Scientists Discover Compound in Corals Shown to Fight Cancer
2022-05-30
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1Researchers say they have discovered a chemical found in sea corals that could be effective in treating cancer.
2Scientists had been searching for the compound for more than 25 years after early studies in the 1990s suggested it could slow cancer cell growth.
3A researcher finally discovered the substance in a common kind of soft coral off the coast of the American state of Florida.
4A research team from the University of Utah has confirmed the discovery.
5The team said their results could lead to widespread production of the substance for use in cancer drugs.
6The researchers recently described their findings in a study in the publication Nature Chemical Biology.
7The use of natural substances to treat disease is not new, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports.
8Compounds from all kinds of organisms - including sea life, snakes, spiders and other animals - have long been studied and tested as possible treatments for many health conditions.
9Since many corals stay in one place, they have developed chemical defenses to protect against other forms of sea life that could threaten them, NOAA reports.
10Scientists study such chemicals in an effort to find effective medical uses.
11But a major barrier to these efforts has been the difficulty of gathering enough of these compounds to carry out effective research.
12The chemical used in the latest study is called eleutherobin.
13It was discovered in soft corals near Australia.
14Scientists reported in the 1990s that the chemical had cancer-fighting properties.
15Researchers involved in the study said the chemical can play a part in breaking down important cell structures.
16It is used by soft corals as a defense against predators.
17But scientific studies have suggested the compound also shows promise in reducing cancer cell growth.
18The studies led scientists to keep searching for large amounts of the chemical that would be necessary to carry out additional testing and possibly develop new cancer drugs.
19But those efforts were unsuccessful for many years.
20Then, a scientist working on the University of Utah team, Paul Scesa, found a soft coral in the ocean off the Florida coast that contained eleutherobin.
21The team sought to find out whether the corals made the chemical themselves or whether it was produced by symbiotic organisms living inside the corals.
22Scesa said in a statement it did not "make sense" to him that the compound would only be produced by other organisms.
23His team knew, for example, that some soft corals do not have symbiotic organisms and yet their bodies contain the same collection of chemicals.
24To test their theory, the researchers attempted to find out how the corals were producing the compound.
25To do this, they needed to study the corals' genetic code to learn whether it included instructions on how to produce the chemical.
26This process is possible through modern methods for studying the DNA of organisms.
27DNA is present in nearly all living things and is the carrier of genetic information.
28The next step was difficult because the scientists did not know what the instructions for making the chemical should look like.
29But they reported they were able to identify parts of DNA in the coral that were very close to genetic instructions for similar compounds in other species.
30They were then able to provide those instructions to bacteria grown inside a laboratory.
31The team reported that the bacterial microorganisms were able to copy the first steps of making eleutherobin.
32"This is the first time we have been able to do this with any drug lead on Earth," said lead researcher Eric Schmidt.
33He is a professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Utah Health.
34The researchers say their experiments demonstrated that it should be possible to manufacture the chemical in the laboratory.
35This could lead to possible widespread production of new anti-cancer drugs.
36Scesa said he hopes to one day be able to hand over the medicine to a doctor.
37"I think of it as going from the bottom of the ocean to bench to bedside," he said.
38I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Researchers say they have discovered a chemical found in sea corals that could be effective in treating cancer. 2Scientists had been searching for the compound for more than 25 years after early studies in the 1990s suggested it could slow cancer cell growth. A researcher finally discovered the substance in a common kind of soft coral off the coast of the American state of Florida. 3A research team from the University of Utah has confirmed the discovery. The team said their results could lead to widespread production of the substance for use in cancer drugs. 4The researchers recently described their findings in a study in the publication Nature Chemical Biology. 5The use of natural substances to treat disease is not new, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports. Compounds from all kinds of organisms - including sea life, snakes, spiders and other animals - have long been studied and tested as possible treatments for many health conditions. 6Since many corals stay in one place, they have developed chemical defenses to protect against other forms of sea life that could threaten them, NOAA reports. Scientists study such chemicals in an effort to find effective medical uses. 7But a major barrier to these efforts has been the difficulty of gathering enough of these compounds to carry out effective research. 8The chemical used in the latest study is called eleutherobin. It was discovered in soft corals near Australia. Scientists reported in the 1990s that the chemical had cancer-fighting properties. 9Researchers involved in the study said the chemical can play a part in breaking down important cell structures. It is used by soft corals as a defense against predators. But scientific studies have suggested the compound also shows promise in reducing cancer cell growth. 10The studies led scientists to keep searching for large amounts of the chemical that would be necessary to carry out additional testing and possibly develop new cancer drugs. But those efforts were unsuccessful for many years. 11Then, a scientist working on the University of Utah team, Paul Scesa, found a soft coral in the ocean off the Florida coast that contained eleutherobin. 12The team sought to find out whether the corals made the chemical themselves or whether it was produced by symbiotic organisms living inside the corals. Scesa said in a statement it did not "make sense" to him that the compound would only be produced by other organisms. 13His team knew, for example, that some soft corals do not have symbiotic organisms and yet their bodies contain the same collection of chemicals. 14To test their theory, the researchers attempted to find out how the corals were producing the compound. To do this, they needed to study the corals' genetic code to learn whether it included instructions on how to produce the chemical. 15This process is possible through modern methods for studying the DNA of organisms. DNA is present in nearly all living things and is the carrier of genetic information. 16The next step was difficult because the scientists did not know what the instructions for making the chemical should look like. 17But they reported they were able to identify parts of DNA in the coral that were very close to genetic instructions for similar compounds in other species. They were then able to provide those instructions to bacteria grown inside a laboratory. The team reported that the bacterial microorganisms were able to copy the first steps of making eleutherobin. 18"This is the first time we have been able to do this with any drug lead on Earth," said lead researcher Eric Schmidt. He is a professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Utah Health. 19The researchers say their experiments demonstrated that it should be possible to manufacture the chemical in the laboratory. This could lead to possible widespread production of new anti-cancer drugs. 20Scesa said he hopes to one day be able to hand over the medicine to a doctor. "I think of it as going from the bottom of the ocean to bench to bedside," he said. 21I'm Bryan Lynn. 22Bryan Lynn wrote this story, based on reports from the University of Utah Health, Nature Chemical Biology and NOAA. 23We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 24________________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26coral - n. a hard or soft, usually pink or white substance produced by a type of very small sea animal 27predator - n. an animal that hunts and kills other animals for food 28symbiotic - adj. involving two kinds of animal or plant in which each provides the conditions necessary for the other to exist 29genetic code -n. information from DNA or RNA that is used to create an organism's proteins 30species - n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants 31bench - n. a long table for doing work on