Dr. Jayanth Panyam
Nanotechnology-Based Approaches to Overcome Tumor Drug Resistance
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Location: Welcome Center at 2:30 p.m.
Tumor cells utilize multiple mechanisms to reduce the accumulation of anticancer drug at its intracellular site of action. Reduced drug accumulation results in poor therapeutic efficacy and the development of drug resistance. Current treatment approaches are not successful in overcoming the multifactorial nature of tumor drug resistance. Our long-term goal is to develop an anticancer therapy that addresses different mechanisms of drug resistance and enables an effective therapeutic response in drug-refractory cancer. We are currently studying the effectiveness of nanoparticle-mediated combination photodynamic therapy (PDT) and chemotherapy against drug-refractory tumors. Nanoparticles are defined as colloidal particles of sub-micron size (<100 nm in diameter), with drug and photosensitizer encapsulated in the nanoparticle matrix. Our initial studies with doxorubicin as model anticancer drug and methylene blue as a model photosensitizer demonstrate that nanoparticle-mediated combination therapy effectively overcomes drug resistance in vitro and in vivo.
Biography
Dr. Jayanth Panyam is an assistant professor in the department of pharmaceutical sciences at Wayne State University. In general, Dr. Panyam’s research focuses on utilizing specialized drug carriers for improving the therapeutic efficacy of existing drugs. Specific research areas of interest include approaches to overcome cancer drug resistance and targeting chlamydial infection using delivery systems that are intended to target the diseased tissue or organ.
The development of cross-resistance to many anticancer drugs, termed multidrug resistance, is a major reason for the failure of chemotherapy in cancer patients. Development of drug resistance is frequently associated with increased expression of a cellular protein called P-glycoprotein. Increased expression of P-glycoprotein leads to decreased drug accumulation in cancer cells, and a consequent decrease in drug’s therapeutic efficacy. Dr. Panyam is investigating nanoparticles (spherical particles that are about one-billionth of a meter in diameter) for overcoming drug resistance in breast cancer. In this innovative approach, tumor levels of P-gp will be decreased using a recently developed technique called RNA interference. Decrease in P-gp levels in tumor is expected to increase the accumulation of anticancer drugs and decrease drug resistance.
Human infections by the intracellular bacterial pathogens Chlamydia trachomatis and C pneumoniae present an enormous burden to the US health care system; at any one time, 5 million or more individuals in the US have an active genital infection with C trachomatis. Primary genital and pulmonary infections with C trachomatis and C pneumoniae (respectively) can usually be treated effectively with antibiotics. However for reasons that remain to be fully elucidated, persistent infections by both organisms have proved to be refractory to such treatments. In collaboration with Dr. Judith Whittum-Hudson and Dr. Alan Hudson in the College of Medicine, Dr. Panyam is developing a means by which antibiotics or other therapeutic agents can be delivered in a targeted manner to the chlamydial infections, without toxicity to the host cell or infected tissue.
His research has been published in 25 peer-reviewed papers, reviews and a book chapter, and has resulted in three patent applications and an invention disclosure. He has made presentations at local, national and international research meetings, most recently at the 2006 Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) and the AAPS National Biotechnology Conference.
Among his numerous awards and honors are a Predoctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association and the Thomas Jefferson Ingenuity Award for Outstanding Creativity in Doctoral Research from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha. In 2005, Dr. Panyam was recognized for his work at the Second Annual Research Forum, sponsored by the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Dr. Panyam earned his doctorate degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, and his Masters in Pharmaceutics from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
