Scientists use nanotechnology in cancer research
They are looking at how nanostructured surfaces affect blood vessel formation
Scientists in Bergen are applying nanotechnology to mimic the body's natural processes, create new blood vessels to supply engineered tissue, and deepen our understanding of cancer.
The team has been funded under the Research Council programme Nanotechnology and New Materials (NANOMAT). Seven per cent of the NANOMAT budget is allocated to health-related projects.
The Bergen research group, led by Professor James Lorens and his team at the University of Bergen’s Department of Biomedicine is studying how cells interact with each other and with synthetic biomaterials on the nano-level. The aim is to understand and copy the cells’ natural processes – an essential of regenerative medicine and the engineering of new tissue.
‘An ideal implant should mimic the body’s natural tissues and send proliferation and differentiation signals to the cells,’ said Professor Lorens. ‘The nanoscale topology is vital for controlling how this occurs.’
The implant functions as a growth scaffold in an area of the body where a cavity has been left by an injury or disease – such as when stem cells form new bone tissue to replace bone that has been damaged or removed.
‘A primary challenge with any tissue formation, however, is securing the blood supply to the new tissue,’ added Lorens. ‘In other words, making sure that blood vessels are formed within the tissue.’
In light of this, the Bergen group is taking a particularly close look at the processes by which blood vessels are formed in the body.
‘Our goal is to place the three blood vessel components (epithelial and smooth muscle cells, and matrix proteins) into an implant where cells are connecting to new tissue,’ said Professor Lorens.
His team has successfully induced this process both in Petri dishes and in small sponge-like implants in laboratory animals.
‘In the next phase, we’ll examine more specific tissue types such as bone tissue, for example.’
The group is also examining ways of employing nanotechnology to direct cell communication – by placing cells on a nanostructured biomaterial that has been surface-treated with specific molecules known to give off certain signals to the cells. The researchers are looking at how certain nanostructured surfaces affect blood vessel formation.
‘We need a better understanding of how cells perceive nanofabricated surfaces and how this affects communication between cells,’ explained Professor Lorens. ‘By reproducing the signals that cells encounter from their immediate surroundings inside the body’s various tissues, we can control how the cells proliferate and differentiate.’
The Bergen group is studying how these processes occur in cancerous tumours and has successfully used a tissue engineering technique to characterise a new gene that regulates the spread of breast cancer.
‘More biologists and biomedical specialists should apply nanotechnology to study molecular mechanisms that govern the progression of disease. Multidisciplinary research like this holds great potential – but accomplishing the objectives will require active coordination and dedicated funding schemes,’ said Professor Lorens.