Salamanca researchers design a nanoparticle that slows HER2-positive breast cancer growth in mice
A team from the University of Salamanca, IBSAL and the Cancer Research Centre has built a mussel-inspired nanoparticle that carries treatment straight to tumour cells. In mice, it slowed tumour growth.
Delivering treatment to tumour cells, and nothing else, is one of the big goals in cancer care. A team in Salamanca, Spain, has taken a step towards it for HER2-positive breast cancer, one of the most aggressive types.
What they did
The work is led by chemical engineering professor Eva Martín del Valle (University of Salamanca and IBSAL) and Atanasio Pandiella (Cancer Research Centre, CSIC-USAL-FICUS, and IBSAL). It is published in Materials Today Chemistry.
They designed polydopamine nanoparticles, a material inspired by the way mussels stick to rocks. Each one does three jobs:
- Finds the tumour: it carries trastuzumab, a drug that recognises cells with lots of HER2 protein.
- Carries a “recycler”: it transports the experimental molecule MZ1, which switches on the cell’s recycling system to remove BRD4, a protein that helps the tumour grow.
- Fights on its own: the nanoparticle material itself also acts against tumour cells.
The results
The nanoparticles were taken up mainly by cells with high HER2, worked in 3D tumour models and slowed tumour growth in mice, where they were well tolerated.
“It’s a first step, but it encourages us to keep working so that this research can one day become new options for patients,” says Martín del Valle.
A note of caution
These are preclinical results, in cells and mice. More research is needed before testing it in patients.
Why it matters
It brings chemical engineering and cancer biology together to hit tumours more precisely, and it arrives on World Breast Cancer Day.
