Scientists think that a Brazilian wasp's venom could be utilised as a weapon to combat cancer. According to lab tests, a toxin in the sting destroys cancer cells while sparing healthy cells. According to the University of Brazil team, the experimental treatment attaches itself to cancer cells and causes them to release essential chemicals. The research is still in its infancy, and additional tests are required to confirm if the technique will be safe for use in people. South-east Brazil is home to the aggressive social wasp Polybia paulista.
Despite the fact that most people consider its sting to be undesirable, scientists are beginning to think that it might be useful. The insect employs MP1, a significant poison found in it, to assault prey or protect itself.
Additionally, new research on mice indicates that it might specifically target and eliminate cancer cells.
By examining it closely, Prof. Joao Ruggiero Netto and his associates aimed to learn how.
Researchers discovered that MP1 interacts with fat molecules that are atypically dispersed on the surface of cancer cells, causing holes to open up through which chemicals essential to cell activity can escape.
The identical chemicals are concealed within healthy cells. According to the researchers in the Biophysical Journal, healthy tissue should thus stay safe from MP1's assault.
Cancer treatments that target the lipid makeup of the cell membrane would represent a completely new class of anti-cancer medications, according to co-researcher Dr. Paul Beales of the University of Leeds.
"This could be useful in developing new combination therapies, where multiple drugs are used simultaneously to treat a cancer by attacking different parts of the cancer cells at the same time," he stated.
"This early stage research increases our understanding of how the Brazilian wasp's venom can kill cancer cells in the laboratory," stated Dr. Aine McCarthy, science information officer for Cancer Research UK.
"But while these findings are exciting, much more work is needed in the lab and in clinical trials before we will know if drugs based on this research could benefit cancer patients."
