JERUSALEM, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli researchers have developed a new method combining biology and artificial intelligence to treat leukemia, Bar Ilan University (BIU) in central Israel said on Sunday.
The treatment focuses on destroying cancer cells without endangering healthy ones, BIU noted.
In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, BIU researchers used machine learning to identify small molecules capable of safely destroying the protein actin in cancer cells, as actin is essential for cancer cells to be active, proliferate, and spread.
The researchers focused on detecting and destructing WASp protein, which controls actin in cancer cells.
They successfully tested the process in lab experiments on cells taken from patients and on mice, in collaboration with Sheba Medical Center in central Israel.
In the new treatment, the small molecules can be given to patients by intravenous injection or by ingestion, the researchers noted.
The new method may replace chemotherapy and other biological therapies, which may damage other cells in the body and cause the resistance of cancer cells to treatment, they concluded. Enditem
