March 31 - Week 13
International Year of the Reef

A Coral Reef in Your Medicine Cabinet:
The Biomedical Applications of Marine Organisms

What do didemnin B, diazonomide A, dolastatin 10, and discodermolide all have in common? They are all potential cancer fighting compounds, and they are all derived from marine organisms which live within coral reef ecosystems. Bryostatin 1, another promising anti-cancer agent, is produced by a particular population of the plant-like bryozoan Bugula neritina. The pseudopterosins produced by the Caribbean sea whip Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae, are anti-inflammatories. The compounds from this soft coral accentuate the healing process of human skin and are now used in some skin care products. Curacin A is produced by the blue-green algae Lyngbya majuscula, and functions as an anti-proliferative. It inhibits cell division, the mechanism by which cancer grows and spreads. In addition to anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory compounds, marine organisms also produce chemical compounds with anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties.

Coral reefs, the rainforests of the sea, offer a rich array of both biological diversity and chemical diversity. Over 6,000 unique chemical compounds have been isolated from marine organisms. Hundreds of these compounds have provided "drug leads", while a few, including those described above, are "drug candidates" in various stages of testing. It is likely that these compounds represent only a fraction of the useful chemicals produced by marine organisms. According to William Fenical, a natural products chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, "marine sources could be the major source of new drugs for the next decade." Unfortunately, many of the undiscovered compounds might remain undiscovered as marine biodiversity is diminished due to the destruction and degradation of coral reefs around the world.

Not only will the resulting loss of marine chemical diversity and potentially useful compounds have long-term negative effects on the quality of human life, it will also have quantifiable economic impacts. For example, the royalties received by the University of California for patented pseudopterosins have reached $1.2 million. This number does not include the revenues earned by the major cosmetics firm which uses pseudopterosins in its products. Without the Caribbean sea whip Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae, these revenues and royalties would not have been generated.

In addition to potentially life-saving chemical compounds, coral reefs supply the structural components necessary to repair human bone. Interpore International manufactures bone graft material by converting the calcium carbonate endoskeleton of coral into calcium phosphate, or coralline hydroxyapatite, which closely resembles the physical and chemical structure of human bone. Other companies manufacture pieces of coral for the same purpose without changing their chemical composition. Unlike allograft bone, obtained from a cadaver, grafts manufactured from coral do not carry the risk of implant rejection or transmission of infectious agents such as hepatitis and HIV.

The United States government supports research on the biomedical uses of organisms associated with coral reefs through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National and State Sea Grant College Programs, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE CORAL REEF OR THIS SUBJECT, PLEASE CONTACT MATT STOUT AT: 202-482-6090 OR coralreef@www.rdc.noaa.gov

OR CHECK-OUT THE NOAA CORAL REEF WEB SITES AT: http://www.noaa.gov/public-affairs/coral-reef.html AND http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov

or contact:

Dave Newman
c/o Cancer Information Service Branch
Office of Cancer Communications
Bldg. 31, Rm 10A16
National Cancer Institute
Bethesda, MD 20892 USA
tel: (301) 496-5583
fax: (301) 492-2594
http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov

William Fenical
Mailcode 0236
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California at San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92093 USA
tel: (619) 534-2133
fax: (619) 558-3702
e-mail: wfenical@ucsd.edu

Edwin Shors
Interpore International
181 Technology Drive
Irvine, CA 92718-2402 USA
tel: (714) 453-3200 x206
fax: (714) 453-3225

William Gerwick
College of Pharmacy, Bldg. 203
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR 97331 USA
tel: (541) 737-5801
fax: (541) 737-3999
e-mail: gerwickw@ccmail.orst.edu

Gregor Hodgson
Institute for the Environment and Sustainable Development Research Centre
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Clearwater Bay, Kowloon, HONG KONG
tel: (852) 2358-8568
fax: (852) 2358-1582
e-mail: rcgregor@usthk.ust.hk
http://www.ust.hk/~webrc/reef. html

Susan Allen
Assistant Administrator
Division of Biomedical Marine Research
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
5600 US 1 North
Fort Pierce, FL 34946 USA
tel: (561) 465-2400 x442
fax: (561) 461-2221
e-mail: allen@hboi.edu

James P. McVey
Aquaculture Program Director
National Sea Grant College Program
1315 East West Highway, rm 11839
Silver Spring, MD 20910 USA
tel: (301) 713-2451
fax: (301) 713-0799
e-mail: jim.mcvey@noaa.gov

Paul Holthus
Marine and Coastal Programme
IUCN - The World Conservation Union
Rue Mauvernay 28
CH 1196 Gland
Switzerland
tel: (41 22) 999-0251
fax: (41 22) 999-0025
e-mail: pfh@hq.iucn.org

Mark Hay
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Institute of Marine Sciences
Morehead City, NC 28557 USA
tel: (919) 726-6841 x138
fax: (919) 726-2426
e-mail: seaweed@email.unc.edu

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