Researchers turn carbon monoxide from cancer cells into a drug
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Vanguard
Japanese researchers used carbon monoxide produced by cancer cells to generate toxic compounds inside them that can destroy them. The method worked on several cancer cell lines in the laboratory without detectable production in a healthy cell line, according to RIKEN researchers cited by Vanguard.
Japanese researchers have developed an experimental technique that uses carbon monoxide produced by cancer cells to make compounds inside them that can destroy them. The method produced toxic substances in several cancer cell lines in the laboratory, with no detectable production of the same compound in a non-cancerous cell line, reports Vanguard.
The team led by Katsunori Tanaka, a researcher at the RIKEN Pioneering Research Institute in Japan, introduces a metal-based catalyst into cells that uses available carbon monoxide to trigger a chemical reaction. The aim is to generate the anticancer compound directly inside targeted cells rather than administer a toxic drug that circulates throughout the body.
The work, published in Nature Communications, remains at an experimental stage. It seeks in particular to reduce damage to healthy tissues caused by conventional cancer treatments, including chemotherapy, which can cause side effects such as nausea, fatigue, hair loss and weakened immune defences, according to Vanguard.
