- Sep 12, 2009
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Until a decade ago, Polybia paulista wasn’t well known to anyone other than entomologists and the
hapless people it stung in its native Brazil. But then, a number of research groups discovered a series
of remarkable qualities all concentrated in the aggressive wasp’s venom.
One compound in particular has stood out for its antimicrobial and anti-cancer properties.
Polybia-MP1, a peptide, or a string of amino acids, is different from most antibacterial peptides in that
it’s only toxic to bacteria and not red blood cells. MP1 punches through bacteria’s cell membranes,
causing them to die a leaky death. Scientists had also discovered that MP1 was also good at inhibiting
spreading bladder and prostate cancer cells and could kill leukemia cells, but they didn’t know why it
was so toxic only to tumor cells.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/b...ve-brazilian-wasp-rips-holes-in-cancer-cells/
hapless people it stung in its native Brazil. But then, a number of research groups discovered a series
of remarkable qualities all concentrated in the aggressive wasp’s venom.
One compound in particular has stood out for its antimicrobial and anti-cancer properties.
Polybia-MP1, a peptide, or a string of amino acids, is different from most antibacterial peptides in that
it’s only toxic to bacteria and not red blood cells. MP1 punches through bacteria’s cell membranes,
causing them to die a leaky death. Scientists had also discovered that MP1 was also good at inhibiting
spreading bladder and prostate cancer cells and could kill leukemia cells, but they didn’t know why it
was so toxic only to tumor cells.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/b...ve-brazilian-wasp-rips-holes-in-cancer-cells/