A strong union that fights cancer and opens new paths to the discovery of more fungi drugs by researchers led by the University of Pennsylvania. The reason for the deadly Aspergillus flavus fungus, which is associated with the Pharaoh curse, can be converted into a drug against leukemia.

“The fungi gave us penicillin. The results show that there is still many more medicines from natural products, “says Sherry Gao, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomological Engineering and Industrial and Senior Author of the Nature Chemical Biology.

The legend of “Curse of the Pharaoh”

After archaeologists opened the tomb of King Tutankhamon in the 1920s (central photo), a series of premature deaths between the excavation group fueled rumors of a Pharaoh curse. Decades later, doctors believed that fungi spores, inert for millennia, could have played a role.

In the 1970s, twelve scientists entered the tomb of Kazimir II in Poland. Within a few weeks, ten of them died. Subsequent research has revealed that the tomb contained Aspergillus flavus, whose toxins can lead to lung infections, especially in people with weakened immune system.

Aspergillus Flavus can combat leukemia

Now, this fungus itself is the source of a very promising new treatment for cancer.

This treatment is a category of peptides ribosomatically co-modified and translated Ripps. While thousands of ripps have been detected in bacteria, only a few have been found in fungi. To find more fungi ripps, the researchers first studied twelve Aspergillus executives, who had previously indicated that they may contain more of these chemicals, and found that Aspergillus Flavus was promising to further study.

After cleaning four different ripps, the researchers found that the molecules were sharing a unique structure of interconnected rings. The researchers named these molecules, which had never been previously described by the fungus in which they were found: Asperigimicins.

Even without modification, when mixed with human cancer cells, asperigimicins had a medical perspective: two of the four variants had powerful effects on leukemic cells. Another variant, to which researchers added a lipid or fat molecule, which is also found in the royal jelly that nourishes the developing bees, worked as well as cytaravine and diamonds, two FDA approved drugs used by the FDA for decades.

Through further experimentation, the researchers found that asperigimines probably disrupt the process of cell division.

It is worth noting that compounds had little to no effect on breast, liver or lung cancer cellswhich suggests that the effects of asperigimines are specific to certain types of cells, a critical feature for any future medication.

Researchers have identified similar gene groups in other fungi, suggesting that more fungi ripps remain.

The next step is to test asperigimines on animal models, hoping to one day in clinical trials in humans.