Scientists at Kyoto University in Japan have developed a gene delivery system, involving gold nanorods and a near infrared laser, which can transport a gene into cells and activate it.
Changing gene expression is a powerful way to affect cell behavior, and scientists hope to use this approach to treat a variety of diseases. Researchers have developed a range of nanoparticle systems to deliver genes into cells. However, regulating when the gene is activated using an external signal, like light, adds a sophisticated level of control.
Initially, the team validated that the system could work using mammalian cells and a gene that codes for a green fluorescent protein. The scientists could easily see that the system had worked by looking at the cells using a fluorescence microscope, and in cells where the gene was active there was a bright green fluorescence.
The researchers then used the system to deliver a gene into cancer cells encoding for a protein called TRAIL. When the TRAIL gene was expressed, the cancer cells released the TRAIL protein, killing surrounding cancer cells.
The system could potentially be used for molecular cancer therapies.