Pellegrino et al., have shown that haemanthamine inhibits both ribosome biogenesis and function, providing for the first time the molecular basis of the anticancer properties of this natural compound used for centuries in folk medicine. The ribosome biogenesis inhibition triggers an antitumoral surveillance response leading to p53 stabilization (nucleolar stress).
Published in Structure (Cell Press), March 2018. In collaboration with Marat Yusupov (IGBMC, U. Strasbourg)
“A helping hand is providing the natural anticancer compound haemanthamine, extracted from the Amaryllidaceae Narcissus, to a heart-shaped ribosome to suppress cancer cell growth”. Illustration by Cat Minh Vo (c), Brussels, 2018.
Cover of Structure magazine, March 2018
