Research
carried out by academics at Northumbria University, Newcastle could lead to
improvements in treating patients with diseases caused by mutations in genes,
such as cancer, cystic fibrosis and potentially up to
6,000 other inherited conditions.
By using
virus genomics (genetic material), big data analysis and coding, the experts
have devised a technique for predicting how patients are likely to respond to
treatments that directly target mutated genes, without even coming into contact
with the patient. The method has direct application on DNA-based drugs*
currently on the market, 32 drugs in clinical trials, as well as future
therapies such as genome editing.
The
researchers achieved this by using a culture of human liver cancer cells that
contain a non-infectious version of the Hep C virus, and drugs that treat Hep C
by cutting and destroying its genome. As the Hep C virus is not good at copying
its genome, it creates tens of billions of variants of itself in these cells:
this is similar to the genetic variation which could be found in the wider
population. The experts then tested the drugs on the cultures, and examined the
impact of each of these drugs on each individual variant of Hep C, to determine
which drugs work on which variants, and to what extent.
Although
these types of drugs are generally highly effective, they are expensive and do
not work on all patients. The findings could now lead to more targeted and
personalised treatment for patients using these types of drugs, so that they
can be prescribed safely, and with greater confidence that they will work.
The
technique could also have a significant impact on drug development as companies
and doctors could know in advance which patients to select for clinical trials,
with greater confidence that the drugs will work. This means clinical trials
will be more likely to be successful, bringing new drugs faster to patients. Similarly,
after new drugs are approved, doctors will be able to carry out a simple test,
to prescribe them safely and with confidence that they will work.
Dr Sterghios
A. Moschos, Associate Professor of Cellular and Molecular Sciences at Northumbria University, led the
research. He said: “This is a real breakthrough in bringing these types of gene
therapies faster to patients, making them at the same time safer and more
effective. At the moment there is no way of knowing which drug will work on
which patient, other than essentially trial and error, and time. Not only is
this costly and risky for the drugs companies, and those paying for the drug,
it can also be a lengthy process for patients, with a risk of the treatment not
working.
“The
next steps are to look at how the technique can be used as a single predictive
test for research and clinical use, enabling us to predict which patients might
respond to certain types of gene therapies, and by how much, whether they are
experimental or approved.
“It may also have a significant role to play in the future for a new type
of gene therapy called gene editing; clinical trials on gene editing are about
to start in the US to cut out diseased genes from patients and replace them
with healthy one.”
Dr Moschos’ research findings are published in Molecular Therapy Nucleic
Acids Journal,
http://www.cell.com/molecular-therapy-family/nucleic-acids/fulltext/S2162-2531(17)30238-X
Within the article his team* explores how to predict the extent to which
a substantial proportion of emerging gene therapies might be effective on any
potential patient, whatever the patients’ mutations might be on the gene
relevant to the disease.
* Among
the DNA-based drugs Kynamro, Spinraza, Exondys51, and Vitravene approved for
use in USA and Europe, most cost over £100,000.
For more information about research at Northumbria University, visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/research
As well as Dr Sterghios A. Moschos, the team included Pantazis I.
Theotokis (MSc graduate); Chris Kortschak (MSc graduate) and Louise Usher (PhD
student) from the University of Westminister, where Dr Moschos worked before
joining Northumbria University.
