Lung Transfection

It is common knowledge that lung cancer is one of the most lethal illnesses in the world, and there are now challenges associated with its treatment. Despite the development and widespread adoption of a number of effective therapies, the mortality rate among lung cancer patients remains alarmingly high.

Nucleic acids are introduced into eukaryotic cells by transfection; a technique carried out without the use of viruses. This gene transfer technology permits the investigation of protein expression and gene function in a cellular environment using different chemical or physical techniques. 

There is a possibility that gene therapy might be an effective treatment for disorders affecting the respiratory epithelium, like cystic fibrosis and lung cancer. Chitosan-DNA-FAP-B nanoparticles have recently been shown to be ideal options for directing the transfer of genes to fibronectin molecules (FAP-B receptors) to epithelial cell membranes of the lung. 

Xenograft in lung cancer

Cell lines from established cancers are used to generate xenografts to study drug efficacy in lung cancer patients. The former method is often chosen since tumors can be monitored easily at this site when cells are implanted subcutaneously or orthotopically into mice. In recent years, lung cancer patient-derived xenografts have been developed by transplanting tumor tissue directly into mice. The characteristics of patient-derived xenografts are maintained for several passages in the mouse, which is why they are thought better to represent the tumor’s complexity than conventional xenografts. 

The therapeutic regimens for breast, gastric, and esophageal cancer are screened using PDX models. Furthermore, primary cells are more useful for studying mechanisms than stable cell lines since they maintain tumor heterogeneity.  

The researchers created xenografts derived from lung cancer patients and established primary cell lines derived from patients’ tissues. As part of the evaluation, they evaluated the pathological characteristics of the PDX models and primary cell lines. A comparison was also made between the original tumors and the PDX models.  

In both PDX models and primary cell lines, they found that molecular characteristics and heterogeneity of original cancer tissues were preserved, and drug sensitivity was also preserved. Thus, these PDX models and primary cell lines provide a platform from the cell to the animal level for understanding molecular mechanisms and therapeutic screening procedures.