MY MENTOR & I PERSPECTIVE
Compounds isolated from corals a potential therapeutic strategy in bone diseases
Brenda Iduarte and Patricia Juárez
June 2019
ABSTRACT
The ocean provides food and shelter to diverse marine species, and it is an exceptional storehouse of potential bioactive natural products that needs to be explored.
Many marine organisms live in extreme conditions, and they have needed to adapt to a complex habitats, as a result, they produce a wide variety of unique active molecules that are used as a defense against predators or to capture their prey. Many of these molecules have biological activity, and they have been described as potent anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, and antihypertensive agents. Our goal is to identify some compounds that can inhibit bone resorption as well as compounds that increase bone formation in patients with osteoporosis that have low bone mass and are at risk of fractures. Although many studies aim to characterize natural compounds that can be used for the treatment of cancer, there has been less focus in the area of bone and bone diseases. For this reason we are excited to contribute to the development of this field and hopefully, very soon, to have new potential drugs for the treatment of patients that suffer these diseases.
Brenda Iduarte
Brenda Iduarte is a M.Sc. student at the Biomedical Innovation Department from the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE). Her research project aims to characterize the effect of compounds derived from marine organisms (i.e., corals, sea snails, and sponges), in bone remodeling and osteoporosis.
Patricia Juárez
Patricia Juárez is an assistant professor working at the Biomedical Innovation Department at the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education (CICESE) in Ensenada Baja California, México. Her research interests focus on translational research for the study and treatment of bone metastases and bone disorders.
