Examining the Effect of Pancratistatin on Lipid Packing in Live Cancerous and Non-cancerous Mitochondria.

This work investigates the differences in lipid packing of non-cancerous and cancerous mitochondrial membranes when exposed to pancratistatin (PST), a natural cancer drug candidate, to elucidate its fundamental mechanism of action. PST is very promising as a novel therapeutic as it has demonstrated specificity towards human cancerous cells (breast, colon, lymphoma) and explicitly targeting the mitochondria of cancerous cells and initiating apoptosis, leaving healthy cells unscathed. However, due to the lack of experimental evidence, the mechanism of PST is poorly understood. Above all, the mechanistic pathway must first be elucidated and understood to progress this drug candidate. Biological membranes, such as those in the mitochondria, play a significant role in regulating physiological processes such as signalling and apoptosis. Membranes have a high degree of spatial organization which plays a critical functional role in the life of a cell. More specifically, lipid packing within lipid bilayers is key to the physiochemical features of membranes and has been shown to be involved in many processes. Thus, the breadth of this research revolves around the study of understanding the complex questions surrounding how PST targets cancerous cells and the development of novel methods to rapidly differentiate between healthy and cancerous tissue using advanced, modern probe-free methods such as neutron scattering.