A University of Hawaiʻi researcher has identified a rare bacterium that is active against certain cancers. The bacterium, Lentzea flaviverrucosa, that produces petrichorin A, was discovered by Shugeng Cao, associate member of the at the , and co-investigators Chunshun Li and Xiaohua Wu, in collaboration with Joshua Blodgett of Washington University in St. Louis. The research team proved that petrichorin A is active against cancers such as ovarian cancer, fibrosarcoma, prostate cancer and T-cell leukemia.
These findings were published in the .
Petrichorin A is a peptide that contains special amino acids, and each amino acid has a nitrogen-nitrogen bond. Petrichorin A, a dumbbell-like natural product, was evaluated for anti-cancer activity against multiple cancer cell lines. The researchers conducted a preliminary test and discovered that petrichorin A was not toxic to a normal human cell line. With this observation, his team proved that petrichorin A was active against ovarian cancer, fibrosarcoma, prostate cancer and T-cell leukemia. This highlighted the importance of including petrichorin A in future research of pharmaceutical design and discovery programs.
“Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Hawai?i and nationally, after cardiovascular disease,” said Cao. “If petrichorin A were developed successfully, people in Hawai?i and the Pacific would benefit from our drug therapies.”
Cao currently serves as a professor at the (DKICP) at . Wu is a senior research associate at DKICP, and Li, a previous postdoctoral fellow in Cao’s lab, is a scientist at Antheia, Inc.
This research is an example of 糖心Vlog官方 惭ā苍辞补’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.