Sea sponge product reduces chemotherapy side effects
02 Jul, 2009
Source: Victoria University of Wellington
A natural marine product developed from sea sponges could reduce chemotherapy side effects when used in combination with an existing anti cancer drug.
So far the sea sponges used to develop peloruside A have only been found in New Zealand waters.
“Peloruside has a similar mechanism of action to Taxol, which is a chemotherapeutic drug used to treat breast, ovarian and lung cancer. It works by binding to microtubules,” scientist Dr Anja Wilmes says.
Biological screens were used to identify other possible peloruside targets, which is an important safety check when developing a drug. One of the screens used is called proteomics, which looks at the proteins being expressed in cells or tissues. This screen reveals what proteins are altered in a cancer cell line when peloruside is administered.
Chemical genetics was also used as part of Dr Wilmes’ research. “This field is a relatively new one but it’s rapidly expanding. Chemical genetics makes use of the nearly complete set of yeast gene deletion mutants that can be used to screen for either drug targets, or for functional interactions between pathways targeted by the drug,” she explains.
Early research into the chemical genetics of peloruside may have identified a secondary target in yeast, which could be important if it applies to mammalian systems.
“We also looked at synergy between peloruside and Taxol. I found that peloruside and Taxol had a greater effect when used together in two different cancer cell lines.”
Although Dr Wilmes says this research is in its early stages, it could potentially reduce side effects for chemotherapy patients because lower concentrations could be used for each compound.
