Anti Cancer Chemicals Found in Marine Sponges
The chemical agelisphin was recently found in the in marine sponges and it may play a role in future cancer treatments. Agelisphin acts as an NKT cell activator. NKT cells strengthen the immune system and thus when they are activated by chemicals improve the quality of the immune system. The chemical is currently being tested on mice with tumors, and it has been shown to increase the lifespan and quality of life of the mice.
Anti-cancer Agent: Cribrostatin 6
Cribrostatin 6 was isolated in 2003 from the sea sponge Cribrochalina. Many bacteria are now resistant to present antibiotics, thus it is necessary to develop new forms to combat these infections. It is effective against fighting Gram-positive bacteria, the most effective one being Streptococcus pneumoniae. Cibrostatin 6 has also seen to kill cancer cells triggering death via apoptosis, it has been proven be effective against quiescent cells. Quiescent cells are not affected by chemotherapy, thus may be the reason for tumor resistance. Cribrostatin was proven to be able to kill these cells even as they are not actively dividing. This product may be used in future chemotherapy sessions. Studies on mice have been done, however, clinical trials have not been conducted.
References:
Anjum, K., Abbas, S., Shah, S., Akhter, N., Batool, S., & Hassan, S. (2016). Marine Sponges as a Drug Treasure. Biomolecules & Therapeutics, 24(4), 347-62.
Hoyt, M., Palchaudhuri, T., & Hergenrother, R. (2011). Cribrostatin 6 induces death in cancer cells through a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated mechanism. Investigational New Drugs, 29(4), 562-573.
Pettit RK, Fakoury BR, Knight JC, Weber CA, Pettit GR, Cage GD, Pon S. Antibacterial activity of the marine sponge constituent cribrostatin 6. J Med Microbiol. 2004;53:61–65. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.05250-0.
Antiviral and Antitumor Possibilities with Mycalamide
Mycalamide is an antiviral compound derived from the New Zealand sponge, Mycale. There are two recurring compoiunds, Mycalamide A and Mycalamide B. In regards to its antiviral properties, studies are still being conducted on it given the possibility of aiding HPV (herpes) cures. However, in recent years, there has been greater emphasis on the potential antitumor properties of Mycalamide. From the isolation of Mycalamide A, an evaluation of the compound as an antitumor agent is still being conducted due to its “in vivo activity against P388 murine leukemia and a variety of solid tumor model systems” (Perry, 223). Currently, Mycalamide research is still awaiting further clinical trials due to compounds occurring in sponges in the wild being ecologically unsustainable. However, chemical synthesis is a potential option albeit complicated to process.
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1021/jo00288a037
http://breteschethibault.free.fr/articles%20aqua/Aquaculture%20trials%20for%20the%20production%20of%20biologically%20active%20metabolites%20in%20the%20New%20Zealand%20sponge%20Mycale%20hentscheli.pdf
Chemical for Staphylococcus aureus infection
This is a the potential development of a potential substance to fight Staphylococcus aureus derived from marine sponge Aaptos aaptos which is a serious bacterial skin infection. The chemical isoaaptamine derived was shown to interact with wall protein anchoring and virulence in Staphylococcus aureus. Sortase A, which is the enzyme that is involved in this process can have its activity inhibited by the substance. Although the research produced promising results, the study was not progressed to the clinical trial section of drug production.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960894X07009407?via%3Dihub
F is for Failure: The initial success and pre-clinical discontinuation of Eryloside F.
Eryloside F was a drug discovered off of a sponge that offered a lot of hope in the treatment of thrombosis. It’s chemical structure showed a lot of promise considering other disaccharides have had similar effects in the past. Chemically, it inhibited the reception of thrombin, which caused thrombosis, as well as to a much lesser extent, disrupting platelet aggregation, or blood clotting. Sadly, Eryloside F didn’t make it past the following pre-clinical trials, being discontinued in 2005. That was five years after the publishing of the paper that documented its promise in fighting thrombosis, properly demonstrating the necessary difficulty and selectivity that follows drug approval.
Chemical with Anti-Malarial Properties Discovered in Sponges
Diisocyanoadociane is a chemical compound that is specific to a species of sponges called Cymbastela hooperi. It is a member of a class of chemicals called diterpenes, which is known for anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties and features such compounds as retinol and retinal. For diisocyanoadociane, it was initially sampled and studied in 1998, going through a few various studies since then, the most recent of which being from 2013. Such highlights the problem with most anti-malarial drugs, as side effects alongside the killing of the infecting protozoans can massively outweigh the actual treatment of the disease in question. Diisocyanoadociane in particular has been found to have some chemical similarities to chemicals with dream-altering properties, which explains its unusually long trial period.
How the Discovery of Aaptamine has Revolutionized Medicine
In the article, one of the notable drugs that were discovered was 4-Methylaaptamine. This drug has been found to have wondrous abilities to combat both viruses and cancer. While most drugs may affect one or the other, it is rare to find one that can help to treat both. The best part is that it is natural, which helps put those at ease who may be against the consumption of more artificial types of drugs.
Manzamine A- Sarah Taj
In 2001, Manzamine A which is a sponge-derived alkaloid was shown to possess vivo antimalarial activity against the blood stages of the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei. A single intraperitoneal dose of manzamine A suppressed parasite growth but was followed by parasite recrudescence. Forty percent of mice with recrudescing parasites were able to recover and clear the fulminating parasitaemia. It was revealed that infected mice treated with manzamine A had a suppressed gamma production but an increase in their IgG production. The prolonged survival of infected mice treated with manzamine A and the eventual clearance of recrudescing parasites in some of these mice allowed them to switch to antibody dependent responses. As of 2018, it has recently been reported Manzanina A has anticancer activity on pancreatic cancer. It was found that Manzanine induced cell cycle arrest at G₀/G₁ phase using the inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinases and triggered apoptotic cell death through mitochondrial membrane potential depletion. This means that Manzanina A had the capabilities of stopping the cancer cells from replicating which, if it continues to be tested on and is approved by the FDA, can become the revlutionary cure to cancer.
Marine Sponges and the Antifungal Future
Antifungal chemicals found in marine sponges include Mirabilin B and Naamine D. These chemicals act as antifungals by targeting the cell walls of the fungi and thus leading to the cell death as the cell’s breakdown or leak out and die. The antifungal properties of these marine sponges were promising when they were discovered; however, the trend with most antifungal substances found in these sponges ends up in research geared more towards cancer drugs. The chemistry behind them is that alkaloids in the marine sponge substances through different mechanisms including protein signal pathway blocking, DNA topoisomerase inhibition, and fermentation induction.
The issue that arises, however, is that alkaloids are highly toxic and haven’t been formally researched as a therapy for humans. As recent as last year, alkaloids were still only being briefly considered as human treatment options. Many of the same substances found are better used as anti-cancer drugs for their cytotoxic properties over their antifungal potential. Due to that many, including these two haven’t made it into the pharmaceutical sector and have not continued to clinical trials.
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