Anti-fungal and anti-cancer? - He Kitenga 2008 Research Highlights, He Kitenga 2008 Research Highlights, University of Otago, New Zealand

SUBA™ itraconazole - a super generic anti-fungal drug - is now being examined as a potential anti-cancer drug.

Dr Joel Tyndall, a senior lecturer in medicinal chemistry at the School of Pharmacy, says a US study recently screened a range of drugs for anti-cancer properties and itraconazole, the active pharmaceutical in Subazole™, was one of those to stand out.

"Itraconazole has the ability to inhibit angiogenesis, which is the development of the blood vessels that feed the tumour."

Tyndall says the project came from an unexpected discussion he had with Dr Roger Aston, the head of Halcygen Pharmaceuticals which produces SUBA™ itraconazole.

"He was interested in testing the American research and knew I was already involved in other cancer projects dealing with brain tumours, cervical and breast cancers."

Tyndall is working with Professor Andy Mercer, Dr Lyn Wise and Nicky Real from the Virus Research Unit (Department of Microbiology and Immunology) to understand how the drug appears to inhibit the development of the endothelial cells that line new blood vessels.

They have already carried out in vitro studies and are looking at animal models as the next stage. Itraconazole can be formed into several isomers, or structures, to create different forms of the same molecule and they want to test several of those isomers.

Tyndall says finding new ways to use existing drugs can speed the research process. "If the drug is already on the market you don't have to go through as many hoops to get approval for its use."

Funding

Halcygen Pharmaceuticals

HE KITENGA: 2008 University of Otago Research Highlights

Introduction

At Otago, research underpins undergraduate and graduate teaching, professional training and community service.

Brave Heart

2008 Distinguished Research Medal recipient Professor Mark Richards' research into heart failure and heart disease is making a real difference to patients' lives every day.

"Dirty food" cleans up its act

"Notified Campylobacter cases began to drop sharply in the second half of last year ..."

Deep, dark discovery reaps reward

The hagfish: These blind, spineless, jawless, finless "rubbish collectors" of the deep have helped demonstrate a link between forest and marine environments.

What IS biodiversity?

Biodiversity has become something of a buzzword these days. But, like all widely used terms, its meaning has become a little fuzzy, a bit like the definition on a well-worn bank note.

High hopes

An Otago research expedition to the Himalayas to study the effects of high altitude on the human body could potentially lead to new, safe treatments for cardiovascular disease, including sleep apnoea.

Very smart gels

A fisheries waste product could soon be helping to heal wounds, thanks to a Department of Chemistry team at the University of Otago.

A river runs through it

"This project is the chance to take a fresh and thorough look at these old issues of 'who gets what' and actually develop a truly comprehensive framework for considering how we are going to manage our resources."

Travel and ethics

The recent Beijing Olympic Games turned the spotlight not only on China's recent growth, but also on its attitude towards human rights.

Generation of data

Dunedin's world-famous longitudinal study is having babies.

MapChatting online

In isolated areas, group decision-making can be difficult to achieve. And, when complex land-related issues need to be discussed, it can be almost impossible to bring all stakeholders together at the same time, in the same place, with an equal opportunity to have their say. Or is it?

Mates and lovers and those in-between

Researching a social history of homosexuality in New Zealand has taken Dr Chris Brickell (Gender Studies) on a journey from the muddy streets of early Dunedin to the flamboyant parties of the "Queen City", all the more fascinating because this "love that dared not speak its name" was largely kept hidden.

Wrath unleashed

In the aftermath of storms, earthquakes and other natural disasters, affected countries may face more than disease, looting and infrastructural collapse. According to Politics Professor Philip Nel and doctoral student Marjolein Righarts, they're at greater risk of conflict and even civil war.

Dirty air - inside and out

"Our results showed that particulate matter in smoke does affect boys who have problems with asthma."

Deer genes provide insight into fighting infection

Immunologist Professor Frank Griffin is excited about his research group's latest work - identifying and mapping genes that contribute to resistance and susceptibility to infection, using deer as an experimental model.

CGH highlights critical genes

As science delves deeper into DNA, even well-funded, imaginative researchers can find themselves limited by technology.

Ecopreneurs change rules of business

Step aside the entrepreneurs and innovators of industry. There is a new player emerging in the business world that is fast changing the rules of engagement and tipping a lot of industries up on end.

Understanding urban agriculture

"These people are desperately poor ... without urban agriculture, they would struggle to live."

Resources pooled for inflammatory research

Rheumatoid arthritis, gout, abdominal aortic aneurism (AAA) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may all sound like vastly different conditions, but a group of University of Otago researchers have found plenty of common ground.

Family secret

"It was one of those amazing needle-in-a-haystack stories, to find a single letter, among three billion letters of DNA within the genome, that was shared by this family, but not by others."

Tell it like it is

A new documentary play will explore issues of family violence in New Zealand while seeking to advance the practice of this increasingly popular genre.

Research reveals penguin stress

Next time you wake, heart racing, from an all-too-vivid dream, spare a thought for slumbering yellow-eyed penguins. In their dreams these seafaring creatures must battle heavy seas and pursue everelusive fish into the ocean's depths.

Prehistoric relic or cultural bridge?

"Rapanui [Easter Island] represents a unique link between Latin America and the Pacific."

Nature's oddities provide reproductive clues

A number of nature's little eccentricities, ranging from the unusual characteristics of the platypus genome to the ability of female salmon to select sperm, could provide valuable clues for a new University of Otago research centre focusing on both human and livestock reproduction.

Gill nets identified as major threat to Hector's dolphins

Hector's dolphins, which are found only in New Zealand waters, continue to slide towards extinction, according to Otago Zoology Associate Professor Elisabeth Slooten.

Changing mosquito landscapes

The New Zealand landscape, particularly the lowland areas, has been converted, in the very short time span of about 200 years, from forest and swamp to open farmland and towns, with small remnant patches of native environment.

Rats sniff out TB

Health researchers from the University of Otago, Christchurch's Department of Pathology are investigating a unique breath test for tuberculosis (TB).

Y worry?

Generation Y is said to be the "want it now" generation. A new study takes a closer look at the spending priorities of these young consumers and reveals an attitude to debt that is very different from previous generations.

Finding the right "haystack"

"Finding gold is a bit like a blind man searching on a dark night for a black cat that might not be there."

Through the smokescreen

"Tobacco control is chronically under-funded here, and a dedicated tax would help reduce health inequalities for Mori and low-income households."

Early Career Awards for Distinction in Research

In Brief

A large fossil ammonite, a species of Ectocentrites

This large fossil ammonite, a species of Ectocentrites, is about 190 million years old and is on display in the University of Otago's Geology Museum. It was collected from the Otamita area, near Gore, in 1990 by then master's student Ed Wright. Ammonites were common in Jurassic oceans, but became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period, when the dinosaurs died out. The Geology Museum contains a large and scientifically-important collection of rocks, minerals and fossils from New Zealand. These include significant Permian, Triassic, Jurassic and Cenozoic invertebrates, marine vertebrates of Cretaceous and Cenozoic age, and Cenozoic plant fossils. The museum is open to the public Mondays to Fridays.

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