Vegetable oil ingredient destroys gastric disease bacteria, study finds
In mice, therapeutic nanoparticles dampen H. pylori bacteria and inflammation that lead to ulcers and gastric cancer
The bacterium Helicobacter pylori is strongly associated with gastric ulcers and cancer. To combat the infection, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Jacobs School of Engineering in the US developed LipoLLA, a therapeutic nanoparticle that contains linolenic acid, a component in vegetable oils. In mice, LipoLLA was safe and more effective against H. pylori infection than standard antibiotic treatments.
The results are published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
'Current H. pylori treatments are facing a major challenge — antibiotic resistance,' said Liangfang Zhang, Professor in the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center and Department of Nanoengineering.
'Our goal was to develop a nanotherapeutic that can tolerate the harsh gastric environment, kill H. pylori and avoid resistance.'
Our goal was to develop a nanotherapeutic that can tolerate the harsh gastric environment, kill H. pylori and avoid resistance
Zhang and Marygorret Obonyo, Assistant Professor in the Moores Cancer Center and Department of Medicine, are co-senior authors of the study.
LipoLLA is a lipid (fat) particle that contains linolenic acid. When LipoLLA encounters H. pylori, it fuses with the bacterial membrane. The particle’s linolenic acid payload then spills out, disrupting the membrane and killing the bacteria.
The research team labelled LipoLLA particles with fluorescent markers, fed them to mice and watched as the particles distributed themselves in the stomach lining – and stayed there. After treatment, they measured bacterial load in the stomach and markers of inflammation. Compared with standard antibiotic therapies, LipoLLA was more effective at getting rid of H. pylori. In addition, LipoLLA was not toxic to the mice and the bacteria did not develop resistance to the treatment.
'This is the first step to verify that we can make this therapeutic nanoparticle and demonstrate that it works to reduce H. pylori colonisation. We’re now working to further enhance the particle, making it more stable and more effective,' Zhang said.
