Tuesday, July 7, 2009
A research team at the University has discovered a potential cancer-fighting mechanism in fungi compounds.
Fungi have been a long-time component of finding cures for disease.
A team of researchers, including Berl Oakley, the Irving S. Johnson distinguished professor of molecular biology, is studying a chemical reaction known as secondary metabolism. Oakley said secondary metabolism was a chemical reaction in fungi that allowed the fungi to eliminate surrounding organisms. For example, if the fungi in soil is surrounded by other organisms, then the fungi naturally compete with the organisms and become larger and stronger. Oakley said that because of the secondary metabolism, fungi had become medically useful, allowing the fungi to adapt and eliminate harmful surrounding bacteria.
Oakley and his research team have taken the method a step further by taking out certain genes in the fungi, allowing the team to study the products of secondary metabolism in a lab setting.
“What we are studying may seem incredibly boring, but it is not.” Oakley said, “Fungi kill cells naturally. In doing so, these cells have compounds that kill dividing cells, then they could selectively kill cancer cells.”
Oakley and his research team did just that by discovering ways to manipulate the genes in a lab setting.
Chromatin, which consists of various proteins, is packed tightly around the DNA, Oakley said, making it difficult to genetically study the fungi in a lab setting. By removing the tight compact, the researchers can control the genes in the DNA to study how the products of secondary metabolism are made.
Tetsuya Horio, associate research professor, returned to the University from Japan to be a part of Oakley’s research team. He said the team could analyze proteins because it found a sequence in the genome migration.
Oakley said that past researchers thought there was nothing more to discover about secondary fungi, but that the way the genes were sequenced made it clear to the team that there was much more to learn.
A recent discovery involved medical compounds found in terrequinone, a component found in the studied fungi that has strong anti-tumor activity.
The potential cancer-fighting components in the fungi have very high potential of becoming a useful agent, especially in chemotherapy, Oakley said.
“It is clear that fungi do make anti-cancer compounds. By using our genetic approach we have an advantage to studying different paths,” Oakley said.
Chancellor Robert Hemenway said he had high expectations for the University’s cancer research.
“I am excited about the medicinal and chemical research that happens at the University.” Hemenway said, “I think our effort is going to be one of the strongest in the country for cancer-fighting.”
The project was initiated by Oakley at Ohio State University, his former employer, but is now run at a lab in Hayworth Hall. Oakley’s research is part of a $4 million, 5-year project funded by the National Institute of Health. Nancy Keller of the University of Wisconsin and Clay Wang of the University of Southern California also collaborated on the project.
As of now, the University just pays the team regular professor fees, Oakley said.
“The research is a good deal for the University,” Oakley said. “If our research continues to become promising, then they receive extra money plus very positive recognition.”
— — Edited by Justin Hilley
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