Therapies for Some of the World’s Deadliest Diseases May Be at the Bottom of the Sea

Sea sponges contain unique chemical cocktails that produce bacteria with healing potential

Illustration by Carolyn Figel

Compared to many other ocean creatures around Alaska — from sea stars to flashy corals — the Latrunculia austini sea sponge is a drab specimen. The size of a golf ball with a pitted surface, its musty green exterior allows the sponge to blend into dark environments at the bottom of the ocean. But the sponge’s unassuming appearance belies some miraculous properties. It’s still early days, but some scientists say this green sponge may offer the first real lead on fighting pancreatic cancer.

Latrunculia austini caught the attention of Mark Hamann when it was discovered in 2005 during a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) fisheries survey of the deep sea around Alaska. Hamman is a scientist who researches the medicinal properties of marine life at the Medical University of South Carolina, and he was familiar with the sponge genus group, Latrunculia, from prior research on the sponges he’d conducted in the Antarctic. After reading about the discovery in a scientific journal, Hamman reached out to NOAA biologist Bob Stone, and together they analyzed samples of the sponge.

Hamman’s excitement proved to be well-founded after the results from chemical analyses of the sponge’s tissue came back and a promising molecule was identified. “This new molecule called aleutianamine was a unique and potent selective inhibitor of pancreatic cancer and glioblastoma,” Hamann says, meaning that the molecule shows an exceptional ability to destroy those cancer cells.

Pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest forms of the disease humans currently face; the average five-year survival rate is 9%. The outcome statistics are equally bleak for glioblastomas, an aggressive form of brain tumor: the median survival rate for adults with some strains is around a year. “Options for pancreatic cancer are almost nonexistent, so in a space like that, the molecule has a much better than average likelihood of success,” Hamann says.

Sea sponges have intrigued scientists for decades. They can look like globular masses, colorful tubes, or sprawling fans…