A gynecologist explains to a patient about endometriosis, showing an endometrial polyp on her laptop. OHSU researchers tested iron oxide nanoparticles to help treat uterine lesions as an alternative to invasive surgery. (Getty Images)
Researchers from Oregon Health & Science University and Oregon State University have found that nanotechnology can help treat endometriosis and identify and remove painful and dangerous lesions in the ovaries, fallopian tubes and pelvis without surgery.
Endometriosis is a gynecological condition in which the endometrial tissue lining the uterus usually forms lesions outside the uterus. It causes infertility and severe pelvic pain in approximately 190 million women worldwide – approximately 10% of women of childbearing age. There is currently no treatment.
Co-lead authors of Sleiden, Ph.D., And Oleh Taratula, Ph.D. They discuss their new paper detailing Oregon Public Broadcasting’s “Think Out Loud” approach on April 29, the week after the paper was published in the journal small.
Slayden, a professor at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, developed an animal model to test for iron oxide nanoparticles invented by Taratola, a professor in the Oregon State University School of Pharmacy.
Iron oxide nanoparticles—fine particles about 1/1000 the size of a speck of dust—were injected intravenously into mice to locate the lesions; They accumulated in tissue lesions, which enabled them to be identified by imaging.
Once the nanoparticles were in the lesions, they were exposed to an alternating magnetic field, which caused the temperature of the nanoparticles to reach more than 120 degrees Fahrenheit — hot enough to remove the lesions with heat rather than surgery.
“Usually, treatment for endometriosis requires invasive surgical removal of the lesions. The lesions can come back again and again, and that can mean many operations,” said Slayden, who has joint appointments at the OHSU School of Medicine for the departments of obstetrics, gynecology, physiology and pharmacology. Surgical.” “This treatment could provide a non-surgical option to treat the disease, which would be a significant improvement in quality of life for the many millions of people with endometriosis.”
To test the nanoparticles, the researchers transplanted endometriotic tissue from macaques into mice to simulate endometriotic lesions.
Mice were injected with a low dose of nanoparticles modified with a peptide specifically designed to target abundant receptors in endometriotic cells. By targeting this receptor, the nanoparticles were able to locate and accumulate pests.
With nanoparticles acting as a contrast agent to highlight lesions, OHSU’s radiologists Khashayar Farsad, MD, Ph.D.associate professor of interventional radiology at OHSU College of Medicine, and Corey White, Ph.D.a research assistant professor of diagnostic radiology at the OHSU School of Medicine, was able to effectively image the lesions.
“Nanoparticle technology holds promise as a future tool for molecular imaging in the diagnosis of many conditions, including endometriosis,” Farsad said. Currently, small lesions are identified by direct imaging during surgery. Although very preliminary, this proof-of-concept study demonstrates how nanotechnology can provide a new, non-invasive method for identifying and potentially treating these lesions.”
To achieve a temperature sufficient to remove pests, Ohio State University researchers developed nanoparticles that are hexagonal rather than spherical in shape. The hexagonal shape has more than six times the heating efficiency once exposed to an alternating magnetic field.
The research team’s next step is to apply their approach to a non-human primate model.
This research was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R21HD098642 and R01HD101450), the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute (R01CA237569 and R37CA234006), the Oregon National Primate Research Center (NIH011092), and the Oregon State University (OSU) School of Pharmacy. The authors thank Parinaz Ghanbari for her assistance with the graphic summary. Electron microscopy was performed using OHSU’s multi-band microscopy. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy was performed at the Electron Microscopy Facility at Ohio State University, with technical assistance from Dr. Peter Eschbach. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the veterinary staff of the ONPRC Department of Comparative Medicine for their care of the animals. ICP-MS measurements were performed by Dr. Martina Ralle at the OHSU Elemental Analysis Core with partial support from National Institutes of Health Core Grant S10RR025512.
OHSU IACUC
All research involving animal subjects at OHSU must be reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). The priority of the IACUC is to ensure the health and safety of animal research subjects. The IACUC also reviews procedures to ensure the health and safety of people who work with animals. The IACUC conducts a rigorous review of all animal research proposals to ensure that they justify the use of live animals and selected species; Outline steps to reduce pain and distress; Document appropriate training for all relevant personnel; and establish, through a detailed review of published sources, the proposed study does not unnecessarily duplicate previous research. No work for live animals may be conducted at OHSU without IACUC approval.
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