By J. Jala | 01:03 PM April 03, 2020
Healing the brain using the compound found in snail is a medical marvel.
Boholamide A which is isolated from a bacterial strain extracted from the mollusk Truncatella sp. found in the Philippines.
The research was led by scientists from University of Utah, who were investigating the substances the Truncatella sp. has a potent inhibitory compound in the elusive hunt for an improved treatment against glioblastoma, the most common and deadly type of adult brain cancer.
Boholamide A prevents glioblastoma from spreading, and leaves cancer vulnerable to chemotherapy and radiation.
Dr. Joshua Torres, a Filipino medicinal chemist at the University of Utah, one of the study’s authors, told GMA News Online that they named the compound after Bohol province to thank the local government and the people for supporting their work and for granting access to the island’s marine biodiversity.
He said mollusks harbor unique bacteria, a huge resource for novel molecules which can potentially be used as drugs or drug leads.
This species of snail has a shell which is light in color, and which can reach 5 mm in length. Like all other species in this genus, the shell loses its apical whorls as it grows, giving it a truncated and cylindrical appearance.
They screened a collection of 1000 unique bacterial extracts. Isolation of the active compound from a hit extract led to the identification of boholamide A (1), a 4-amido-2,4-pentadieneoate (APD)-class peptide.
With the discovery of Boholamide A, researchers could be one step closer to designing better drugs for brain cancer since it is found to be 3.6 times more potent in killing cancer cells under low oxygen conditions compared to standard drugs.
Initial treatment of glioblastoma consists of surgical removal of the tumor, radiation and chemotherapy using the drug temozolomide (TMZ). However, the proclivity of glioblastoma to invade adjacent brain tissue prevents the surgical removal of all tumor cells. Plus, invasive glioblastoma cells show resistance to TMZ, resulting in the cancer’s eventual return and the patient’s death, often within a year.
Despite recent advances, the median survival of glioblastoma patients is only 15 months.
Many people die each year of brain and other nervous system cancers.
The team has published its research in the
Journal of Natural Products.
