Brazilian researchers have identified an unprecedented molecule that could contribute to cancer treatment. The molecule, present in a copper complex, has properties of action against cancer cells from selectivity, DNA division capacity and mechanisms associated with cell death.
The findings of scientists from the Federal University of Uberlândia (UFU), in the Triângulo Mineiro, were published in the journal Scientific Reports, by the Nature group.
The tests were carried out in the laboratory, using tumor cells from humans and mice. The copper complex was shown to be capable of inducing the production of another type of molecule, called reactive oxygen species. These molecules are highly reactive and can transform other molecules.
In the study, the researchers found that reactive oxygen species managed to reach tumor cells, damaging their DNA. The damage was so severe that the cancer cells entered a process of programmed cell death, technically called apoptosis.
The copper complex acts more on tumor cells than healthy cells, being selective, which, according to the study, can decrease side effects such as toxicity and increase the chances of curing cancer.
Search for more effective drugs
In the next phases of the study, the researchers intend to develop mechanisms in which the discovered molecule will be placed inside nanocapsules. The process will allow the drug to be released directly into tumor cells.
Chemotherapy is one of the widely used approaches for the treatment of various types of cancer. Although effective, the strategy can have side effects due to the drug’s impact on healthy cells in the body.
Therefore, science has invested in the search for chemotherapeutic drugs with greater performance and selectivity – which are more potent against tumor cells and less toxic to healthy cells in the body, thus increasing the chances of cure.
(With information from Communication/UFU)
Reference: CNN Brasil
