By Luisa S. Lumioan, S&T Media Service
Researchers from University of the Philippines are
studying marine microorganisms in sponges that may lead to the discovery of new
drugs for tuberculosis, pneumonia and other infectious diseases, and snails
that could provide anti-pain agents.
Led by UP’s Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Gisela
P. Concepcion, researchers from the UP Marine Science Institute (MSI) have
isolated microorganisms associated with sponges and are currently confirming
their anti-infective properties or
ability to combat infections. This is part of the program called Pharmaseas
Marine Drug Development Program which was funded by Department of Science and
Technology--Philippine Council for Marine and Aquatic Resources Research and
Development (PCMARRD) which is now Philippine Council for Agriculture Aquatic
Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD).
Also part of the Pharmaseas program is the discovery of
anti-pain drugs from the venom of turrid snails. Anti-pain drugs are important
in the management of cancer and other debilitating illnesses.
Sponges, the oldest multi cellular animals, are regarded as
the “most successful organisms.” They are physically defenseless, soft-bodied
and sedentary making them easy prey, yet they have survived millions of years.
According to experts, their survival rests on their ability to produce
different kinds of bioactive compounds to protect themselves. Scientists recently have discovered that
microorganisms in the tissues of sponges produce some of these compounds.
The emergence of drug-resistant pathogens or microorganisms
that cause diseases has propelled the need to produce new drugs. The researchers from MSI have isolated
compounds that could be used to produce new drugs to combine with existing
antibiotics. Combination therapy is the thrust nowadays to combat
drug-resistant pathogens, according to Dr. Concepcion.
The researchers have isolated and characterized several
peptides, in which molecules are formed by joining two or more amino acids or
building blocks of proteins, from the venoms of turrid snails that were
collected from the rich marine diversity of the Philippines.
Aside from the two main projects of Pharmaseas which entail
isolating, purifying and characterizing compounds from marine microorganisms
and venoms of turrid snails for drug discovery, there are three other support
projects under the program.
The first support project, MMO’s and Turrids: Collection,
Ecology, Biology, and Bioinformatics, successfully gathered data for the
program and this database website can now be accessed through the UP local
network.
The researchers were also able to do optimization studies
for the culture of bioactive compounds through another support project “Marine
Microorganisms: Characterization and Culture Optimization.” Culture optimization will let the researchers
culture the microorganisms in the laboratory so that they do not have to keep
collecting the sponges thereby preserving marine biodiversity.
The researchers of the last support project, Marine
Microorganisms and Turrids: Genetics, Molecular Phylogeny and Gene Expression,
are classifying the organisms and the turrids according to their genetic
markers or specific genes that produce a recognizable trait and can be used in
family or population studies. The group
is leading the classification of turrids which are at least 12,000 species
worldwide 5,000 of which can be found in the Philippines.
The Pharmaseas program has so far achieved its objectives,
but Dr. Gisela admits that the roll out of drugs based on their research will
come in later.
“It is unrealistic to say that we can roll it out in five
years. But if nobody is going to start now with the biodiversity that is right
beside us, who is going to provide this 15 years from now?” Dr. Concepcion said.
The average time for research and development for new drugs
is around 15 years.
Dr. Concepcion and her team are now preparing the terminal
report for the Pharmaseas program. They
have submitted a phase two proposal to continue its initial achievements.
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