A compound found in soil microbes could eventually contribute to a powerful new treatment for B-cell lymphomas, researchers have announced.
The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute in Florida, USA, has a historic collection of soil microbes and that was where Institute scientists found a compound called tiancimycin. The collection has 125,000 microbes that were collected in the last century in the wake of the discovery of penicillin.
The researchers tested antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) containing modified versions of tiancimycin on B-cell lymphoma cell lines and cells donated by patients. They say these ADCs showed a “striking ability” to kill aggressive lymphoma cells while ignoring healthy cells.
The findings have been reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Study leader Dr Ben Shen, director of the Institute’s Natural Products Discovery Center, said: “It would be the ultimate reward if this makes it into the clinic and impacts patient outcomes one day.
“Taken together, the data suggest that this combination of engineered payload, linking chemistry and ‘double-decker’ antibodies could one day offer a promising new option for lymphoma patients.”
Fellow researcher Dr Christoph Rader said: “The compatibility of the conjugation platform with novel payloads discovered in the Natural Products Discovery Center at The Wertheim UF Scripps Institute is exciting and is paving the way to next-generation ADCs for cancer therapy. It further documents the versatility of this conjugation platform.”
Source:
Kiefer AF, Thirugnanasambantham P, Jin Y, Steele AD, Hwang D, Jiang Y, Adhikari A, Yang D, Chang J, Tafesse R, Rader C, Muthusamy N, and Shen B. (2025) “Second Generation Tiancimycin-Based Antibody–Drug Conjugates Enabled by Highly Efficient Semi-synthetic Approach Specifically Targeting B-Cell Malignancies.” Journal of the American Chemical Society, 1 July 2025, doi: 10.1021/jacsau.5c00353
Link: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jacsau.5c00353
Disclaimer: The news stories shared on this site are used as a way to inform our members and followers of updates and relevant information happening in Haematology. The BSH does not endorse the content of news items from external sources, and is not in a position to verify the findings, accuracy or the source of any studies mentioned. Any medical or drugs information is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes.
News service provided by Englemed News.