By Stephen Hanks, Contributing Reporter

Last week a proverbial “buzz” was created in the world of cancer research when the University of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England released news of a study suggesting wasp venom — really a toxin found in the venom — could be used to inhibit the growth of certain cancers.

According to a team of researchers from Leeds and Sao Paulo State University in Brazil, the social wasp Polybia paulista produces a toxin, called MP1 (Polybia MP1), that selectively kills cancer cells without harming normal cells.
In laboratory tests, the toxin had been shown to inhibit the growth of prostate and bladder cancer cells, as well as multi-drug resistant leukemic cells. Until this new study, it wasn’t clear exactly how MP1 interacted with cancerous and healthy cells.

Dr. Paul Beales, from the Leeds School of Chemistry, and his study co-author Dr. Joao Ruggiero Neto of Sao Paulo State, found that MP1 interacts with fatty molecules called lipids that are abnormally distributed on the surface of cancer cells, creating gaping holes in the cells.

“Formed in only seconds,” said Neto, “these large pores are big enough to allow critical molecules such as RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) and proteins to easily escape cells.”

Beales believes that therapies attacking the lipid composition of the cell membrane could lead to a new class of anti-cancer drugs.

“This could be useful in developing new combination therapies where multiple drugs are used simultaneously to treat cancer by attacking different parts of the cancer cells at the same time,” Beales said when the study’s results were announced.

When contacted by HCB News, Beales admitted that research into the potential use of the MP1 peptide in cancer treatments is still in the very early stages.

“Our study has provided mechanistic insight that underpins the anti-cancer properties of MP1 that were previously discovered,” said Dr. Beales. “This is still a long way from a clinical therapy or even any trials in humans.”

Does Beales see the possibility for MP1 to be used in conjunction with chemotherapy or as part of a cocktail of drugs similar to treatments for AIDS and HIV patients?

“Right now that’s a hypothetical,” Beales admitted. “However, as MP1 targets pathological changes in the lipid distribution in cancer cells, this would be a novel mode of action for an anti-cancer drug, as no current drugs target differences in the properties of the membranes in cancer cells. Such a new class of drug that targets the membrane and intracellular targets would provide new treatment options.”

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