Biomedical engineers at Cornell University inIthaca in New York, NY have discovered a new way to destroy metastasizing cancer cells traveling through the bloodstream by hitching cancer-killing proteins along for a ride on life-saving white blood cells. In this illustration: the Natural?Killer?Cells?concept:?nanoscale?liposomes?with?TRAIL?protein?(in?green)?attach?to?the?surface?of?white?blood?cells,?and?are?available?in?the?blood?flow?to?bump?into?cancer?cells?and?program?them?to?die. Photo: Michael King,Ph.D, professor of biomedical engineering Cornell University, [1][2][3]
Illustration 1: E-selectin/TRAIL?liposomes?attach?to?the?surface?of?leukocytes?in?the?blood,?and?then?induce?cancer?cell?death?through?surface?contact. The schematic shows the two-step mechanism involving decoration of leukocytes with liposomes (A), which then contact circulating cancer cells and activate the death receptor (B).
For more information:
[1] Mitchell MJ, Wayne E, Rana K, Schaffer CB, King MR. TRAIL-Coated Leukocytes that Kill Cancer Cells in the Circulation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014, January. [Article]
[2] Rana K, Liesveld JL, King MR. Delivery of apoptotic signal to rolling cancer cells: a novel biomimetic technique using immobilized TRAIL and E-selectin.Biotechnol Bioeng. 2009 Apr 15;102(6):1692-702. doi: 10.1002/bit.22204.[Article][PubMed]
[3] New Approach of Piggy-backing Proteins may help Wipe Out Metastasizing Cancer – Onco’Zine – The International Oncology Network. January 6, 2014 [Article]
Illustrations: Melissa Osgood, Cornell University inIthaca in New York, NY. Courtesy: Cornell University inIthaca in New York, NY.
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