ワインの収斂性の役割
Hello everyone, SCIEN-SPOT is a podcast that shines a spotlight on the latest scientific
technology from Japan. Your host is REN from SCIEN-TALK. Today's topic is how a component
found in wine, its astringency or bitterness might hold the key to a new treatment for
previously untreatable cancers. This research comes from a team at Tokyo Science University
and first, let's see the stage. In cancer treatment, antibody drugs,
proteins that bind specifically to certain antigens to exert their therapeutic effects,
have gained significant attention. We already have successful examples like Trastumab,
which targets heart too. However, traditional antibody drugs have primarily
targeted antigens located on the cell surface. This is because antibodies are large,
hydrophilic molecules that find it extremely difficult to pass through the cell's membrane.
Imagine a highly skilled delivery service that can identify the neutralized harmful bad actors.
Traditionally, these delivery agents could only operate on the exterior of buildings,
but many of the most dangerous bad actors are hiding deep inside the buildings,
ポリフェノールナノマシンの機能
in the basement or inner rooms. Even if an antibody somehow got inside, it would get
stuck in the building's internal mellum and unable to reach its target. Previous attempts
to get past these endosomes often used harsh methods that damaged the cell surface itself,
leading to concerns about cytotoxicity and instability in the bloodstream.
This is where the newly developed polyphenol nanomachines come in.
These nanomachines are constructed using common components, polyphenol, specifically tannic acid
found in wine and tea, and ferric ions. These form the metal-polyphenol complex at the core
of the nanomachines' slow coordination bonds. What makes these nanomachines ingenious
is its clever design. First, by combining a tannic acid with a stealthy polymer called
polyethylene glycol, or PEG, they created a shell structure. This makes the nanomachines like
invisible clocks, allowing them to evade their body's immune system, remain stable in the
bloodstream, and accumulate precisely at tumor tissues. These tiny nanomachines are only about
30 nanometers in diameter, that's thousands of times smaller than the weight of a human hair.
ナノマシンの特性とがん細胞への送達
But the most remarkable feature of these nanomachines is its escape ability from
the endosomes. Once taken up by a cancer cell and trapped inside an endosome, the nanomachine
senses the acidic environment within the endosome. This acidity triggers the dissociation of this
complex structure, consuming a large number of protons. This process causes an increase in
osmotic pressure inside the endosome, effectively making the endosome membrane burst from within
and safely releasing the loaded antibody directly into the cell's cytoplasm, where its target awaits.
Crucially, unlike previous techniques that used positively charged molecules,
these nanomachines' charge is almost neutral, meaning minimal concerns about the cell's
cytotoxicity, and incredibly, it can be formed by simply mixing the antibody,
polymer, and iron ions, making it simple to procedure for potential mass manufacturing.
To test its efficacy, the researchers loaded the nanomachine with a therapeutic intracellular
antibody, which binds to an antigen expressed inside cancer cells. They then administered
to a mass model of triple negative breast cancer, a form of breast cancer
ポリフェノールナノマシンの効果
notoriously difficult to treat with conventional antibody drugs. The results were truly impressive.
Compared to untreated groups or groups given the antibody alone without the nanomachine,
this new treatment successfully suppressed tumor growth to just 20% of the original size.
This marks a significant step forward for new therapies and against intractable cancers.
The polyphenol nanomachine developed in this research is a groundbreaking technology that
dramatically expands the applicability of antibody drugs from cell surface antigen to
intracellular antigens. This opens up new treatment options for intractable cancers that
were previously unreachable. Furthermore, its high safety profile and simple manufacturing process
make it a highly promising candidate for future clinical application.
I think this is a very great research for the treatment of cancer, but I think there are many
ways to the escape of endosome and I know the several methods for the breaking the membrane of
the cell surface, but I think this technology is not special for the break the some membrane using
the polyphenol. Polyphenol technology is very famous for using the break this membrane and escape
ドラッグデリバリーの革新
the endosome, but the easy to make some the mixture or complex is very great point in this
research. The manufacturing is very critical for the making some new drugs, but this research is
the remarkable in the very the successful method by just mixing them. So this is very great.
So that's all for today's SciencePod. This podcast is broadcast daily on weekday morning
in both Japanese and English. I hope today's discovery has changed how your view and the
possibility of medical treatment and I'd love for you to listen to the podcast and the past
notes and the thoughts with the hashtag SciencePod. Thank you very much. See you next time.
