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Zika virus is a mosquito-borne infection known for causing birth defects in unborn fetuses. Latest research discovered that it is possible to use the virus to target tumor cells in adult brains. Combining Zika virus with chemotherapy and radiation can be use to remove brain tumors.
Glioblastoma is the most common and deadly forms of brain cancer with patients dying within two years of diagnosis. The growth and development of glioblastomas is driven by stem cells that proliferate and give rise to other tumor cells.
Stem cells of the cancer are hard to kill because they avoid body’s immune system and are resistant to chemotherapy and radiation. Killing these cells is very important to prevent new tumors from recurring after the original tumor has been surgically removed.
Glioblastoma can occur in any part of the brain, when glioblastoma is diagnosed, microfibers can spread to the rest of the brain which magnetic resonance imaging MRI would not detect. It is common in men between the age of 50 and 60, and there is no link between developing glioblastoma and having a previous cancer history.
Intense exposure to radiation increases the risk of brain cancer. Zika virus disrupts fetal brain development targeting neural stem and progenitor cells, however the virus’ effects on adult brains are less severe.
The preference of Zika virus for neural precursor cells could be leveraged against glioblastoma stem cells, researchers found the virus infected and killed patient-derived glioblastoma stem cells compared with other glioblastoma cell types or normal neural cells.
When mice with aggressive glioblastoma were injected with a mouse-adapted strain of Zika virus, the virus slowed tumor growth and significantly extended the animals’ lifespan.
Researchers also tested a mutated strain of Zika on body’s immune response, which was more effective when combined with a chemotherapy drug, temozolomide, that usually has little effect on these cells. Zika virus can kill the kind of glioblastoma cells that tend to be resistant to current treatments.
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