Nitric oxide to treat triple-negative breast cancer

A potential novel therapeutic strategy for treating triple-negative breast cancer is being investigated by researchers. In Professor Abhay Pandit's lab, CRAM doctoral candidate Amir Abdo Alsharabasy is developing nitric oxide scavengers as part of a novel therapeutic strategy for this aggressive type of breast cancer.

Invasive breast cancer that is triple-negative does not respond to hormonal therapy or the available treatments that target the HER2 protein. In comparison to cancers that are hormone receptor-positive or HER2-positive, triple-negative breast cancer is typically more aggressive, more challenging to treat, and more likely to recur.

"One of the prominent free radicals produced by tumour tissue is nitric oxide, which, at certain concentrations, contributes significantly to the progression of breast cancer by encouraging the spread of cancer cells to other parts of the body. Our objective is to create injectable hydrogel formulations that can lower or "scavenge" nitric oxide levels while increasing carbon monoxide production in order to create a new therapeutic strategy for triple-negative breast cancer potentially."

"Nitric oxide, one of the prominent free radicals produced by tumour tissue, plays a significant role in the progression of breast cancer by encouraging the spread of cancer cells to other body regions at certain concentrations. In order to potentially develop a new therapeutic approach for triple-negative breast cancer, our goal is to develop injectable hydrogel formulations that can reduce or "scavenge" nitric oxide levels while raising carbon monoxide production."

According to Amir, HA "plays multiple roles in tumour tissues." "However, little research has been done on how it interacts with nitric oxide. The study, which was just published in Biomacromolecules, makes an effort to comprehend the mechanism of these interactions as well as the various effects on nitric oxide levels and breast cancer cell migration."

The study was co-authored by Dr. Pau Farras from the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences in the Ryan Institute at the National University of Ireland Galway and Dr Sharon Glynn from the Lambe Institute for Translational Research under the direction of Prof. Abhay Pandit, Scientific Director of CRAM.

The work looked into HA's capacity to scavenge nitric oxide. The researchers discovered that the HA breaks down when nitric oxide is converted to specific nitrogen-centred free radicals, which further prevents nitric oxide from causing cancer cells to migrate into a tumour environment.

Together, these findings contribute to our understanding of how HA participates in nitric oxide-induced cell migration and raise the possibility of using modified HA as a key component in various biomedical applications.

Professor Abhay Pandit commented on the study, saying: "While recent advancements in research regarding the roles of nitric oxide with tumour progression ultimately led to a number of ongoing clinical trials for evaluating the effects of NO-synthase inhibitors, we are focusing on NO itself in an effort to avoid the side effects/reactions of these inhibitors."