A group of researchers from the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) at the University of Coimbra (UC), uncovered a new mechanism behind the cardiotoxicity of the anticancer drug Doxorubicin (or Adriamycin) that can be explored in the future as a new therapeutic target to counteract the adverse effects of chemotherapy. Although Doxorubicin is a powerful chemotherapeutic agent, it has severe long-term adverse effects that compromise the cardiac function of patients.
Patrícia Madureira e a sua equipa de investigação acabam de publicar na revista Cells um artigo científico que pode ajudar a compreender o gliobastoma multiforme, um dos tumores cerebrais mais mortíferos.
A research team leaded by Elisabete Castanheira and Paulo Coutinho, of the Centre of Physics of University of Minho, has been focused on the development of magnetic liposomes (“magnetoliposomes”), which combine magnetic nanoparticles and liposomes. The developed systems have been tested as nanocarriers for new potential antitumor drugs. The latter have been obtained at the Centre of Chemistry of University of Minho (Maria João Queiroz’s research group). In this study, recently published, a new molecule especially active against breast cancer was tested.
Specific gene silencing was vectorized via gold nanoparticles to enhance the killing potential of chemotherapy against leukemia cells. By targeting the fusion oncogene BCR-ABL1 using gold nanoaprticles in chronic myeloid leukemia cells, the Portuguese researchers were capable to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of standard chemotherapy in a combined strategy that this groups has been optimizing at UCIBIO (Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences), Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia of Universidade Nova de Lisboa.
Sara R. Martins-Neves (a-d), Daniela I. Paiva-Oliveira (a,b), Pauline M. Wijers-Koster (d), Antero J. Abrunhosa (b,e), Carlos Fontes-Ribeiro (a), Judith V.M.G. Bovée (d), Anne-Marie Cleton-Jansen (d,1), Célia M.F. Gomes (a,b,c,1) 1.
Joint senior authors, a. Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, IBILI – Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal;
