Blueprints for anti-cancer drugs discovered in bacterial genomes JUPITER, Fla. Dec. 11, 2017 Scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) who had previously discovered the prostate cancer-killing compound LNM E1 have now brought the family of LNM molecules even closer to clinical testing by mining the information stored in bacteria genomes. Their research suggests these hidden genes hold the blueprints for designing new, even more effective cancer-targeting compounds.
This points the way toward a new therapeutic opportunity, says lead investigator Ben Shen, Ph.D., TSRI professor and co-chair of the Department of Chemistry.
The findings were published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.
Unlocking anti-tumor molecules in nature
The leinamycin (LNM) family is a group of compounds called natural products, produced by a bacterium that lives in soil. Until now, Shen and his colleagues were only aware of one member of the LNM family, a compound called LNM. By editing the genome of the bacterium, the Shen lab produced LNM E1, which they showed in 2015 could react with reactive oxygen species in prostate cancer cells, triggering death.
So we knew the molecule was useful, but then what? We needed to make many variants to optimize efficacy in animal models, says Shen.
Unfortunately, synthesizing LNM E1 to make analogues has proven challenging because of the compound's complicated structure.
The lack of analogues led Shen and his colleagues to look to nature for help. Luckily, researchers have a valuable resource on TSRI's Florida campus, where Shen heads the Natural Products Library Initiative, a library consisting of purified natural products, partially pure fractions, crude extracts and bacterial strains collected from all over the globe that are available for screening.
By combing through this library and public datasets, the team discovered 49 bacteria with genes that appear to code for members of the LNM family. The researchers confirmed this finding through bioinformatics analysis and by isolating several of the newly discovered LNM compounds in the lab.
With this research, Shen and his colleagues now have an idea of the structural diversity in LNMs. They found that while bacteria evolved to have LNMs with many of the same characteristics, small changes, such as atomic differences in the building blocks of their core scaffolds, could make some LNMs more or less effective against cancer cells. The next step will be to study LMN molecule interactions with cancer cells to find out.
This finding represents a big shift in how scientists discover natural product drug candidates. Shen explained that for a long time, scientists had to cast a wide net to discover potential medicinal compounds, more or less by chance, in animals, plants, bacteria and fungi. With the more focused, genome-driven technique employed at TSRI, scientists can close in on suspected sources of a potential drug more efficiently, in this case, mining bacteria genomes to find the instructions for making LNMs.
The technological advances we've made enable us to quickly identify sources of these types of natural products, says Shen. This could dramatically impact the drug lead pipeline.
TSRI Research Associates Guohui Pan and Zhengren Xu served as co-first authors of the study Discovery of the Leinamycin Family of Natural Products by Mining Actinobacterial Genomes, which also included authors from Ghent University, Belgium; Central South University and Yunnan University, China; and Myongji University, Korea.
The study was supported by the Chinese Ministry of Education 111 Project B08034, National High Technology Joint Research Program of China (grant 2011ZX09401-001), and National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (grant 2012AA02A705); the Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science & Technology Development, Rural Development Administration, Korea (Project No. PJ01128901); and the National Institutes of Health (grant CA106150).
About The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is one of the worlds largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. TSRI is internationally recognized for its contributions to science and health, including its role in laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, and other diseases. An institution that evolved from the Scripps Metabolic Clinic founded by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in 1924, the institute now employs more than 2,500 people on its campuses in La Jolla, CA, and Jupiter, FL, where its renowned scientists including two Nobel laureates and 20 members of the National Academies of Science, Engineering or Medicine work toward their next discoveries. The institutes graduate program, which awards PhD degrees in biology and chemistry, ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. In October 2016, TSRI announced a strategic affiliation with the California Institute for Biomedical Research (Calibr), representing a renewed commitment to the discovery and development of new medicines to address unmet medical needs. For more information, see www.scripps.edu.
# # #
For information:
Office of Communications
Tel: 858-784-2666
Fax: 858-784-8118
press@scripps.edu
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
08/05/2024
zweiB updates to latest version of R&S CLIPSTER Specialist in deliverables for cinema, events and trade shows
Rohde & Schwarz, a global leader in broadcast...
07/05/2024
NAB Show 2024
Utah Scientific rocked the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas, unveiling two new game-changers in video signal management.
Our primary focus this yea...
07/05/2024
7th May 2024 The nations favourite comedy channel Gold has teamed up with the ma...
07/05/2024
There's something special about summer. We're not sure whether it's the warmer weather, the longer days, or something else a bit more magical, but s...
07/05/2024
NITV appoints Michael Rennie as Presenter and Senior Producer for NITV News
Media releases
NITV has announced the appointment of Michael Rennie as Presenter...
07/05/2024
The ability for line-of-site tactical voice and data networks to seamlessly traverse over Satellite Communications is an emerging requirement to assure warfight...
07/05/2024
On April 5, 2024, the L3Harris Avionics Products Repair Station (NN2R037L) in Gr...
07/05/2024
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
07/05/2024
Share this article
width=32 height=32 loading=lazy data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/themes/juniper-theme/src/img/icons/facebook-purple.svg />
wid...
07/05/2024
BURBANK, Calif. The Walt Disney Company has finally delivered some from profits from its hefty streaming investments, with the second quarter of its fiscal year...
07/05/2024
Bonnie Hammer, vice chair of NBCUniversal, and Jen Psaki, MSNBC host, read from their new books at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan Wednesday, May 8. Hammer's...
