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Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), including the University of Illinois Cancer Center, have developed an anti-cancer therapy inspired by bacteria found in cancer tumors.

When tested in combination with radiation in animal models of prostate cancer, it was highly effective — the approach effectively shut down tumor growth. The therapy is made from a fragment of a bacterial protein, a peptide called aurB. In cancer tumors in the animal models, aurB prevented energy production in the tumor cells’ mitochondria, essentially cutting off the tumor’s fuel, the researchers report in the journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. Their work was also featured in UIC Today.

“The mitochondria are very important for a cell to survive; they are the energy factories,” said Cancer Center member Tohru Yamada, PhD, senior author on the study and Associate Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at UIC. “Many cancer cells exhibit altered mitochondrial number and activity, because a cancer cell has to grow aggressively and rapidly. Therefore, the mitochondria would be an ideal target for cancer therapy.”