A major challenge in cancer research is to find agents that target cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells alone and unharmed. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments can have many undesirable side effects because they damage healthy cells as well.
Prof Annie Joubert, Head of the Department of Physiology at the University of Pretoria, has been on a quest to discover new compounds that target the activity of cancer cells only, using an analogue derived from a natural metabolite of the estrogen steroid hormone, 17 beta-estradiol.
Together with her multidisciplinary internationally collaborative research team, she identified an analogue which is showing very promising results, having a significant impact on cancer cell growth. The compound stops cell growth (known as antiproliferation) of cancer cells, as well as stops the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) without affecting other healthy cells. She explained, “with the addition of the compound, or the anti-cancer agent, the cell was stopped in mitosis (cell division), the DNA of the cancer cell was fragmented and cell death (apoptosis) was induced”.
Prof Joubert’s anti-cancer research focuses specifically on breast cancer, the most common malignancy among women in South Africa. Furthermore, from the initial tests done in vitro and ex vitro effects were shown even when administered at low dosages and less frequently. “After only two hours there are signs of the cancer cell being under stress, when the anti-cancer agent is added. After 24 hours, it shows the morphology or cell structure is already very compromised,” said Prof Joubert. This too constitutes major development in cancer drug research, and hopefully in the future less frequent and less invasive treatment plans can be offered to cancer patients.
For many years, she has led a dynamic group of researchers in cancer cellular physiology. Her research specialisation in the in silico-design (cellular modelling via computer simulation) of potential anti-cancer agents has made incredible strides into the improvements of anti-cancer treatment. She has been involved in cancer research collaborations at a national and international level, in academia as well as in industry, and with world class research programmes and cancer research leaders.
She is passionate about research output that will ultimately contribute to and improve the development of the South African and international community.
With the rate of cancer continuing to rise, the crippling effects this will have on a country’s economy is devastating, which is why cancer research such as this is essential and should be prioritised. Breast cancer is the world’s most common cancer among women and the global cancer burden is substantial, and it is on the rise. In South Africa alone, it is predicted that by 2030 there will be an increase of 78% of cancer cases.
Prof Joubert echoed the words of Claude Bernard, founder of experimental physiology, who said that “man can learn nothing except by going from the known to the unknown”. She does not seem to stand still for too long, but is on a continuous quest to expand the pool of knowledge of cancer cellular physiology. She does not do this in her own silo, but relies on the power of multidisciplinary collaboration to ensure the best results are achieved. Prof Joubert recognises the efforts of her colleagues and their continuous persistence that the breakthrough results have been achieved thus far.
Her future research will focus on molecular cross-talk mechanisms between the induced autophagic and apoptotic cell death mechanisms (this refers to the natural process of cell destruction and cell death); and the in vivo efficacy of the anti-cancer drug to target neoplastic cells (cancerous cells) only at low dosages and at less frequent treatment intervals.
Professor Annie Joubert
July 27, 2018
Professor Joubert commenced research in molecular and cellular cancer physiology at the University of Pretoria (UP) in 1998 when she was appointed as a senior technical assistant in the Department of Physiology after obtaining a PhD in Biochemistry (UP).
Through her work, she hopes to strengthen collaborations with industry, and national and international research collaborations with the University of Oxford (UK), University of Bath (UK), University of Florida (USA), Baylor College of Medicine (USA), CRI INSERM (France), Joseph Fourier University (France) and Sabanci University (Turkey).
The focus of Prof Joubert’s research is mainly breast cancer, which is one of the most common forms of the disease in women – the lifetime risk of South African women getting breast cancer is one in 27. Her research focuses specifically on:
a) the in silico design performed by computer simulation of potential anti-cancer agents;
b) the chemical synthesis thereof in liaison with a pharmaceutical company; and
c) the evaluation of these agents for improved anti-cancer treatment.
The prevalence of cancer is increasing worldwide. Globally, 14 million people are diagnosed with the disease each year, and about nine million lose their lives to it annually. According to the Cancer Association of South Africa, breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men are among the top five cancers prevalent in the country. However, according to the World Health Organisation, between 30 and 50% of all cancer cases are preventable.
The research findings of Prof Joubert’s group contribute to the use of in silico virtual screening (VS) methods to identify lead compounds that are likely to succeed in further downstream assays and screens, including whole genome microarrays as well as protein arrays, in the search for potential anti-cancer agents. Making use of in silico VS methods helps scientists to identify novel compounds that significantly lower the cost of drug development by negating the need to synthesise unnecessary compounds that could not be removed prior to screening.
Prof Joubert is also contributing to translational research that entails scientific discoveries that can be applied to improve health outcomes and health care in the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at UP, thus addressing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being).
She recently commenced with a leukaemia research project that looks at the role of platelets in the progression of chronic myeloid leukaemia, a condition that affects mostly older adults and is a type of leukaemia of the haematopoietic stem cells. Her fundamental cancer research links with clinical research, further contributing to translational research with a specific benefit for South African and African populations with unique genotypic and phenotypic characteristics.
Prof Joubert’s research efforts were prompted by the passing of her father, after he was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in September 2020 and COVID-19. She says that he taught her to believe in herself and to do her part to improve the quality of life of the people that she interacts with every day. Her other role models are Prof Albert Neitz, who supervised her PhD degree, and Prof Dirk van Papendorp, Head of the Department of Physiology. Both academics inspired her and motivated her to go the extra mile in her career, Prof Joubert says.
Keeping in mind the life skills her father taught her, Prof Joubert dreams of touching lives and hopes to be regarded as a good mentor to students and colleagues. “I would like to be remembered for having contributed to someone’s life in a positive way, whether it is teaching undergraduates and postgraduates, or contributing to the good health and well-being of all people.”
For relaxation, she enjoys pilates and gardening.
Story
In a study that signals potential reproductive and health complications in humans, now and for future generations, researchers at the University of Pretoria and Canada’s McGill University and Université Laval have concluded that toxins in the environment, notably DDT, modify the sperm epigenome at sites potentially transmitted to the embryo at conception.
Story
This edition explores the theme of ‘Just Transitions’ which is generally characterised by ideas of sustainability and the greening of the economy, and supported by the ideas of resistance, rethinking and restructuring society for a better and more equitable future. As one of the most impactful producers of research in South Africa, UP has several specialised research teams that are on the...
Story
New research arising from a collaboration between scientists at the University of Pretoria (UP) and Trinity College Dublin has shown there are likely more warm-bodied sharks out there than previously thought.
Copyright © University of Pretoria 2024. All rights reserved.
Get Social With Us
Download the UP Mobile App