A famous Tutankhamon mask
From deadly fungus to medicinal promise. New weapon against leukemia may have been hidden in Pharaoh’s tomb all the time.
Historically associated with death and illness, a fungus “turned the coat” and was transformed into a promising ally in the fight against cancer.
In study on June 23 in Nature Chemical Biology, Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania show how a team of chemical engineers and bioenginhens crook and modified molecules produced by Aspergillus flavusfungus known for its toxicity and that, to create compounds with high efficacy against leukemia cells.
The yellowish fungus has been historically associated with several mysterious episodes of death in archaeological excavations: the famous case of the tomb of Tutankhamon In the 1920s and the tomb of Casimiro IV in Poland in the 1970s, they are examples.
Exposure to your spur can cause serious pulmonary infections, especially in people with the most weakened immune system. But now, scientists have been able to transform the “microbiological villain” – as described, – in a new source of hope for medicine.
The research team focused on the discovery of a new type of compounds designated by RiPPs (ribosomally modified and post-disorderly synthesized peptides). Although thousands of these compounds have already been identified in bacteria, they are rare in fungi, in part due to difficulties in isolating them and the scarce understanding of their synthesis processes.
The work of researchers combined genetic and metabolic analyzes to identify and disable the genes responsible for the production of these compounds in the A. flavusconfirming its origin and paving the way for the discovery of more ripps in fungi.
The isolated compounds, which named asrigimicines, have a unique structure of interconnected rings. Among the four variants studied, two showed potent effects against leukemia cellseven without additional modifications. A third variant, modified with a lipid present in the royal jelly of bees, revealed an effectiveness similar to that of drugs approved by the US drug regulator, such as citarabine and daunorubin, used in the treatment of leukemia.
Scientists also found that the addition of lipids helped compounds to penetrate cancer cells, thanks to the action of a gene called SLC46A3responsible for allowing the exit of controversies from lysosomes into the cells.
The results indicate that the aspects act by interfering with the formation of microtubules, essential structures for cell division, thus crashing the uncontrolled multiplication of carcinogenic cells. Interestingly, the compounds showed selectivity and did not have significant effects on cells of other cancer types or non -target microorganisms.
As the article’s senior author Sherry Gao recalls, “the fungi have given us penicillin,” and the new results show that many other medicines derived from natural products have to be discovered. “
The next steps include tests on animal models and clinical trials in humans.
