Thanks to the Waxy Monkey Frog and the Giant Firebellied Toad, that cancer can now be treated. Confused? Well, a unique investigation coming straight from the Queen’s University claims that proteins in frog skins can combat cancer, diabetes and stroke, and benefit transplant patients by regulating the growth of blood vessels.
Investigators have shed light on two proteins or peptides’ that can allegedly control and target way to manage ‘angiogenesis,’ a process by which blood vessels grow in the body. The discovery can possibly help develop new treatments for more than seventy major diseases and conditions that affect more than one billion people worldwide. These proteins are supposedly located in secretions on the skins of the Waxy Monkey Frog and the Giant Firebellied Toad. In the course of the research, experts captured the frogs and gently extracted the secretions, before releasing them back into the wild.
“Because of its huge potential, angiogenesis has been a prime target for drugs development research over the past forty years. But despite an investment of around $4-5 billion by scientists and drugs companies around the world, they have yet to develop a drug that can effectively target, control and regulate the growth of blood vessels. The aim of our work at Queen’s is to unlock the potential of the natural world – in this case the secretions found on frog and toad skins – to alleviate human suffering. We are absolutely convinced that the natural world holds the solutions to many of our problems, we just need to pose the right questions to find them. It would be a great shame to have something in nature that is potentially the wonder drug to treat cancer and not aim to do everything in our power to make it work,†added Professor Chris Shaw at Queen’s School of Pharmacy, lead investigator.
It was mentioned that none of the frogs were harmed in any way throughout this process. The proteins can probably stimulate or inhibit the growth of blood vessels. One of the proteins from the Waxy Monkey Frog seemingly ‘switched off’ angiogenesis and inhibited blood vessel growth to destroy cancer tumors. A protein from the Giant Firebellied Toad, on the other hand, appears to ‘switch on’ angiogenesis and stimulate blood vessel growth. So it can be probably used for treating an array of diseases and conditions that require blood vessels to repair quickly including wound healing, organ transplants, diabetic ulcers, and damage caused by strokes or heart conditions.
The research findings apparently have great importance in the health domain.