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【medical-news】使用新型微生物来根除妇科癌症
Creating New Life Forms That May Help Eradicate Cancer Affecting Women
NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Instead of using the
usual cancer-fighting modalities, surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation,
researchers from a drug development company called Advaxis, have embarked
on a novel approach to fighting cancer: Engaging the immune system to
attack cancer in the same the way it would a flu vaccine, by creating new
life forms.
Dr. Vafa Shahabi, Advaxis' Director of Research and Development,
reports that because the human immune system is not designed to fight
cancer on its own, she and her colleagues are trying to harness its power
through a new kind of life form: specifically a family of vaccines, which
they call Lovaxin. The vaccines are comprised of new strains of bacteria
created in Advaxis' laboratory that are programmed to kill off specific
cancers.
The Key: A Microbe Found in Dairy Products
Central to this startling discovery is the microbe Listeria
monocytogenes, a common bacterium found in milk, cheese and other dairy
products. This microorganism apparently aids in fighting cancer by
activating the body's own killer (cytotoxic T) cells to elicit a stronger
than normal immune response to the presence of cancer cells. The vaccines
"teach" the immune system to mount a specialized, targeted response that is
lethal to cancer.
When Listeria is introduced in the body, it has a powerful, direct
stimulatory effect on the activities of tumor-killing T cells. "Essentially
the modified Listeria vaccines harness the power of the immune system
against this infectious agent," explains Dr. Shabahi, "and then directs it
to successfully attack cancer cells. The bacterium in effect then becomes a
cancer-fighting 'Trojan horse,' with the enemy tucked inside."
For breast cancer, Dr. Shababi's team fused Listeria with a tumor-
associated protein, HER-2/Neu, to immune cells, to create a vaccine called
Lovaxin B. What these cells do is enlist killer T cells to seek and destroy
tumor cells that over-express the HER-2/Neu molecule. This is significant
because HER-2/Neu is over- expressed in 20%- 40% of all breast cancers.
As Dr. Shababi explains: "We not only created a new breast cancer
vaccine, but also have a new life form, since the modified Listeria becomes
a new strain, not seen in nature. In effect, it becomes a cancer fighting
"superbug" capable of treating breast cancer in patients whose tumors
express the HER-X/Neu protein." Advaxis has already created several strains
for potential use in future vaccines to treat other cancers. The company is
also currently testing its cervical cancer vaccine, Lovaxin C, in phase
I/II trials.
For more information, log on to http://www.advaxis.com 美国新泽西NORTH BRUNSWICK 消息2月26日/ 美国Advaxis药物开发公司的研究人员,已开发了一种新型治疗癌症方式，它不是用通常的外科、化疗或辐射治疗方式、而是通过设计创造新的微生物.采用类似流感疫苗的免疫系统激活治疗方式。Advaxis公司的研发部主任VafaShahabi博士报告说,“由于人体免疫系统并没有天生对抗癌症的能力, 她和她的同事们正在试图通过特定的技术手段让人体具备这样的抵抗力。她们设计创造出一家族的微生物，通过特定处理使其变成疫苗,她们称之为lovaxin. 该疫苗主要由细菌新菌株构成，它在实验室显示能杀死特定的肿瘤. 这种疫苗”教会免疫系统如何产生专一的，有针对性的免疫反应，使肿瘤致死。
其中的诀窍:采用了奶制品中的微生物, 这起源于她们的偶然发现 Listeria
monocytogenes,这种在牛奶奶酪和其他奶制品中常见的微生物，在特定肿瘤存在的环境中，它可以帮助人体的杀伤细胞（T-细胞）调节很强的抗肿瘤免疫功能，当Listeria monocytogenes菌被引入到体内, 它对杀伤细胞（T-细胞）具有直接和强烈的刺激作用，使T细胞激活， 经修饰的疫苗可强化机体免疫系统抗衡外来侵略物或感染物，指导免疫系统攻击杀死肿瘤细胞。事实上，这种免疫杀伤作用就好比是抗击肿瘤的“木马”杀伤对象被包围在内进行搏杀。，
对乳癌治疗而言，Shababi博士的团队把精力集中在研制能识别肿瘤相关蛋白,HER-2/neu基因的Listeria monocytogenes菌上，通过免疫处理细胞，她们创造了新的疫苗Lovaxin B， 它的作用就是动员所有T 杀伤细胞寻找并摧毁过度表达HER-2/neu基因的肿瘤细胞。这是非常有价值的，因为HER-2/Neu的过度表达发生在20%- 40%的乳癌细胞中。Shababi博士解释道:"我们不仅创造了一种新的乳腺癌疫苗 同时也创造了新的生命体,因为新改装建的Listeria monocytogenes菌在自然界中没有天然产生. 实际上 这种疫苗正在变成为抗击肿瘤的超级细菌，它能帮助肿瘤过度表达her-x/neu蛋白质的乳癌患者的生存. Advaxis已经制备其他菌株，作为将来可能使用疫苗治疗其他癌症. 该公司目前还在测试其抗子宫颈癌的疫苗lovaxin 正处在I/II期试验中. [标签:content1][标签:content2]
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-03-04 05:12
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