A team of scientists has claimed that a certain toxin from fish holds promise as a treatment for cancer, reports stated.
Scientists discovered the toxin from pathogens belonging to the Yersinia species, the same family that causes the infamous bubonic plague.
The scientists, led by Dr. Klaus Aktories from the University of Freiburg, Germany, looked at the pathogen specifically from Yersinia ruckeri, which causes redmouth disease in Salmonidae (salmon and trout), affecting the entire fish industry financially as a result, according to the university's press release.
The toxin in question is called "Y. ruckeri antifeeding prophage 18" or Afp18, which targets RhoA, a switch protein necessary for the many vital processes that occur in human and fish cells.
These vital processes include the buildup and breakdown of actin filaments, both of which participate in the process of cell division and spread of tumor cells.
For the study, which appeared in Nature Communications, the team injected Afp18 into embryos of the zebra fish.
Zebra fish are common subjects for experiment because their entire genome has been documented, which allows scientists to observe changes, if any, as result of the experiment, DigitalJournal noted.
The team used X-ray analysis to watch closely how the protein affected the embryos.
With the injection of Afp18, the team found that cell division was halted, consequently arresting embryo development.
Furthermore, the toxin was found to cause the actin filaments to collapse since the protein takes the sugar molecule N-acetylglucosamine and attaches it onto amino acid in RhoA, which is tyrosine.
This particular reaction was described by the team as "unusual" in nature.
The scientists believe that the toxin Afp18 holds promise in becoming a cure for cancer because it acts on Rho-A proteins, which play a role in the growth and spread of cancer cells.
According to Medical Daily, toxins have been explored several times as a potential cancer treatment. However, clinical trials have not been successful enough for it to become widely-accepted for human use.
More research is needed to establish if the fish toxin can really help in stopping the spread of cancer.
