Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and their collaborators have discovered a novel compound, manzamine A, which inhibits growth of cervical cancer cells. The natural product has been discovered in sponges in Manado Bay, Indonesia. Their research is published in the Journal of Natural Products.
The study investigated the anti-growth and cancer cell-killing effects of manzamine A in four different cervical cancer cell lines. Manzamine A inhibited cervical cancer cells from growing and caused some cells to die but did not have the same effects on normal noncancerous cells.
"This is a highly exciting new application for a molecule that has earlier shown significant potential for the control of malaria and has good drug-like properties," said Mark T. Hamann, Ph.D., the Co-senior author on the study, SmartState Charles and Carol Cooper Endowed Chair in Pharmacy, and professor in the Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences at MUSC.
Image Credit: Tam Warner Minton