Prevent the growth of cancer cells with monensin (sodium salt), a natural ionophore antibiotic isolated from Streptomyces cinnamonensis (Łowicki & Huczyński). Monensin can form complexes with cations and transport them in both electroneutral and electrogenic exchanges across the lipid bilayer. This transport between intracellular and extracellular spaces allows monensin to affect the pH and sodium-potassium balance of cells, leading to its antibacterial properties (Huczyński et al.).

Monensin has been used for:

CANCER RESEARCH
· Inhibits aldehyde dehydrogenase activity leading to oxidative stress in VCaP and LNCaP cells (Ketola et al.).
· Induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in SNU-C1 cells by decreasing the levels of CDK2, CDK4, CDK6, cyclin D1 and cyclin A proteins (Park et al.).
· Inhibits the proliferation of primary murine acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells but not of normal hematopoietic progenitors. Causes the down-regulation of MYB expression, loss of cell viability, and induction of differentiation and apoptosis in AML cells (Yusenko et al.).
· Selectively kills human gastric cancer stem-like cells AGS and KATO III (Pádua et al.).