New Delhi, June 23
A team of US researchers has turned a deadly fungus into a potent cancer-fighting compound, according to a new study released on Monday.
After isolating a new class of molecules from Aspergillus flavus -- a toxic crop fungus linked to deaths in the excavations of ancient tombs -- the researchers modified the chemicals and tested them against leukemia cells.
The result was a promising cancer-killing compound that rivals FDA-approved drugs and opens up new frontiers in the discovery of more fungal medicines, according to the study by University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science.
“Fungi gave us penicillin. These results show that many more medicines derived from natural products remain to be found,” said Sherry Gao, Presidential Penn Compact Associate Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) and senior author of a new paper in Nature Chemical Biology journal.
The therapy in question is a class of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides, or RiPPs, pronounced like the “rip” in a piece of fabric.