Evaluation of antineoplastic activity of antimalarial drug artemisinin against canine histiocytic proliferative complex.

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24780304
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Clinical veterinary science
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: HOSOYA Kenji 北海道大学, (連合)獣医学研究科, 准教授 (50566156)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 腫瘍 / 組織球性肉腫 / アルテミシニン / 犬

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Malignant histiocytosis is a rare disease in humans, where neoplastic histiocytes proliferate uncontrollably. There is currently no known effective treatment option. On the other hand, a similar disease, known as histiocytic sarcoma, is commonly diagnosed in dogs, indicating a ideal naturally occurring tumor model for human's conterpart. Both diaseases are known to cause hyperferritinemia, suggesting that these tumor cells exploit cellular systems to uptake iron molecules, whichi is essential for cells to proliferate. Antimalarial drug artemisinin generate cytotoxic free radicals by racting with iron molecles. This study demonstrated that artemisinin effectively inhibited tumor cell proliferation in several canine cell lines, and explored the relationship between artemisinin-sensitivity of each cell lines and the expression level of proteins related to iron metabolism and uptake.

Free Research Field

腫瘍