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The main ingredient found in Sweet ‘N Low, Sweet Twin, and Necta may potentially lead to the development of oncology drugs to treat aggressive cancers. Study findings were presented at the 249th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
The study evaluated how saccharin-based drug candidates could delay the progression of some cancers and reduce their resistance to chemotherapy or radiation therapies. In this new work, researchers examined how saccharin binds to and deactivates carbonic anhydrase IX, a protein found in some aggressive cancers.
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Previous research had shown that saccharin inhibits the actions of carbonic anhydrase IX and not the 14 other carbonic anhydrase proteins that are essential for survival. A team from Griffith University created a compound that linked a glucose molecule to saccharin; this new compound was 1,000 times more likely to bind to carbonic anhydrase IX than saccharin alone. It also lowered the amount of saccharin needed to inhibit carbonic anhydrase IX.
The team is evaluating the effects of saccharin and saccharin-based compounds on breast and liver cancer cells. Results from these experiments may lead to animal studies.
For more information visit ACS.org.
