article<\/a>, which appears in the May 2019 issue of the journal, is titled \u201cNanoparticle-mediated intratumoral inhibition of miR-21 for improved survival in glioblastoma.\u201d In this article, the authors highlight a new approach for localized therapy involving the use of two types of miR-21 inhibitors with efficient intracellular delivery resulting in miR-21 suppression, upregulation of the target protein, tumor growth inhibition and apoptosis or death of the target cancer cells.<\/p>\nCurrently, surgery is the first course of action when GBM is diagnosed in order to alleviate pressure in the brain and to remove as much of the tumor as possible. However, these tumors consist of star-shaped cells called astrocytes that make their own blood supply and enable them to spread rapidly. Their diffuse structure and finger-like tentacles make it difficult to remove cancerous cells completely, thus necessitating follow-up with chemotherapy and radiation.<\/p>\n
Bahal says that one of the biggest problems with current methods for treating GBM is that eventually the tumors develop resistance to chemotherapy and grow back. The miR-21 inhibitors being developed by the UConn-Yale researchers should eliminate that complication.<\/p>\n
He says, \u201cOur paper shows that we have successfully completed the proof of concept stage of our research. We have demonstrated that our concept of targeting microRNA involved in GBM with nucleic acid analogues and delivering them to specific areas of the brain is feasible and has definite clinical potential.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like all drug development, the research takes time, and the next step is to further advance this technology. Bahal is working with graduate student, Shipra Malik, in his lab at UConn to create the next generation molecules to target GBM using the new delivery system Saltzman\u2019s lab developed. Ultimately, human studies will be required before this promising treatment protocol can be put into practice, but Bahal is optimistic.<\/p>\n
\u201cNew treatments don\u2019t happen overnight,\u201d he says, \u201cbut we have some important things in our favor. One is that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) is aware of the value of personalized medicine and has an expedited approval process for truly novel treatment approaches. Our research meets that parameter because, rather than killing the existing cancer cells or providing primarily symptomatic relief, we are targeting the root cause that plays an important role in the development of GBM. If we can target microRNAs involved in GBM, that would mean long-term survival and would have a major effect on prolonging a patient\u2019s life. We now see people who have had breast cancer or HIV living normal lives, and that\u2019s my hope for the future of people diagnosed with GBM.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bahal is further encouraged because of the interdisciplinary effort supporting the fight against GBM. \u201cIt\u2019s more than just two universities working together,\u201d he says. \u201cScience is all about individual dedication.\u00a0 Cancer cells are smart and you have to come up with a smarter way of beating them. It\u2019s a battle, actually, and you can\u2019t give up. That\u2019s why we have chemists and cancer biologists and biomedical engineers working together in our team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess you could say that we\u2019re on a mission and I think the outcome will eventually mean that glioblastoma will fall into the category of a treatable disease.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Multiple researchers at two schools are on a mission to find a cure for a particularly deadly form of brain cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":148371,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1864],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1935],"class_list":["post-148368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pharm"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-02 18:43:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/148371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148368"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=148368"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=148368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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