Hyderabad: CCMB develops nano-curcumin structures to cure chronic ailments

Hyderabad: Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and is attached to economic burden and social stigma. RNA interference (RNAi), a gene silencing approach, is a promising tool for targeted and focused therapy for chronic diseases, like cancer.

Dr Lekha Dinesh Kumar, and her group at CSIR-CCMB, in collaboration with the Polymer Science and Engineering Division, at CSIR-NCL have developed nano-curcumin structures (derived from turmeric) to encapsulate the RNAi (Ephb4 shRNA) and other molecules that aid in targeting specific tissues.

The proposed bio-drug is non-toxic, bio-compatible with a higher uptake efficiency, and shows effective site-specific delivery with regression of tumours in two mouse models of colon and breast cancer. "The use of curcumin, a well-known nutraceutical with high anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties with RNAi showed tumour retardation with six months survival in aggressive models of colon and breast cancer," she said.

"In our studies we have demonstrated that RNAi, combined with appropriate targeting agents and encapsulations made of natural biomaterials, have high translational capacity in mice models of cancer. This group of bio-drugs can revolutionise the field of cancer therapeutics in future. It should be assessed in other cancer model systems to bring out the utility of these therapeutics in clinical trials", added Dr Kumar.