Zika virus kills brain cancer cells

Tests on mice with brain cancer showed that the Zika virus, which causes microcephaly, shrank tumors and increased life expectancy after two weeks.

Although dangerous to pregnant women and causing microcephaly in fetuses, the Zika virus is believed to have the ability to destroy glioblastoma cells., a dangerous and difficult to treat form of brain cancer.

Glioblastoma brain cancer cells. Photo: Sherbrooke connectivity imaging lab/ Science photo library.

On the sheetJournal of Experimental Medicine, a group of scientists from the University of California (USA) said they tested two strains of Zika virus on stem cells.Glioblastoma. This type of cell produces new cancer cells and is resistant to conventional treatments. Scientists found that the Zika virus kills stem cells while leaving other cells intact. In mice with brain cancer, the Zika virus caused tumors to shrink after two weeks and increased life expectancy compared to mice given a placebo.

From the above results, the team of authors hopes that Zika virus can be used as an additional treatment for patients.Glioblastoma. In fact, chemotherapy and radiation wipe out most of the cancer cells but cannot touch the stem cells.glioblastoma, which has a very high risk of recurrence. If combined with Zika virus to destroy theWith glioblastoma stem cells, patients are more likely to recover instead of facing the risk of death within a year as they do today.

In the near future, the team of scientists will continue to research and modify the Zika virus gene to make it safer for human testing. Although the idea of ​​injecting the virus that causes encephalopathy into the brain may sound crazy, they still believe that this method is safe for adults because the adult brain is no longer attacked by Zika cells.

According to VNE