Catholic University Professor’s Breakthrough Research Featured in Nature Communications Science Journal

Tue, 30 May 2023 18:44:00 +0000
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New gene therapy technology could have limitless potential

Washington, D. C., May 30, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A new potentially lifesaving gene therapy technology being developed by Biology Professor Venigalla Rao of The Catholic University of America could open the doors to healing and curing a variety of ailments, according to new research published in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Rao is the founding director of the University’s Bacteriophage Medical Research Center devoted to researching the therapeutic potential of a type of virus that cannot infect humans and many of which are part of a healthy body’s microbiome. In the Nature Communications article, he and his co-authors have shown for the first time that a bacteriophage T4 can be enrobed in a lipid, an innovation that smoothes the transfer of lifesaving treatments to human cells.

“This is a major step forward to expanding the existing gene therapy space, and also creating a new space for future therapies and cures,” said Rao. “We believe we have shown there is a pathway to develop safe, effective bacteriophage-based gene therapy treatments with almost unlimited healing potential” for genetic conditions like sickle cell disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Their research also proves that a bacteriophage T4 has a much larger payload capacity and engineering capability to deliver a wider range of therapies than current technologies.

“The actual therapy is years down the road, but this research provides a model for developing lifesaving treatments and cures,” said Rao. “What we are researching is like a molecular surgery that can safely and precisely correct a defect and generate therapeutic outcomes and someday cures.”

Current gene therapy research can be categorized into three major approaches that rely on the following vectors, or vehicles for treatment: adeno-associated viruses and lentiviruses, lipid nanoparticles, and synthetic nanoparticles. All of these treatments remain experimental.

Rao said progress in the field over the past three decades has been incremental because the current vectors have “very limited load capacity, limited engineering and cell targeting capability, many safety concerns, and the complicated processes to produce these therapies are extraordinarily expensive.” Rao said his team’s research on bacteriophage T4 proves that a new type of therapy that avoids these technological limitations and safety issues is “not only possible, but feasible.”

The ultimate goal, Rao said, is that unlike the current small molecule pharmaceuticals that sometimes have to be taken for a lifetime, a future bacteriophage-based drug “could lead to cures within hours to days.”

This research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.

About: The Catholic University of America is the national university of the Catholic Church and the only higher education institution founded by the U.S. bishops. Established in 1887 as a papally chartered graduate and research center, the University comprises 12 schools and more than 30 research facilities and is home to approximately 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

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CONTACT: Daniel F Drummond
The Catholic University of America
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