Tomato therapy

Tomato plants could be used in cancer treatment after a study revealed that a tomato gene can cause cell death when introduced into brain tumours.

Tomato genes could be employed in gene therapy treatment, where an alien gene is introduced to a patient’s cancer cells. In combination with a specific drug, the introduced genes cause the cancer cells to die. The tumour does not disappear, but the hope is that the disease is halted for a couple of years.

The tomato gene’s actual task is to produce small building blocks for the plant’s genetic material, but when combined with the drug AZT – first developed to fight HIV – the introduced tomato gene kills cancer cells. 

 “The tomato gene codes for a thymidine kinase enzyme,” Jure Piskur, professor at the Department of Biology at Lund University told Laboratory News, “It is a very important enzyme which normally makes precursors for our genetic material.”

“This enzyme normally plays a role in the metabolism of nucleic acid precursors but it can also activate nucleoside analogs (like AZT),” he added, “When these get phosphorylated they become toxic for the cell.” 

Genes from different organisms were tested – including the fruit fly – but tomato genes have the best properties. Pre-clinical trials have been completed, but more funding is necessary before clinical trials can begin.

Piskur himself is not active in cancer research – his role is to develop and deliver the specific tomato gene’s DNA, which can then be introduced into cancer cells. “You could say that the cancer researchers develop the gun, while we provide the actual bullet,” he said.

The study was a joint venture between scientists from Lund University, the Karolinska Institute, Roskilde University and biotech company ZGene.