Developing drugs from microorganisms and plants through new life sciences : Umezawa's Group

The Umezawa Laboratory aims to create new forms of medicine through its research.

In the life sciences recently, research on diseases at the molecular level has advanced. Its become clear that the mechanisms of diseases are caused by abnormal functioning of cells and molecules. The results from such research at the molecular level are new forms of treatment originating from the life sciences, called molecular target treatment. This form of treatment is expected to have few side effects, as it works by suppressing the molecular processes that cause disease.

Q. For example, with cancer, its now understood that cancer cells arise because the signal that causes cells to reproduce is repeatedly too strong, or the signal that suppresses cell reproduction is repeatedly absent. So we can target cancer with new drugs by using recently discovered signal pathways. We select signal pathways that are fundamentally related to a disorder, and suppress those. In this way, we do structural research and create new drugs.

A few years ago, the Umezawa Lab discovered a new compound called DHMEQ. This compound controls a protein called NF Kappa B, which causes cancer and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatisms.

Q. This new substance has been used by a great many clinical physicians. In animal trials, its been confirmed to be effective against currently untreatable cancers and inflammatory conditions. Were developing it as a new drug. When we discovered this substance, we were really happy.

Umezawas group noticed that a weak antibiotic called epoxyquinomicin resembled current NF Kappa B inhibitors. Although the epoxyquinomicin itself did not act as an inhibitor, when the researchers tried designing this molecule so that it did, the new drug DHMEQ turned out to be a great inhibitor of NF Kappa B - with no toxicity.

Not only cancer, but also rheumatism, arteriosclerosis, and diabetes can all be explained in terms of abnormalities in tissue and cell signal pathways. So for molecular target treatment, the Umezawa Lab is looking for substances in nature that could suppress the signaling molecules that seem to be important in these disorders.

Q. Diabetes results from insulin deficiency, so to find drugs that increase the beta cells that produce insulin, we looked at plants. Businesses and clinical physicians have shown great interest in the substances weve found, and were doing R&D to see if we can use them in regenerative medicine.

Q. We search for compounds that can serve as the basis for drugs. The faculty of medicine and physicians are pleased with the drug candidates weve obtained. And when such a candidate seems likely to become an actual drug, we are also really happy that our work has made a direct contribution to society. Also, we do fundamental science research together with our students, and whenever a compound weve discovered leads to a major advance in understanding the mechanisms of disease, we enjoy publishing those results.

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Science & Technology

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