Virus against cerebral cancer

2001/07/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Osasuna

Crossing the common waterfall virus with polio, they have stated in Florida, at the meeting of the American Microbiology Association, to have gotten a weapon against brain cancer. The hybrid virus is effective against the type of cancer called glioma. Glioma is the most widespread brain cancer and until now it was deadly. In fact, glia cells, as a support of the brain, are dispersed throughout the organ.

Researchers at the Duke University of North Carolina found that the polio virus penetrates the inside of the cell thanks to the protein CD155 and that the glioma cells also produce this protein. Thus, the polio virus was mixed with that of the waterfall and, according to studies carried out in the mouse, they showed that it was able to attack the glioma.

To do this, they had to genetically transform mice because the brain of mice does not produce CD155 proteins by itself. Therefore, they introduced the virus into the spinal cord of these mice and, with a single dose, managed to completely remove glioma for the eighth day. The next step is to prepare a prototype of virus to perform clinical tests in humans.