INEB RECENT PUBLICATIONS: An interferon-γ-delivery system based on chitosan/poly(γ-glutamic acid) polyelectrolyte complexes modulates macrophage-derived stimulation of cancer cell invasion in vitro
INEB researchers recently published an article in Acta Biomaterialia, available since May 23rd 2015. The article is entitled "An interferon-γ-delivery system based on chitosan/poly(γ-glutamic acid) polyelectrolyte complexes modulates macrophage-derived stimulation of cancer cell invasion in vitro" and is authored by Ana P. Cardoso, Raquel M. Gonçalves, Joana C. Antunes, Marta L. Pinto, Ana T. Pinto, Flávia Castro, Cátia Monteiro, Mário A. Barbosa, and Maria José Oliveira.
Macrophages represent a large component of the tumour microenvironment and are described to establish interactions with cancer cells, playing crucial roles in several stages of cancer progression. The functional plasticity of macrophages upon stimulation from the environment makes them susceptible to the influence of cancer cells and also renders them as promising therapeutic targets. In this work, we describe a drug delivery system to modulate the phenotype of macrophages, converting them from the pro-tumour M2 phenotype to the anti-tumour M1 phenotype, based on the incorporation of a pro-inflammatory cytokine (interferon-γ) in chitosan (Ch)/poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA) polyelectrolyte multilayers.