A series of compounds that might restore tumour cells' sensitivity to anti-cancer drugs has been developed by chemists in the UK and US. Drug-resistant tumour cells have unusually acidic compartments and removing the acid can restore their susceptibility to drugs.  

Philip Gale from the University of Southampton, UK, and Bradley Smith from the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, US, have made mimics of prodigiosins - bacterial pigments known to transport HCl out of cells, deacidifying them.  

It is not known whether the acid removal causes the various biological activities, including anti-cancer and immunosuppression effects, that the prodigiosins show. The mimics don't show these biological activities but will hopefully be able to remove HCl.  

One mimic was particularly good at promoting HCl transport across bilayer membranes. The same mimic deacidified artificial cell compartments much more effectively than a similar one.  

Gale, Smith and their teams hope to test whether their series of mimic compounds work on real cells and whether they have the same biological effects as prodigiosins.  

Neil Withers