Lymphomas are a blood cell group of tumors that lymphatic tissues develop. Often, the name refers to just the ones that are cancerous rather than all tumors such as these. The symptoms of this disease include lymph nodes that are enlarged but not painful generally, feeling tired, weight loss, itchiness, sweats and fevers. Mostly, the sweating is more common during the night.
Is it possible to kill lymphoma without the use of traditional medication? One study shows that if you deprive it of HDL cholesterol, which happens to be lymphoma’s favorite food, it starves to death.
New Studies
New studies show that nano particles of synthetic HDL kill lymphoma B-cells which is the
disease in its most common form. In human cultured cells as well as in inhibited lymphoma B-cell tumors growing in mice.
This was in the National Academy of Science journal of Proceedings published paper dated the 21st of January in 2013.
Potentially, this finding may eventually turn into a top treatment of B-cell lymphoma without the use of toxins or chemotherapy. This is a preliminary finding that is quite exciting in the medical world.
High Density Lipoprotein
Also, researchers from Northwestern have found that this using a double agent nano particle. Reportedly, lymphoma cancerous cells prefer natural HDL as their meal of preference. When the cell is engaged by the nano particle, it plugs up the lymphoma cells and blocks the entry of cholesterol. The cell dies eventually when it is deprived of its essential nutrient.
The same studies also revealed the dependence that the B-cell lymphoma had on the natural uptake of high density lipoprotein, also known as HDL from which it derives cholesterol and other fat content.
A Core of Gold
Nano particles were developed originally as a possible heart disease therapy closely mimicking the surface chemistry, shape and size of natural particles of HDL. The only difference is that at its core it is a 5-nanometer particle of gold. For this reason, when a nano particle goes through incubation with a human lymphoma B-cell or utilized as a treatment for mice that have the same human tumors, the lymphoma gets hit with double trouble. After it becomes attached to the lymphoma cells, the spongy surface of the gold particle sucks out the cholesterol contents. At the same time the core made of gold prevents the cells from absorbing additional cholesterol carried typically in natural HDL particles’ cores.
Research such as this one on lymphoma broadens the focus on how the nano particle HDL impacts both the uptake and removal of cholesterol through the cell. Particles, it turns out, are multi-taskers.
The study done by Northwestern also revealed that HDL in its natural state did not inhibit or kill the growth of tumors. The nano particle was necessary for starving the cells of lymphoma.
