Cancer heal by bacteria in marine sponges?

Cure cancer and infectious diseases with bacteria of marine sponges

28.03.2011

According to a microbiologist from the University of Würzburg, marine sponges can help to heal serious diseases such as cancer in the future. The sponges contain billions of different bacterial strains. In the future, the bacteria could help to develop valuable active ingredients against diseases such as cancer or malaria, the researcher is convinced.

Marine sponges could, in the opinion of microbiologist Dr. med. Ute Hentschel-Humeida from the University of Würzburg will help to develop remedies for cancer and multidrug-resistant bacteria. Opposite the news agency „dpa“ said the scientist „The sponge is the medicine cabinet, and the microbial colonizers then deliver new drugs“.

In the marine sponges live innumerable different bacterial strains. Some may even inhibit the division of cancer cells. Numerous scientists are currently undertaking clinical trials to analyze active substances from the bacteria living in the sponges. The longer-term goal is to use it to identify agents that can be used in infectious diseases such as malaria or sleeping sickness. „Sponges are evolutionarily very old animals that were found on Earth 600 million years ago.“ said the biologist.

The sponges live mainly in tropical regions of the world and stay on the seabed or on coral reefs. Obviously, the animals are defenseless against attack by other animals because they have no defense mechanisms. „They have no tanks, no claws, no teeth, and they can not even run away“, explains Hentschel-Humeida. But appearance is deceptive, because many researchers assume that „The animals have developed a kind of chemical defense to protect themselves from enemies.“ Those very mechanisms could also help medical research. Scientists have recognized, „that up to half of the biomass of many types of sponges consists of bacteria“. These bacteria could then serve for new drugs, „which can be used in medicine or in biotechnology.“

So far, no drugs are available in pharmacies that have been made by sponge bacteria. On March 22, however, a first international congress on sponge microbiology took place in Würzburg. About 90 researchers from 17 countries debated future perspectives and exchanged research results. So far, research is still in its infancy. It would take a long time before an effective remedy for cancer cell division was actually developed. The research is expected to continue for a longer time, as there are more than 7,500 sponge species, some of which are only a few millimeters in size. (Sb)

Picture: Nico