An international research team led by Tali Ilovitsh from Tel Aviv University's Department of Biomedical Engineering developed a non-invasive ultrasound anti-cancer gene delivery technology platformin breast cancer cells. The technique combines ultrasound with microbubbles that attach to the tumor cells. Once the ultrasound is activated, the microbubbles explode like smart and targeted warheads, creating holes in the membranes of the cancer cells, enabling gene delivery.
Dr. Ilovitsh developed this groundbreaking technology during her research in Prof. Katherine Ferrara's laboratory at Stanford University. The technique uses low-frequency ultrasound (250 kHz) to detonate microscopic bubbles targeted at tumors. In living organisms, cell destruction reached 80% of tumor cells. The sacs are filled with gas and are microscopic, only one-tenth of a blood vessel in diameter. At certain frequencies and pressures, sound waves cause the microbubbles to expand and periodically contract like balloons. This process increases the transfer of substances from the blood vessels to the surrounding tissue.
However, the researchers noted that they have also used lower frequencies before. Microbubbles can expand significantly until they explode violently. We realized that this discovery could be used as a platform for cancer treatment and began injecting microbubbles directly into tumors. So Ilovitsh and the rest of the team used microbubbles that were attached to tumor cell membranes at the time of explosion and injected them directly into tumors in a mouse model. The targeted treatment, which is safe and inexpensive, was able to destroy most of the tumor. However, this is not enough. To prevent the remaining cancer cells from spreading, they had to destroy all of the tumor cells. That's why the research team injected an immunotherapy gene alongside the microbubbles, which act as a Trojan horse and signal the immune system to attack the cancer cell.
Possible treatment
In the future, researchers are trying to use this technology as a non-invasive treatment for brain diseases such as brain tumors and other neurodegenerativeDiseases such as Alzheimer'sand Parkinson's disease. Drugs cannot penetrate the blood-brain barrier, but microbubbles can temporarily open the barrier. This allows the treatment to reach the target area without the need for invasive surgery.
