Grant ID | RP101016 |
Awarded On | January 20, 2010 |
Title | Understanding the Activity of a Potent Anticancer Agent |
Program | Academic Research |
Award Mechanism | High Impact/High Risk |
Institution/Organization | The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center |
Principal Investigator/Program Director | Joseph M Ready |
Cancer Sites | Multiple Sites |
Contracted Amount | $198,947 |
Lay Summary |
Nature produces small molecules that profoundly benefit human health. Natural products can be produced by bacteria (e.g. doxorubicin), fungi (e.g. tetracyclins) or plants (e.g. paclitaxel). The treatment of cancer, in particular, has benefited from Nature’s arsenal of small molecules. For this reason, newly discovered natural products present exciting opportunities for interdisciplinary research involving chemical and biological studies. Recently, it was discovered that bacteria produce a small molecule named simaomicin. By itself, simaomicin has no effect on normal or human cancer cell lines. However, in combination with agents that damage DNA, simaomicin kills cancer cells selectively. Cur... |