Sceptrin Restricts Cell Motility and May Prevent Tumor Metastasis

Investigators have demonstrated the ability of the natural compound sceptrin to inhibit the motility of cells and suggested a possible future role for this compound as a drug to prevent the metastasis of tumor cells.

While sceptrin was originally isolated from marine sponges such as Agelas nakamurai, it has now been synthesized in the laboratory and is available in multi-gram quantities. Taking advantage of this relative abundance, investigators from the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (La Jolla, CA, USA) have expanded earlier studies that had showed that sceptrin was a potent inhibitor of cell motility.

Results published in the December 23, 2009, online edition of the journal ACS Chemical Biology revealed that both naturally occurring and synthetic sceptrin restricted the motility of cancer cell lines of cervical, breast, and lung origin. The compound showed no toxicity at concentrations that were double the amount of sceptrin required for maximal inhibitory effect.

The ability to restrict motility was found to be, at least partially, due to sceptrin's inhibitory affect on cell contractility. Additionally, sceptrin was found to bind to monomeric actin, further suggesting a mechanism involving the actin cytoskeleton.

"Given the recently achieved synthesis of sceptrin in multigram quantities, sceptrin could prove to be an attractive lead molecule for further preclinical testing and development for therapeutic purposes,” said senior author Dr. Kristiina Vuori, executive vice-president for scientific affairs at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute. "It may also prove to be a useful research tool in order to elucidate the mechanisms involved in cell motility.”

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Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute