Molecular Probe AIDS in Disease Treatment
Posted on: Monday, 10 September 2007, 12:00 CDT
U.S. scientists have developed a molecular probe that illuminates tumor cells within living animals.
Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine developed the technology to help improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other diseases.
The probe's main ingredient is a molecule that labels active proteases -- protein-destroying enzymes -- that run amok in cancerous cells. The molecule is normally invisible to the naked eye, but it carries a fluorescent tag that illuminates when it binds to the protease.
The tag emits near-infrared light that passes through skin and is detectable with a special camera.
Nowadays the detection of cancer, breast cancer for instance, is normally done by mammography, using X-rays -- which might actually increase your risk of cancer, said Assistant Professor Galia Blum, lead author of the study. We think these probes may ultimately provide a less harmful, non-invasive method of detecting cancer.
The use of the imaging technique in mice is described in the advanced online issue of the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
Source: United Press International
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