Pond Scum Could Be Key to New Cancer Therapies
July 21, 2008
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of
Pharmacy are collaborating with the Ohio State University and two other
organizations to discover new cancer therapies derived from natural
sources such as pond scum and plants from tropical rainforests.
UIC will receive nearly $3 million of the $8 million federal grant
to complete multiple projects over five years. Along with Ohio State
and UIC, Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina and
Bristol-Myers Squibb will assist in the projects. The grant is funded
by the National Cancer Institute.
Cyanobacteria, also referred to as blue-green algae or pond scum,
is found in nearly every habitat, from oceans to fresh water to bare
rocks to soil, and is a source of many unique chemical structures. UIC
researchers, led by principal investigator Jimmy Orjala, assistant
professor of pharmacognosy, will collect small samples of pond scum
throughout the Midwest and grow them in liquid solutions in a
temperature-controlled laboratory.
Using methodology he developed to speed up drug discovery from
blue-green algae, Orjala will be able to identify pure active compounds
at submilligram levels.
"Our goal is to discover naturally occurring anticancer lead
compounds that will be more effective than currently available cancer
chemotherapeutic agents," Orjala said. If any appear promising, the
researchers will grow larger amounts for further evaluation.
Steve Swanson, associate professor and assistant head for research
in medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy, leads the team of UIC
researchers that will analyze the biological materials for biological
activity once they have been extracted from the algae.
The team will employ assays involving key cellular targets such as
the proteasome, which is responsible for breaking down proteins in the
cell, Swanson said.
"Cancer cells are known to be particularly sensitive to proteasome
inhibitors. Another assay is designed to discover agents that inhibit
the enzyme histone deacetylase, which plays a key role in gene
expression and is often dysregulated in cancer cells," he said.
Should new compounds be discovered that act on these targets, more
detailed studies will be conducted to determine exactly how the
substance behaves in cells and in animals, Swanson said.
In addition to the cyanobacteria, plant materials from tropical
countries collected by Doel Soejarto, professor of pharmacognosy, will
also be analyzed. Information found on UIC's NAPRALERT database, which
catalogs biological activities of many plant species found throughout
the world, will be used in the project.
A. Douglas Kinghorn, a former UIC professor of pharmacognosy and
currently the Jack L. Beal Professor and chair of the division of
medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy at Ohio State, will oversee the
entire project. Other collaborators are Mansukh Wani, the co-discoverer
of anticancer drugs taxol and camptothecin, of Research Triangle
Institute, and researchers at pharmaceutical manufacturer Bristol-Myers
Squibb, which has developed many therapies currently used in the clinic
to combat cancer.
UIC News