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Chemoprevention - Experimental/Molecular: Biological Agents

Biological extracts* from moss and fern species display potent therapeutic and preventive anticancer effects in preclinical studies of diverse solid tumours.

Southern CT State U, New Haven, CT

Abstract

A79

Research studies conducted in our cancer biology laboratory have identified potent anti-cancer properties of plant extracts derived from a series of primitive plant species of mosses and ferns. These plant extracts are prepared as a novel formulation* that is completely non-toxic and designed to be minimally destructive to their biologically active components. Preclinical assessments indicate that these plant extracts produce potent growth inhibitory effects in solid tumors derived from several human cancers, including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) as well as primary and metastatic colon carcinomas. Preliminary data further suggest that these extracts display differential cytotoxicity in colon tumors compared to non-tumor colon cells Dose response assays of the plant extract formulations indicate maximal growth inhibitory effects at approximately 0.05 mg/ml. At this concentration range, the induction of cell death is rapid and occurs within 12 hours of treatment. Strikingly, the plant extract formulations were observed to prevent tumor cell attachment to laminin extracellular matrix components and also to block the spontaneous formation of viable solid tumors in vitro. Confocal microscopic imaging of colon and GBM tumors stained with FITC-phalloidin suggests that a primary effect of the plant extract formulations is on the actin cytoskeleton, as treatment results in a loss of cytoskeletal structural organization in solid tumors. This research suggests that the novel plant extract formulations have potential therapeutic and preventive value in the treatment of diverse solid tumor malignancies. Moreover, these data are consistent with previous research studies in our lab suggesting that the cytoskeletal/FAK (focal adhesion kinase) complex plays a critical role in mediating cell-to-cell contacts critical to solid tumor formation, a process directly linked to tumor viability and survival. Agents that target this structure/activity complex may have useful therapeutic effects that may also play a role in chemoprevention. *Patent Pending