RNA Interference Delivered Using Nanoparticles Hits Target in Human Patients
(PhysOrg.com) -- A multi-institutional team of researchers and clinicians has published the first proof that a targeted nanoparticle can traffic into tumors, deliver double-stranded small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and turn off the production of an important cancer protein using a mechanism known as RNA interference (RNAi). Moreover, the team provided the first demonstration that this new type of therapy, infused into the bloodstream, can make its way to human tumors in a dose-dependent fashion, that is, a higher number of nanoparticles sent into the body leads to a higher number of nanoparticles in the tumor cells. These two findings were achieved in phase I clinical trials in which the investigators are testing a nanoparticle-siRNA construct as an anticancer therapy.