Our first paper in the new Prairie to Pharmacy Project

We have published our first paper on our research in the Prairie to Pharmacy Project.  In this project, we are investigating plants from the prairie region of Canada for bio-active compounds in cancer and infectious diseases (antibiotics).  There were a number of hurdles that had to be overcome to launch this project: a short growing season, re-organizing the laboratory, and finding like-minded colleagues. Fortunately with the help of excellent collaborators in Lethbridge and in France, we were able to organize the project and describe our first bio-active plant.  

The scientific name of the plant is Thermopsis rhombifolia; it is commonly known as the buffalo bean.  Our contribution includes providing new DNA sequence (a bar code) and describing its toxic properties at the cellular level.  We used "phenotypic assays", which are a powerful scientific method to find information that eventually leads to the precise biological mechanism of action.  Our next step is to work with expert chemistry partners, who are from France, to identify the active ingredients. The project is growing: there are more plants to investigate and questions to answer.  Thank you those who have helped us - much appreciated.  

If you would like a copy of the paper it will be published in Natural Product Research, or contact us directly.  

A New Paper in Press: A review of genotoxic drugs and checkpoint adaptation

We have a new paper that is published as of today.  This paper reviews the scientific literature about a relatively new topic in cancer cell biology - checkpoint adaptation.  In a few words, checkpoint adaptation is mitosis with damaged DNA.  In this review, we describe how genotoxic cancer drugs, pharmacology, damaged DNA, are linked to checkpoint adaptation.  It is likely that the phenomenon of checkpoint adaptation is more frequent than had been previously reported.  It occurs when cancer cells are treated with pharmacological amounts of genotoxic cancer drugs.  In experiments, if one uses too much of a genotoxic compound (call a supra-pharmacological dose) cells die by other pathways, usually apoptosis.  If one uses too little, the cell repairs the damage.  But if one adds the amount that kills cancer cells without killing healthy cells (a pharmacological dose) then checkpoint adaptation occurs.  We found these "doses" in the scientific literature and report them in this review, to make it easier for others to use them in their experiments.  There are many other important facts brought together in this review.  To receive a copy either contact me, or the first author Lucy Swift, or click on this link:

Checkpoint Adaptation Review - Swift and Golsteyn

 The paper is open access, happy reading.

An image of human cancer cells taken with a microscope.  The rounded objects are cells that are undergoing checkpoint adaptation.  For scale, the bar is 25 um (0.025 mm).