Descripción del proyecto
Administración nanotecnológica de fármacos contra el cáncer
Los pacientes con cáncer de próstata a menudo desarrollan farmacorresistencia frente a la terapia de privación de andrógenos convencional, lo que provoca recaídas. El proyecto POLAR STAR, financiado con fondos europeos, trabajará en una terapia combinada que se administra y actúa de forma sinérgica contra múltiples vías oncogénicas al mismo tiempo. Sus científicos utilizarán nanoportadores poliméricos biocompatibles, cuyos componentes ya están aprobados por las autoridades reguladoras, para administrar los medicamentos contra el cáncer de próstata más modernos y con mayor eficiencia y especificidad, para reducir así los efectos fuera del objetivo. POLAR STAR empleará técnicas espectroscópicas avanzadas para lograr la caracterización química y física de los nanoportadores y reemplazará los experimentos con animales con modelos de tejido prostático 3D para evaluar su desempeño.
Objetivo
Prostate cancer (PC) is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. PC often presents in its Multidrug resistant form leaving the patient few survival chances. New approaches are required to overcome resistance-related problems in PC and nanomedicine holds a lot of premises to effectively contribute in this battle. In this frame POLAR STAR aims at the implementation of combination therapy to treat castrate-resistant PC. Our strategy is to exploit innovative nanotechnology to administer contemporarily different therapeutic agents that synergically exert their activity across multiple oncogenic pathways. We plan to use new mixed polymers based on biocompatible cyclodextrins as these building blocks are already FDA approved. Simple organic chemistry is pursued to implement target selectivity and in vivo tracking of the polymeric nanocarrier. The design is guided by the final goal, the future clinical application of nanocarriers to improve PC treatment, keeping in mind upgrade of the nanocarrier systems to large scale production. We will focus on the latest PC drugs suffering from side effects and emerging resistance as multiple cargo to be loaded. Full chemico-physical characterization of the systems is planned as well as assessment of the efficacy of loaded nanocarriers in cell cultures with different drug responsivity profiles. In order to reduce animal experiments POLAR STAR will take full advantage of 3D prostate tissue models for biological tests, an apporach at the forefront in drug design. We plan to reach our goal bringing together the expertise of the fellow and the supervisor supported by the private and academic teams hosting the fellow during secondments. POLAR STAR creates a multidisciplinary environment where all actors, public and private, will benefit from reciprocal transfer of knowledge. During the project the fellow will have the possibility to become a complete researcher improving also complementary skills.
Ámbito científico
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineoncologyprostate cancer
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistry
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinemedicinal chemistry
- medical and health sciencesmedical biotechnologynanomedicine
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacydrug resistancemultidrug resistance
Palabras clave
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinador
00185 Roma
Italia