Kedarcidin: Scientists Synthesize Highly Effective ‘Anti-Tumor Antibiotic’

Scientists from the University of Lincoln have reproduced for the first time the extremely complex “anti-tumor antibiotic” known to be highly effective in treating cancer and drug-resistant bacteria.

After two decades of devoted research, scientists have cracked the chemical codes of an incredibly complex “anti-tumor antibiotic” that is expected to kill cancer cells and bacteria resistant to drugs.

This medical breakthrough is the world’s first antibiotic and anticancer agent that opens new opportunities in the design and production of new drugs.

The “super” substance is called kedarcidin, which was isolated in its natural form by a pharmaceutical company when they extracted it from a soil sample 30 years ago in India. Soil has been a natural source of potent antibiotics since the 1940s, however, prospective drugs should be reproduced via chemical synthesis.

Kedarcidin, an antibiotic that is capable of harming tumor cells, could possibly be used as a cancer treatment drug. Its biological activity is unique as it works by damaging DNA as its target, though it is structurally complex.

It has been a subject of extensive studies. But due to its complex structure, scientists have not been able to reproduce its complete and accurate form – until now.

According to a research paper published in The Journal of Antibiotics from Nature, Dr. Martin Lear at the University of Lincoln, UK, and Professor Masahiro Hirama, who is based at Tohoku University in Japan, have created the first total synthesis of this highly unstable natural product.

"Following its discovery in the soil it took 10 years to determine the molecular structure of kedarcidin. With a reactive core protected by a protein cloak, it resembles something like a scotch egg!" Lear of the School of Chemistry at the University of Lincoln explained.

"In 1997, I began the long journey of making kedarcidin's reactive core with Professor Hirama, who was recently awarded the highest honor for a scientist in Japan,” Hirama said. “We basically needed to piece together a molecular puzzle of remarkable difficulty and then develop new ways of making the jigsaw pieces. 20 years later we have finally solved the puzzle.”

"This extraordinary journey has revealed new molecular insights and promising mechanisms for fighting cancer and combating drug-resistant bacteria, and it has challenged the frontiers of chemistry and biology,” Hirama added.

Due to their advanced knowledge in biology and chemistry, they were able to develop the generation of antibiotics and anticancer agents.

According to Science Daily, it has been predicted that by 2050, an additional 10 million people will succumb to drug-resistant infections each year. The development of new antibiotics which can be used as a last resort when other drugs are ineffective is, therefore, a crucial area of study for healthcare researchers around the world. This new study represents an important step towards making this end goal a reality.

Kedarcidin's anticancer properties will surely be the subject of scientific research exploring new ways of attacking violent cancer tumors.

Now that it is possible to reproduce the substance in the lab, cancer researchers will be able to deeply understand its properties against leukemia and melanoma cells for example.