Compound isolated from sea sponge fights cancer cells
Written by Beth JoJack on March 7, 2021 Fact checked by Anna Guildford, Ph.D.
Scientists believe novel chemicals with the potential to cure human illness may be found in the ocean.
Researchers chemically synthesized a compound that had been isolated from a sea sponge.
The compound 3,10-dibromofascaplysin was tested on various prostate cancer cells.
The synthesized compound forces tumor cells to die.
It works well in combination with several already approved anti-cancer drugs.
Much of the ocean remains unexplored, unknown to humans.
Increasingly, medical researchers are looking to this untapped resource in hopes of discovering novel marine chemicals that hold the potential to treat and cure human illness.
Scientists test the effect of natural product isolated from sea sponge on cancer cells
Scientists from Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) together with Russian and German colleagues, continue studying antitumor compounds synthesized based on bioactive molecules isolated from a sea sponge. One of them fights cancer cells resistant to standard chemotherapy, and at the same time has an interesting dual mechanism of action. A related article appears in
Marine Drugs.
Scientists have tested the biological effect of the marine alkaloid 3,10-dibromofascaplysin on various prostate cancer cells, including those resistant to standard docetaxel-based chemotherapy. The compound was first isolated from the sea sponge Fascaplysinopsis reticulata and subsequently chemically synthesized in FEFU. The substance forces tumor cells to die via a programmed cell death mechanism. This process is called apoptosis and is considered the most favorable mode of action of anticancer drugs.
Credit: FEFU press office
Scientists from Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) together with Russian and German colleagues, continue studying antitumor compounds synthesized based on bioactive molecules isolated from a sea sponge. One of them fights cancer cells resistant to standard chemotherapy, and at the same time has an interesting dual mechanism of action. A related article appears in
Marine Drugs.
Scientists have tested the biological effect of the marine alkaloid 3,10-dibromofascaplysin on various prostate cancer cells, including those resistant to standard docetaxel-based chemotherapy. The compound was first isolated from the sea sponge Fascaplysinopsis reticulata and subsequently chemically synthesized in FEFU. The substance forces tumor cells to die via a programmed cell death mechanism. This process is called apoptosis and is considered the most favorable mode of action of anticancer drugs.