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Bioengineering (Focus Group – BE)

(140) Mesenchymal stem cells as gene delivering vehicles for activating prodrug around tumor cells

Introduction:

Gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT) has been developed as a targeted cancer treatment aimed at minimizing toxicity to healthy cells [1]. This approach involves three key components: a non-toxic prodrug, a gene encoding an enzyme that converts the prodrug into an active chemotherapy drug, and a gene carrier to target cancer cells. In this study, the prodrug doxifluridine was converted into the chemotherapy drug 5-FU via thymidine phosphorylase (TP), using human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) as delivery vehicles due to their tumor-tropic nature and low immunogenicity [2, 3].

Learning Objectives:

  • TP gene was delivered into hMSCs using lentiviral vectors, resulting in high protein expression.
  • Prodrug doxifluridine converted to chemotherapy drug 5-FU via exogenous TP expressed in hMSCs.
  • Using hMSCs as gene carriers has its potential in GDEPT with minimal side effects.