Notorious Fungus Blamed for ‘Mummy’s Curse’ Is Now a Promising Cancer Treatment

In the 1920s, a number of workers from the excavation team who discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun met with premature deaths. Five decades later, 10 out of 12 scientists died after entering tomb of the Polish king of the 15th century Casimir IV. In both cases, the researchers suggested that the fungal spores could have played a role In the mysterious deaths, in particular identifier The fungus Aspergillus flavus in the Polish burial.

A. Flavus Now makes a return, but not like a killer re -listened to the old tombs, but rather as a compound of surprisingly effective cancer. By modifying a newly identified molecule found in the fungus, the researchers created a compound which worked as effectively against leukemia cells as drugs approved by the FDA.

The molecules in the center of these anticancer properties, known as the synthesized and modified post-traductions, or Rippsare a diversified group of natural molecules assembled by the ribosome (which manufactures proteins) and later modified by enzymes. They carry out many different biological activities, some of which are already known for their anti -schoolérat properties.

To date, researchers have not identified only a handful of ripps in mushrooms, which is significantly less than the thousands of their bacteria. Part of the problem is that scientists did not fully understand how fungi create ripps.

“The synthesis of these compounds is complicated,” said Qiuyue Nie, postdoctoral scholarship holder of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, in a university statement. “But that is also what gives them this remarkable bioactivity.”

A genetic analysis suggests that a A. Flavus Protein could be a source of fungal ripps. Indeed, when Nie and her colleagues disabled the genes responsible for said protein, the chemical markers of RIPPS have also disappeared. By using this approach, the team discovered four A. Flavus Ripps with a structure previously without papers of locking rings. After the researchers purified these Ripps, which they named Asperigimycins, two of the four unique molecules have performed well against the cells of human leukemia without any other modification.

When mixed with a lipid (a fatty molecule), a separate ripps Variant made as well as cytarabine and daunorubicin, both of the leukemia approved by the FDA long established. To investigate the properties of improvement of this lipid, the researchers started off to turn off the genes. In this way, they have identified a gene associated with the process which leaves enough asperigimycins in cancer cells.

“This gene acts as a bridge,” said Nie, the first author of the study published Monday Chemical biology of nature. “It doesn’t only help asperigimycins to get into cells, it can also allow other” cyclical peptides “to do the same.” Cyclic peptides are other chemicals with known medicinal properties. “Knowing that lipids can affect the way this gene transports chemicals in cells gives us another drug development tool,” added NIE.

Researchers have also discovered that asperigimycins could disrupt the cell division process, which is good news for cancer treatment, as cancer is made up of uncontrolled cell division. In addition, the compounds had little or no effect on the cancer cells of the breast, the liver or the lung, as well as on a certain number of bacteria and fungi. Although it may seem negative, the potentially targeted impact of asperigimycins would be an important characteristic for future drugs. In the future, researchers aim to test asperigimycins in animal tests.

The recent study is examining new therapy against promising cancer, but also opens the way to future research on fungal drugs.

“Nature gave us this incredible pharmacy,” said Sherry Gao, the main author of the study and also an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania. “It’s up to us to discover its secrets.”