNA, important information-carrying molecules – can control the biological functions of cells, and they are expected to transform the future of medicine and efforts to overcome cancer. Will give a significant boost and other difficult-to-treat diseases, which are caused by viruses and genetic diseases.

The use of nucleic acid medicine to treat cancer has been challenging because nucleic acids are difficult to distinguish between cancer cells and other healthy cells. This means that the patient’s immune system is at risk of adverse effects when healthy cells are inadvertently attacked. However, for the first time, the team was able to develop a hairpin-shaped DNA strand that can activate the natural immune response to target and kill specific cancer cells.

Cancer cells may overexpress or make too many copies of certain DNA or RNA molecules, causing them to no longer function normally. The team created artificial oncolytic (cancer-killing) hairpin DNA pairs called OHPs. These OHPs were triggered to make longer DNA strands when they encountered a small (micro)RNA called miR-21, which is overexpressed in some cancers.

Generally, OHPs do not make for long strands due to their curved hairpin shape. However, when artificial OHPs enter a cell and encounter the target microRNA, they open up to combine with it and form a longer strand. This then causes the immune system to recognize the presence of overexpressed miR-21 as dangerous and activate an innate immune response, which ultimately leads to the death of cancer cells.

The tests were effective against overexpressed miR-21 found in human cervical cancer-derived cells, human triple-negative breast cancer-derived cells and mouse malignant melanoma-derived cells.

“The formation of long DNA strands due to the interaction between the short DNA OHP and overexpressed miR-21, found by this research group, is the first example of its use as a selective immune amplification response that can target tumor regression,” Provides a new class of “nucleic acid drug candidates with a mechanism that is completely different from known nucleic acid drugs,” Okamoto said.

“The results of this study are good news for doctors, drug discovery researchers, and cancer patients, as we believe it will give them new options for drug development and drug policies. Based on this, we will aim for drug discovery.” , and examine in detail the efficacy, toxicity and potential administration methods of the drug.”

There are still many stages in this research before a treatment can be made available, but the team is confident of the benefits of nucleic acids for new drug discovery.

(With inputs from ANI)