NOVOSIBIRSK STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY
Scientists from the Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University and the Federal Research Center for Fundamental and Translational Medicine managed to obtain a synthetic antioxidant TS-13 which reduces the cardiotoxicity of Doxorubicin. The research results were published in No. 5 of the Siberian Scientific Medical Journal for 2023. Among the authors of the publication are Director of the NSPU Institute of Natural, Social and Economical sciences, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Professor Natalya Valerievna Kandalintseva and Deputy Director of the NSPU Institute of Natural, Social and Economical sciences for Scientific Work, Candidate of Biological Sciences Roman Aleksandrovich Knyazev.
– Oxidative processes are necessary for life of a living organism. We all breathe, so, respiration processes cause the enzymatic oxidation of organic substances, which means the burning of fats and carbohydrates and gives energy needed for our body. But there is another oxidation process that is not controlled by enzymes, it is free radical oxidation. It leads to disruption of the functioning of body cells. The intensification of such oxidation in the body is called oxidative stress. There are more than 200 diseases that are accompanied by such stress. Antioxidants help cope with this stress and, therefore, are important in the prevention and treatment of a variety of pathologies, - says Natalya Valerievna Kandalintseva.
The water-soluble antioxidant TS-13, obtained by the Novosibirsk specialists, effectively mitigates the undesirable general toxic and cardiotoxic manifestations of antitumor anthracycline therapy.
– All chemotherapy drugs are designed to kill cells affected by the tumor. But these unhealthy cells are not so much different from healthy ones. So, it’s impossible to kill them without affecting healthy cells. This process is called toxicity of drugs meaning negative effect on healthy cells while treating the disease. Doxorubicin, in particular, badly affects the work of heart, - says Natalya Valerievna.
Studies on rats have shown that doxorubicin causes a 21% decrease in body weight in animals and a deterioration in heart function in all respects. Rats that received TS-13 along with doxorubicin lost less weight, and in addition, their heart function significantly improved. They showed a better performance in coronary flow, heart left ventricle pressure and general functioning. The properties of this new drug were also studied at the Belarusian State University and the Federal Research Center for Problems of Chemical Physics and Medical Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Chernogolovka.
According to the developers, there are no analogues to the drug TS-13 among antioxidants, since it not only reduces the toxic effects of doxorubicin on the heart, but also activates the antitumor activity of this drug. The NSPU and the Federal Research Center for Fundamental and Translational Medicine expect that in the future it will be possible to conduct preclinical tests of the new antioxidant.
