Blog – Page 4

Sugar-coated nanoparticles show promise against glioblastoma.

Researchers have developed mannose-coated lipid nanoparticles capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier and delivering therapeutic PTEN mRNA directly to glioblastoma cells, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer.

Glioblastoma cells have an exceptionally high demand for glucose. By coating the nanoparticles with a sugar molecule called mannose, the researchers took advantage of this metabolic feature, allowing the particles to enter the brain more efficiently and accumulate within tumors.

Once inside the cancer cells, the nanoparticles restored production of PTEN, a critical tumor-suppressor protein that is frequently lost or dysfunctional in glioblastoma. In mouse models, this approach significantly slowed tumor growth, increased median survival by approximately 50%, and showed no measurable toxicity in major organs.

Although these findings are still preclinical and have not yet been tested in humans, they represent an exciting advance in overcoming one of neuro-oncology’s greatest challenges: safely delivering targeted therapies across the blood-brain barrier.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Researchers at Oregon State University have potentially found a new way to treat the most aggressive form of brain cancer, glioblastoma, whose two-year survival rate is less than 30%.