Laboratory for Research in Integrative Medicine
About the Laboratory for Research In Integrative Medicine
Joseph Bressler studies the potential usefulness of natural products in treating patients with prostate cancer and renal cell carcinoma. The laboratory uses cell culture models to assess how the tumor microenvironment modifies tumor cell responses to natural products. Our recently published work has shown that low oxygen levels and iron status attenuate the effectiveness of pharmacological concentrations of ascorbic acid to kill prostate cancer cells. The laboratory maintains a close relationship with Channing Paller, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Oncology at Johns Hopkins. Paller conducts clinical research in the use of natural products for treating prostate and renal cancers.
Research Overview
Natural products hold great promise in treating cancers because many have been shown to have less overt toxicity to normal tissue compared to conventional chemotherapeutics. Also, many drugs used to treat cancer and other diseases were first isolated from living organisms. Unfortunately, very little is known about factors that modify the effectiveness of natural products in cancer treatment. Our laboratory is studying factors that are regulated by auxiliary cells that make up the tumor microenvironment. For example, oxygen tension and the availability of nutrients are affected by the proximity to blood vessels. Oxygen tension is particularly important, considering that tumor cells express a complex gene expression network that enables them to generate ATP and other essential chemicals with minimal contribution from mitochondria.
Bressler Lab Research Highlights
Pharmacological concentrations of ascorbic acid decrease the viability of prostate cancer cells with little effect on normal cells. Interestingly, the effectiveness of ascorbic acid is attenuated in cells with high levels of ferritin and when cells grow in a low-oxygen environment. In our studies on mistletoe toxin in renal cell carcinoma, our findings indicate that responses depend on the genetic background of the tumor. Future studies are designed to better understand the interactions between genes and drug responses.
Selected Publications
Deme S, Ramezani I, Coulter J, Paller C, Bressler J (2025). Effects of hypoxia and iron on ascorbic acid-mediated cytotoxicity in prostate cancer cell lines. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 497:117259
Natural products from, for example, plants, could reduce tumor growth through different mechanisms. They might act directly at the primary tumor by blocking new blood vessel formation, inhibiting metastasis by reducing the number of circulating tumor cells, or by modifying the different cell types that make up the tumor. Indirectly, natural products might activate immune cells in the blood to invade and kill tumor cells or act on the body by, for example, better nutrition or reducing pain.