Salmonella usually associated with fever and food poisoning, but now scientists have made genetically created a form of bacteria which can erode tumors.
The modified bacterium targets tumor in the brain, instead of doing damage to the stomach, and this new technique could grow into an effective treatment for one of the worst types of tumors there.
Researchers from Duke University treatment with modified Salmonella applied on mice with an aggressive form of brain tumor glioblastoma and as a result the lives of 20% of them were extended for an additional 100 days, compared with the control group of mice not receiving treatment. Otherwise, those 100 days are the equivalent of 10 human years.
The chances of survival of this cancer in people for now are low - only about 30% of patients live longer than 2 years after will be diagnosis. The reason for this is because tumors are hiding behind the barrier between blood and brain, which he separates the blood circulating through the body, the fluid in the brain. Conventional drugs can not easily pass through the membrane, and therefore more direct approach is needed to stop the growth of glioblastoma.
In order to accomplish the researchers used genetically tailored and detoxified form of Salmonella typhimurium, modified so that there is a deficit of organic compound purine. Glioblastoma tumors are a major source of this enzyme, which causes salmonella bacteria to looking at cancer cells - but when you reach them, causes activate two genetic changes.
Since cancer cells multiply extremely fast, the oxygen is sparse inside and around tumors. Knowing this fact, scientists isprogramirale salmonella produce two proteins called azurite and p53, in the presence of low levels of oxygen. Once that happens, these two proteins give instructions cancerous cells to self-destruct.
The researchers say that this technique is much more precise than surgery because bacteria detoxified and should not have any damaging side effects for the patient.
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