Lucinda Baatjies

South African Medical Research Council | MRC · Centre for Tuberculosis Research

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents a significant global health crisis due to its resistance to conventional therapies and lack of specific molecular targets. This study explored the potential of Eriocephalus racemosus (E. racemosus) as an alternative treatment for TNBC. The cytotoxic properties and high-resolution respirometry mitochon...

Mycobacterial pathogens present a significant challenge to disease control efforts globally due to their inherent resistance to multiple antibiotics. The rise of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has prompted an urgent need for innovative therapeutic solutions. One promising way to discover new tuberculosis drugs is by utilizing...

Medicinal plants play a huge role in the treatment of various diseases in the Limpopo province (South Africa). Traditionally, concoctions used for treating tuberculosis and cancer are sometimes prepared from plant parts naturally occurring in the region, these include (but not limited to) Schotia brachypetala, Rauvolfia caffra, Schinus molle, Zizip...

Iron is vital metal for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, survival, and persistence within its human host. The mobilization of sulphur (SUF) operon encodes the primary iron-sulphur (Fe-S) biogenesis system in M. tuberculosis and is induced during iron limitation and intracellular growth of M. tuberculosis, pointing to its importance during infe...

Iron-sulphur (FeS) cluster biogenesis is a tightly regulated process in vivo. In Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), SufR functions as a transcriptional repressor of the operon encoding the primary FeS cluster biogenesis system. Previously, three independently isolated mutants (ΔRv1460stop_1.19, ΔRv1460stop _5.19 and ΔRv1460stop _5.20) harbouring the...

Tuberculosis (TB) drug discovery studies are essential for the discovery of new anti-tubercular agents. TB drugs currently in use are susceptible to resistance by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, hence the need for novel classes of drugs. In this study, mono- and modified bimetallic magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MIONs) were investigated for potenti...

The number and diversity of drugs in the tuberculosis (TB) drug development process has increased over the years, yet the attrition rate remains very high, signaling the need for continued research in drug discovery. In this study, crude secondary metabolites from marine fungi associated with ascidians collected from Saldanha and False Bays (South...

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women globally. Even though a plethora of treatments are available, most patients experience adverse effects which affect their quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the utility of nine Fynbos plants (Erica magnisylvae E.G.H Oliv., Erica canescens J.C. Wendl., Erica co...

Tuberculosis (TB) is a persistent lung infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis . The disease is characterized by high mortality rates of over 1 million per year. Unfortunately, the potency and effectiveness of currently used anti-TB drugs is gradually decreasing due to the constant development of persistence and resistance by M. tuberculosis...

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) “a human adapted pathogen” has found multiple ways to manipulate the host immune response during infection. The human immune response to Mtb infection is a highly complex cascade of reactions, with macrophages as preferred intracellular location. Interaction with the host through infection gives rise to expression o...

The in vitro anticancer activity of an 80% ethanol extract of Cyathula prostrata (L.) Blume, an annual branching shrub used by traditional healers in Nigeria to treat cancer was investigated. IC50 values were 100.8µg/ml and 64.4µg/ml for HeLa (cervical cancer) and U937 (myelo-monocytic) cell lines, respectively. Further experiments were performed u...

Herbal medicines have received much attention as a source of new anticancer drugs. However, scientific studies have been conducted to a limited extent with few medicinal plants. This study investigates the cytotoxic activity of some Nigerian medicinal plants used locally in the treatment of cancer. The ethanolic extracts of five plants were evaluat...

Cancer is one of the most prominent human diseases which has stimulated scientific and commercial interest in the discovery of new anticancer agents from natural sources. The current study investigates the cytotoxic activity of ethanolic extracts of sixteen Nigerian plants used locally for the treatment of cancer using the MTT assay on the HeLa cel...