A potentially deadly fungus known as the “Pharaoh Cursed Bacteria” can provide an unexpected path Fighting against cancerrecent research shows.
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have modified molecules from fungi to create new compounds and enhance their cancer-killing properties.
“The bacteria gave us penicillin,” Dr. Xue (Sherry) Gao, an associate professor at UPenn and research leader, said in a press release. “These results show a lot More medicines Some of the products are still derived from natural products. ”
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The findings were published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
Aspergillus flavus is found in decayed leaves and compost, trees, plants and several crops, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Fungi does not put most healthy people at risk, but it can cause Respiratory problems For those who have weakened their immune system or are taking certain medications.
Some of the more serious complications of the fungus can include pulmonary bleeding and life-threatening infections in the brain, heart and kidneys, Mayo Clinic said.
rear Archaeologists have opened At King Tuto’s tomb in the 1920s, several members of the excavation team suddenly died, burning rumors of a “curse” on those who dared to interfere with Pharaoh’s rest, according to an Upenn press release.
Decades later, doctors assumed that fungal spores that had been dormant for thousands of years could have infected the team.
In the 1970s, it happened again, the university said.
Dozens of scientists entered another grave. This time it was in Poland, with 10 people dead within a few weeks. Subsequent investigations were said to reveal the presence of Aspergillus flavus in the tomb.
Now, the same fungus linked to King Chutz’s tomb can have the ability to fight leukemia in a new form Cancer treatment.
“There are a variety of compounds that can be produced by fungi,” Gao told Fox News Digital.
These compounds may be toxic to different cells, she noted, depending on “biological management that we can alleviate.”
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The purpose of this study is to find certain types of compounds within Aspergillus flavus, which previously was shown to be a good source.
The ability of the compound to enter cancer cells may be able to stop their growth, GAO said.
“Cancer cells are split uncontrollably,” Gao said in the release. “These compounds block the formation of microtubules, which are essential for cell division.”
When mixed with human cancer cells, two variants of the molecules in these lips have a strong effect on leukemia cells, the researchers found.
Another variant was performed similarly to two FDA-approved drugs that have been used for decades to treat leukemia (cytarabine and donorubicin).
Tiffany Troso Sandoval, MD, a New York-based medical oncologist and cancer care consultant, warned that the study, which was conducted in cell culture, is still in a very early stage.
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“It’s still very far from being applicable to use Leukemia man“Troso-Sandoval, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
Speaking about Lips, the doctor told Fox News Digital: [in the study] Essentially, it is a rare type of bioactive molecule isolated from this fungus. ”
Leukemia has multiple subtypes, noted by Troso-Sandoval, which includes both acute and chronic forms.
“One treatment may not work [another] Types of leukemia,” she pointed out. Further testing is required to determine which subtypes may contain active molecules.
The compounds investigated in this study are breast, liver, or lung cancer Cells, researchers pointed out.
This suggests that its destructive effect only works in certain types of cells. Drug development.
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Going forward, researchers plan to test the potential of fungi in animal models and ultimately human testing.
“We are excited about what nature can create and how it can benefit our society,” Gao told Fox News Digital.
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The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the University of Pennsylvania, the Welch Foundation, the Molecular Biophysics Program in the Houston Region, the Texas Cancer Institute, and the National Science Foundation.
