Marine Bacteria: Potential Anti-Cancer
August 9, 2008 by Gloria Gamat
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Scientists at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy found a marine compound that inhibits cancer cell growth in lab tests which they hope can lead to new anti-cancer drugs with fewer sides effects.
The said UF-patented compound, called largazole was made from cyanobacteria that grow on coral reefs.
Researchers, who described results from early studies today (Aug. 7) at an international natural products scientific meeting in Athens, Greece, say it is one of the most promising they’ve found since the college’s marine natural products laboratory was established three years ago.
Largazole, discovered and named by Luesch for its Florida location and structural features, seeks out a family of enzymes called histone deacetylase, or HDAC. Overactivity of certain HDACs has been associated with several cancers such as prostate and colon tumors, and inhibiting HDACs can activate tumor-suppressor genes that have been silenced in these cancers.
Read more about this exciting potential anti-cancer compound and the studybeing conducted behind it at University of Florida.
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