Top > Research results > Medical > Succeeded in improving the cancer treatment effect by "slime chemistry" using the main component of liquid glue

2020/2/1

Succeeded in improving the cancer treatment effect by "slime chemistry" using the main component of liquid glue

University Journal Online Editorial Department

　Research groups at Tokyo Institute of Technology and Kyoto University have decided to use "slime chemistry" to dramatically improve the therapeutic effect of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), which is attracting attention as the fifth cancer treatment method. Successful.

　BNCT is a treatment method in which a nuclear reaction is caused by irradiating boron with thermal neutrons to produce highly cytotoxic α particles and lithium rebound nuclei, which damage cancer cells.Boronophenylalanine (BPA) is used as the boron compound. BPA has the property of being taken up by cells via an amino acid transporter called LAT1, which is highly expressed in cancer cells, so it can be selectively accumulated in cancer.

　Although BNCT is effective for recurrent cancers that are difficult to treat with conventional radiation therapy and multiple cancers, it has the disadvantage that BPA cannot stay in cancer cells for a long period of time.Therefore, in this study, we focused on "slime chemistry" in order to prolong the retention of BPA in cancer and improve the therapeutic effect of BNCT.

　Mix liquid glue and borax to make slime.This is because borate ions "connect" polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), which is the main component of liquid glue, in a chemical reaction. Since PVA is also known as a highly biocompatible material, when BPA was bound to PVA using the same chemical reaction (PVA-BPA), PVA-BPA is a pathway called LAT1-mediated endocytosis. It came to be taken up by cells.As a result, the amount of boron taken up by cancer cells has increased to about three times that of the conventional method, and it has become possible to maintain a high boron concentration in cancer cells for a long period of time.

　When the therapeutic effect of BNCT using PVA-BPA was examined using a mouse subcutaneous tumor model, it was said that it succeeded in almost eliminating the subcutaneous tumor. PVA-BPA can be synthesized simply by mixing PVA and BPA in water, and it is extremely practical. Therefore, the company plans to proceed with research aiming for clinical application in the future.

Paper information:[Science Advances] Poly (vinyl alcohol) Boosting Therapeutic Potential of p-Boronophenylalanine in Neutron Capture Therapy by Modulating Metabolism

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