Gene Silencing
Why do we die? That's the big picture question that pathologist Professor Michael Eccles is tackling in his groundbreaking research on cancer-causing genes.
"Basically, we all have a genetic programme that leads us to grow old and die," he says "Partly, this same programme also leads to the development of cancer."
Prof Eccles and his team in Otago's Developmental Genetics Group are focusing on PAX genes. These genes allow cells to grow, but when their "off switch" fails, they can also cause cells to develop into cancerous tumours - particularly brain, renal and ovarian cancers.
If we could silence these genes, Prof Eccles believes, we could then kill the rogue cells causing cancer. The trick, however, is to not harm the healthy cells in the process.
And he believes he might just have the solution with a novel gene-silencing technology he has patented with the help of Otago Innovation Ltd.
Prof Eccles' cancer gene therapy application builds on another great Otago idea - TPP (Triphenyl phosphonium) - originally invented by Professor Rob Smith of Chemistry and former Otago researcher Dr Mike Murphy as a therapy against neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, and successfully developed by NZ company Antipodean Biotechnologies Ltd.
As a carrier, TPP is capable of delivering small molecules and synthetic nucleic acids called PNAs (Peptide Nucleic Acid) directly through cell membranes to target genes within cells. (PNA acts to silence or block the message of a particular gene).
However, Prof Eccles new twist to the TPP break though would see the PNA delivered directly to the cancer-causing PAX genes, and not the mitochondria targeted by Prof Smith (mitochondria are implicated in Parkinson's).
The potential market for Prof Eccles' idea is huge: in the multi-billions. That's because it has possible applications in fighting HIV, inflammatory diseases, and any other disease related to a specific peptide or genetic sequence. It could also be used as a diagnostic tool.
So far, Prof Eccles and his research team have had promising results and have plans for further in vivo lab trials. Toxicity tests are underway and have shown no harmful effects to the body. But to go forward with this highly-advanced gene-therapy technique, Otago Innovation Commercialisation Manager Dr Alexandra Tickle is currently seeking a commercial partnership with a bio-tech or pharmaceutical company with specialist expertise in PNA applications.