Copper mixes with alcohol abuse drug for anticancer action
Chemical model reveals how alcoholism drug disulfiram joins copper to kill cancer cells with oxidation overload
When copper meets alcoholism drug disulfiram they form a deadly union that dodges cancer cells’ defence mechanisms and kills them through oxidative stress. Exactly how the drug works has now been unravelled by a team of scientists from China.
Disulfiram has been used for almost 70 years as an anti-alcoholism drug. It produces acute ethanol sensitivity, including immediate and enhanced hangover effects, by stopping the body from breaking down acetaldehyde. But two years ago, scientists found its copper complex also has anticancer activity. How exactly the drug does this, however, remained unclear.