07/05/2024
Paramount Plus has ordered the series Crutch, a comedy that is a spinoff of CBS comedy The Neighborhood. Tracy Morgan stars....
07/05/2024
Edward J. and Melody Thomas Scott and Lidia Bastianich will receive Lifetime Achievement honors at the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards in June, the National Aca...
07/05/2024
The 2024 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts luncheon and awards ceremony happens in New York November 12, and the honorees are Al Roker, weather and featu...
07/05/2024
Dabl Network has added The Wayans Bros., The Jamie Foxx Show, Living Single and Everybody Hates Chris to its weekday and weekend lineups. Those shows join the l...
07/05/2024
After winning a proxy fight, The Walt Disney Co. said its entertainment business turned a profit and added subscribers in its fiscal second quarter....
07/05/2024
NBA Entertainment is closing out the second season of its series Pass the Rock with a look at Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, the league's rooki...
07/05/2024
Syncbak, which provides stations with streaming capabilities, said it is rebranding as Zeam Media....
07/05/2024
Samsung has made a deal with Magnolia Pictures that will bring titles from Magnolia to the Samsung TV Plus free streaming platform....
07/05/2024
Amazon, which has added commercials to Amazon Prime Video, is rolling out new interactive ad formats that will enable advertisers to engage streamers and sell s...
07/05/2024
Syncbak, a 15 year-old provider of streaming tech for local broadcast stations has rebranded itself, adopting the name of its streaming service launched in Febr...
07/05/2024
POST Luxembourgs journey with TAG Video underscores how finding a vendor who und...
07/05/2024
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New findings from Hub Entertainment Research provides extensive data showing that the majority of consumers will opt for lower cost ad-supporte...
07/05/2024
NEW YORK The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) has announced th...
07/05/2024
CBS News has named Lindsey Reiser an anchor and correspondent for CBS News 24/7, the network's live, streaming news service. Reiser, who was most recently a...
07/05/2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. After more than two years of decline, worldwide tablet shipments posted modest year-over-year growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24),...
07/05/2024
ESPN is reporting that April was a record-setting month as the network delivered its best April prime time audience on record, dating back more than 30 years....
07/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced that Kirsten Donaldson has joined NAB as vice president of public policy. Donaldso...
07/05/2024
The Bulls are back home again this week from May 7-12! Don't miss out on any...
07/05/2024
SVG Sit-Down: AWS's Julie Souza on the Cloud and AI in Broadcast-Content Cre...
07/05/2024
Deloitte Analysts Peter Giorgio and Michael Vovk: Sports Properties Need To Reth...
07/05/2024
University of Texas' Jeff Hanel to Keynote 16th-Annual SVG College Summit Industry vet to discuss uniting live and creative in athletic department media arm...
07/05/2024
Premier League trials RefCam during Crystal Palace v Manchester United fixture By George Bevir
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 - 09:34
Print This Story
In a Premier ...
07/05/2024
CBS Sports Previews PGA Championship Plans; 125+ Cameras Include FlyCams, Bunker...
07/05/2024
Rohde & Schwarz brings cutting-edge solutions to TECNOSEC and DRONExpo 2024 Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its innovative portfolio at TECNOSEC and DRONExpo 20...
07/05/2024
Back to All News
Five New Games Join Netflix in May
Netflix Staff
Entertainment
07 May 2024
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Five new games are launching ...
07/05/2024
Back to All News
Top 10 Week of Apr. 29: Baby Reindeer' Holds Strong; Hee...
07/05/2024
Home News & Press Blancco Wins 2024 SEAL Business Sustainability Award
Blancco Wins 2024 SEAL Business Sustainability Award May 07, 2024
Blancco's v...
07/05/2024
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today unveiled the all-new Logic Pro for iPad 2 and Logic Pro for Mac 11, delivering breakthrough professional experiences for songw...
07/05/2024
Apple's new Privacy Manifest requirement mandates that apps explicitly disclose the privacy-related data they collect, the purposes for this collection, and...
07/05/2024
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour arrives to shake up EuropeHaving shaken four continents, Taylor Swift's Eras Tour finally brings the biggest pop culture icon o...
07/05/2024
Isiphetho: Destiny' beats Scandal!'E.tv's latest telenovela Isiphetho: Destiny' beat the channel's longest running soapie, Scandal!' ...
07/05/2024
Now there's HELP for ex-prisoners to find work in South AfricaNew initiative for ex-prisoners to find work in South Africa proves it's never too late fo...
07/05/2024
Tonight on Scandal: Cohen is pulled into keeping a secretDon't miss Tuesday, 7 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Scandal! on e.tv on DStv c...
07/05/2024
Skeem Saam: Monday's episode, 6 May 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African soapie...
06/05/2024
By Ilyse McKimmie
Now, more than ever
That's a phrase so often used in the last few years that I've come to dread seeing it in notes like this one. A...
06/05/2024
alt= class=wp-image-12099 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Blog-Exabyte-Storage-Demand-960x540-1.jpg/> Demand for storage solutions has reached unprece...
Blueprints for anti-cancer drugs discovered in bacterial genomes JUPITER, Fla. Dec. 11, 2017 Scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) who had previously discovered the prostate cancer-killing compound LNM E1 have now brought the family of LNM molecules even closer to clinical testing by mining the information stored in bacteria genomes. Their research suggests these hidden genes hold the blueprints for designing new, even more effective cancer-targeting compounds.
