leukemia cells

An international team of researchers led by Patricia Rijo (Lusófona University) has recently published a study demonstrating the anticancer potential of derivatives inspired by natural products. The investigated compounds, naphthyl derivatives based on flavonoid structures, were initially developed during the PhD research of Emília Leitão, currently a researcher at Hovione FarmaCiência.

Portuguese researchers unravelled the anticancer activity of the human neutrophil peptide-1, HNP-1, on prostate adenocarcinoma and leukemia cells. This study, recently published in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – Molecular Cell Research Journal, combines spectroscopic techniques and atomic force microscopy (AFM) for elucidating the peptide’s mode of action and determining potential factors contributing for the peptide’s selective activity toward prostate tumor cells.