Researchers at the University of Central
Florida have developed a novel technique that may give doctors a faster and
more sensitive tool to detect pathogens associated with inflammatory bowel
disease, including Crohn's disease.
The new
nanoparticle-based technique also may be used for detection of other microbes
that have challenged scientists for centuries because they hide deep in human
tissue and are able to reprogram cells to successfully evade the immune system.
The
microbes reappear years later and can cause serious health problems such as
seen in tuberculosis cases. Current testing methods to find these hidden
microbes exist, but require a long time to complete and often delay effective
treatment for weeks or even months.
UCF
Associate Professor J. Manuel Perez and Professor Saleh Naser and their
research team have developed a method using nanoparticles coated with DNA
markers specific to the elusive pathogens. The technique is effective and more
accurate than current methods at picking up even small amounts of a pathogen.
More important, it takes hours instead of weeks or months to deliver results,
potentially giving doctors a quicker tool to help patients.
"Our
new technique has surpassed traditional molecular and microbiological
methods," said Naser, a professor at the UCF College of Medicine.
"Without compromising specificity or sensitivity, the nano-method produced
reliable and accurate results within hours compared to months."
The
group's translational research works was recently published in the journal PLoS
ONE.
The
team created hybridizing magnetic relaxation nanosensors (hMRS) that can fish
out and detect minuscule amounts of DNA from pathogens hiding within a
patient's cells. The hair-thin hMRS are composed of a polymer-coated iron oxide
nanoparticle and are chemically modified to specifically bind to a DNA marker
that is unique to a particular pathogen.
When
the hMRS bind to the pathogen's DNA, a magnetic resonance signal is detected,
which is amplified by the water molecules that surround the nanoparticle. Then
the researcher can read the change in the magnetic signature on a computer
screen or portable electronic device, such as a smartphone, and determine
whether the sample is infected with a particular pathogen.
The
researchers used Mycobacterium avium spp. paratuberculosis (MAP), a pathogen
that has been implicated in the cause of Johne's disease in cattle and Crohn's
disease in humans, to test out their technique. They used a large number of
blood and biopsy tissue samples from patients with Crohn's disease and meat
samples from cattle with Johne's disease.
"It
is all about giving medical professionals easy and reliable tools to better
understand the spread of a disease, while helping people get treatment
faster," said Perez, who works at UCF's Nanoscience Technology Center.
"That's my goal. And that's where nanotechnology really has a lot to
offer, particularly when the technology has been validated using clinical, food
and environmental samples as is in our case."
The
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), which is a part of the
National Institutes of Health, and funded the research, said this kind of basic
research can provide the foundation for medical breakthroughs.
"Just
last year, Dr. Perez and his team unexpectedly discovered the DNA binding
property of their magnetic nanosensors, and now they have shown that it may
become the basis for a rapid, sensitive lab test for hard-to-measure bacteria
and viruses in patient samples," said Janna Wehrle, Ph.D., of NIGMS.
"This is a wonderful example of how quickly an advance can move from the
research bench to meet an important clinical need."
Charalambos
Kaittanis, who received his doctoral degree at UCF and worked as a postdoctoral
Research Associate under Perez, has lead the experimental work in this study.
Kaittanis is now a research fellow at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Source:
University of Central Florida
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