Chinese scientists find way to block lung cancer-causing nanoparticle

Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences have developed a new way in which a particular type of nanoparticle can be prevented from causing lung cancer.

The researchers, in tests on cells in the lab, have found that a class of nanoparticles known as polyamidoamine dendrimers (PAMAMs) cause lung damage that can lead to lung cancer by triggering a type of programmed death cell known as autophagic cell death.

Autophagy plays a normal part in cell growth and renewal, but over-activity can lead to unwanted cell death. However, the researchers also found that autophagy could be blocked by using a drug inhibitor. Their study is published in the Journal of Molecular Cell Biology.

Nanotechnology is increasingly being used in medical research as a way to develop more effective and better-targeted drugs, and new ways to detect and treat disease, but there have been concerns about its safety, which has threatened to hold back progress.

It is hoped this latest breakthrough will help researchers develop more understanding of how nanoparticles could damage cells in the body and find ways of preventing this from happening, so that the technology can be used to treat patients.

"This provides us with a promising lead for developing strategies to prevent lung damage caused by nanoparticles," said Chengyu Jiang, who led the study.

"Nanomedicine holds extraordinary promise, particularly for disease such as cancer and viral infections."