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Health See other Health Articles Title: Fish toxin could be effective cancer treatment A toxin that kills fish may be able to prevent the spread of cancer in humans, according to researchers. Photo by Annette Shaff/Shutterstock FREIBURG IM BREISGAU, Germany, July 24 (UPI) -- Based on its ability to block cell division in fish embryos, researchers believe the toxin from a pathogen that causes disease in fish could be used for treating cancer. Researchers at the University of Freiburg identified the toxin used by Yersinia ruckeri, from the same genus of pathogens that causes bubonic plague in humans, to cause redmouth disease in Salmonidae fish such as salmon and trout. The disease costs the commercial fish industry millions of dollars per year. The toxin, Afp18, deactivates the switch protein RhoA, which controls many vital processes in human and fish cells. Among these processes is the building up and breaking down of actin filaments -- which are required for both cell division and for tumor cells spreading in the body. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers injected Afp18 into zebra fish embryos. The toxin caused actin filaments in the embryos to collapse, preventing cell division, as was expected. Afp18 collapses the filaments by attaching a sugar molecule, an N-acetylglucosamine, onto the amino acid tyrosine in RhoA, which researchers said is "a very unusual reaction in nature," in a press release. The researchers said Afp18 has potential for fighting cancer because of its effect on Rho-regulatory proteins, which are involved in the growth of cancer, especially metastasis. Like Us on Facebook for more stories from UPI.com Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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