PITTSBURGH, Pa. (PTTP) – Life-saving treatments for diabetes and pancreatic cancer are one step closer to existence, following successful experiments by a Carnegie Mellon University lab in delivering therapeutics to the pancreas.
In an article published in the journal Science Advances, a Carnegie Mellon lab led by Dr. Kathryn Whitehead announced their success in delivering messenger RNA (mRNA) to pancreatic cells using lipid nanoparticles.
Over 37 million people in the United States live with diabetes, in which the pancreas cannot regulate blood sugar levels on its own, and every year, over 60,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the cancer with the lowest five-year survival rate. Both diseases are considered incurable, but Whitehead’s lab’s innovation may be the first step in offering life-saving treatments for these diseases.
The article states that mRNA therapeutics, famously used in the COVID-19 vaccines produced by Moderna and Pfizer, will soon be used to treat more than just viruses. Previously, researchers had effectively delivered mRNA through lipid nanoparticles to the liver, lungs, and spleen, but found difficulty with any other organs.
Whitehead’s lab used mice to test their systems of delivering mRNA to the pancreas. In one experiment from the study, mice were injected with lipid nanoparticles containing mRNA that would encode for firefly luciferase, the enzyme that makes fireflies glow. Three hours later, they analyzed the mice’s organs and discovered that their pancreases were glowing more than any other organ, which was the aim.
Effective mRNA treatments for diabetes and pancreatic cancer are still being researched and developed, but Whitehead’s lab’s innovation suggests that when these treatments are produced, they can be effectively delivered to the pancreas.
