At UC Davis scientists managed to use the hollow Shells of Hepatitis E Virus as transport vehicles to Deliver *****. The viral*shell was selected because the Hepatitis E Virus is able to travel through the digestive system without being destroyed, and so would be a good candidate for PO formulations.
The viral Shells are made of Hep. E proteins and do **t contain any DNA, denying any possibility of viral infection.
The research team tested the particles by applying*cysteine ami** acids that let*molecules called LXY-30 be attached in turn to them. These LXY-30 molecules hone in on breast cancer cells and the researchers showed using a fluorescent marker that the virus-like Shells were able to gather right on breast cancer tumors in lab mice.
Some details from the study abstract:
Five surface-exposed residues were mutated to cysteine to allow conjugation to maleimide-linked chemical groups via thiol-selective linkages. Engineered virus-like na**particles were then covalently conjugated to a breast cancer recognized ligand, LXY30 and an amine-coupled near-infrared fluorescence dye.
LXY30-HEV VLP was checked for its binding and entry to a breast cancer cell line and for tumor targeting in vivo to breast cancer tissue in mice. The engineered virus-like na**particle **t only targeted cancer cells, but also appeared immune silent to native Hepatitis E Virus antibodies due to epitope disruption at the antibody-binding site.