• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Monday, September 8, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Cancer

Research paves way for new source for leukemia drug

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
March 20, 2019
in Cancer
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Chemistry researchers at Oregon State University have patented a method for making anti-leukemia compounds that until now have only been available via an Asian tree that produces them.

The synthesis of cephalotaxine and homoharringtonine (HHT) paves the way toward less-expensive, more readily available leukemia drugs whose production is not subject to the risks and inefficiencies associated with harvesting natural sources.

Also, the synthesis of cephalotaxine opens the door to preparing other, structurally related compounds for evaluation as potential new cancer drugs.

“We want to partner with industry so we don’t have to grow trees to get this anymore,” said corresponding author Christopher Beaudry, associate professor of chemistry in OSU’s College of Science. “And maybe we can come up with a more potent protein translation inhibitor, or a more selective inhibitor. There’s also a chance this molecule can find application in blocking bacterial protein synthesis, which would be useful for treating antibiotic-resistant pathogens.”

Findings were published in Angewandte Chemie.

HHT, also known as Synribo or omacetaxine mepesuccinate, is used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia, one of four main types of the disease.

Historically, HHT has been made by adding an ester to cephalotaxine, an alkaloid derived from the leaves of an Asian tree: the plum yew. And the only way to get more cephalotaxine was to plant more plum yews.

That’s problematic, Beaudry said.

“Trees don’t grow very fast,” he said. “And any kind of agricultural problem can affect production of the material. By using chemical synthesis, we can start with commodity chemicals to prepare cephalotaxine, and we will further optimize the process to make it commercially viable.”

Leukemia is a type of cancer that originates in the blood-forming cells of the bone marrow. Nearly 200,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with leukemia each year.

Myeloid leukemias, which are also called myelocytic, myelogenous or non-lymphocytic leukemias, start in early myeloid cells. Myeloid cells are what eventually become platelet-making cells and white blood cells other than lymphocytes.

Chronic myeloid leukemia develops slowly, and most patients can live with it for several years, but it’s harder to cure than the acute form of the disease. It’s characterized by a chromosome abnormality that results in a protein overproduction, leading to the proliferation of the cancer cells.

Chronic myeloid leukemia is treated with drugs, such as Gleevec, that bind to a cancer-causing protein and inactivate it – until the cancer mutates and the drug doesn’t work anymore, which is where HHT comes in. HHT shuts off production of all proteins that the fast-growing leukemia cells require.

In addition, HHT holds promise for thwarting chronic myeloid leukemia stem cells, as well as for combating other cancer cell lines.

Beaudry and graduate student Xuan Ju used an oxidative ring-opening of a furan, a type of organic compound, to trigger the HHT synthesis via a reaction known as a spontaneous transannular Mannich cyclization.

“From start to finish – all nine steps from the chemical we buy – the yield is greater than 5 percent, which sounds terrible but is actually quite good,” Beaudry said. “Typically the yield for any process would be much lower – think about how much tree mass is required to make HHT – and we think we can make further improvements as well.”

###

The National Science Foundation and OSU supported this research.

Media Contact
Xuan Ju
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

https://beav.es/ZwQ
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201902174

Tags: BiochemistrycancerChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesMedicine/HealthPharmaceutical/Combinatorial Chemistry
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

New Open-Source Data Platform Launched to Advance Lung Cancer Genetics Research

September 8, 2025

Overcoming Resistance Mutations and the Blood–Brain Barrier: Major Challenges in Targeted Therapy for Brain Metastases in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

September 8, 2025

Moffitt Creates First Genetically Engineered Cancer Model in Naked Mole Rats

September 8, 2025

IU Scientists Reengineer Cancer-Protective Regulatory T Cells to Combat Tumors

September 8, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    151 shares
    Share 60 Tweet 38
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    116 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • First Confirmed Human Mpox Clade Ib Case China

    56 shares
    Share 22 Tweet 14
  • A Laser-Free Alternative to LASIK: Exploring New Vision Correction Methods

    47 shares
    Share 19 Tweet 12

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

New Open-Source Data Platform Launched to Advance Lung Cancer Genetics Research

AI Reveals Stress Levels in Farmed Amazonian Fish, New Study Shows

Overcoming Resistance Mutations and the Blood–Brain Barrier: Major Challenges in Targeted Therapy for Brain Metastases in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.