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Marine sponges may help fight cancer | The natural compound sceptrin, which is found in marine sponges, reduces cancer cell motility (movement) and has very low toxicity, researchers have found. Investigators at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham, formerly Burnham Institute for Medical Research) led by Kristiina Vuori, M.D.,
Ph.D., made the discovery. Metastasis is one of the deadliest aspects of cancer,
so restricting aberrant cell movement is an important step towards advancing treatments.
The research was published online in ACS Chemical Biology, in collaboration with
Phil S. Baran, Ph.D., of The Scripps Research Institute. To reach the conclusion,
boffins tested sceptrin in multiple tumor cell types, including cervical, breast
and lung cancers. Sceptrin restricted motility in all cell lines. Further tests
showed the compound works by limiting the cells' ability to contract, a critical
function for cell motility. The researchers also found that sceptrin synthesized
in the laboratory was just as effective at combating motility as the naturally-derived
compound. "Given the recently achieved synthesis of sceptrin in multi-gram quantities
by the Baran laboratory, sceptrin could prove to be an attractive lead molecule
for further preclinical testing and development for therapeutic purposes," said
Dr. Vuori. "It may also prove to be a useful research tool in order to elucidate
the mechanisms involved in cell motility." The researchers cultured growing cancer
cells with growth factor to encourage motility. These cells were treated with
varying amounts of sceptrin, which was found to be more effective at increased
concentrations. Subsequently, the team conducted apoptosis and cell proliferation
studies to determine whether these mechanisms accounted for the decrease in motility
of sceptrin-treated cells. Other assays determined that sceptrin limits motility
by reducing cell contractility. |
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