Lyfjavirk efni úr íslenskum sjávarhryggleysingjum - verkefnislok
Fréttatilkynning verkefnisstjóra
In this project we have collected, extracted and screened hundreds of extracts which has resulted a positive hit-list of extracts and fractions with activity against cancer cells and on dendritic cells and monocytes as well as inhibitory effects on acetylcholine esterase in vitro.
Heiti verkefnis: Lyfjavirk efni úr íslenskum sjávarhryggleysingjum
Verkefnisstjóri: Sesselja S. Ómarsdóttir, Háskóla Íslands
Tegund styrks: Verkefnisstyrkur
Styrkár: 2011-2013
Fjárhæð styrks: 16,887 millj. kr. alls
Tilvísunarnúmer Rannís: 110403
Iceland is a geothermally active area and hosts both hot and cold adapted organisms on land and in the ocean around it. In particular, the confluence of cold and warm water masses and geothermal activity creates a unique marine environment that has not been evaluated for the potential of marine natural product diversity. Unexplored and unique areas such as the hydrothermal vent sites at the sea floor are of particular interest. In Nature, continual competition between different life forms for survival is manifested among sessile marine organisms in adaptations for defense from predation, resistance to overgrowth, and acquisition of space for colonization at the bottom of the ocean. This bioprospecting project is directed towards one of the first systematic investigation of the marine natural product diversity of benthic invertebrates occurring in Icelandic waters, and their potential for drug-lead discovery in several key therapeutic areas.
Several new compounds of different chemical classes e.g. alkaloids, nucleosides, glycolipids, carbohydrates and N-acyl dopamine derivatives have been isolated and the structures elucidated in detail. The material collected and the results obtained within this project will be the basis for further research in the field of marine natural products drug discovery in Iceland. Several scientific publications have been or are in progress of being published.
