Early Promise for Antibiotic as Anti-Cancer Agent
A little-known antibiotic, siomycin A, has shown early promise as a potential anti-cancer agent, targeting the FoxM1 gene that is over-expressed in most human tumors. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have identified siomycin A as a promising candidate using a novel screening system based on a naturally fluorescent protein called luciferase. The antibiotic specifically targets FoxM1 without affecting other cell functions, inducing cancer cells to undergo apoptosis, a process of programmed cell death.
Key Takeaways:
- The researchers developed a new screening system using a naturally fluorescent protein called luciferase to identify small molecules that inhibit proteins that turn genes on and off.
- The system identified siomycin A, an antibiotic that specifically targets the FoxM1 gene, which is over-expressed in most human tumors.
- Siomycin A induces cancer cells to undergo apoptosis, a process of programmed cell death, without affecting normal cells.
- The screening technique gives researchers a rapid way to find agents that target oncogenes - genes believed to cause cancer.
- The study was led by Andrei Gartel, assistant professor of medicine and microbiology and immunology at UIC, and involved a research team that included Senthil Radhakrishnan, a visiting bioinformatics expert, and other UIC researchers.
- The participation of the late Robert Costa, professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics at UIC, was critical for the success of the project.
- Siomycin A must now be tested against other cell lines in the laboratory and in preliminary animal experiments before human trials could be planned.
Statistics:
- Only a tiny fraction of promising candidate drugs enter clinical trials, and few of those are ever approved.
- Siomycin A is the first compound found using the novel screening technique developed by the researchers.
Sources:
- Scholarly article in Cancer Research
- Health & Medicine Week via NewsRx.com (2006)