New research right into a chemical produced by a caterpillar fungus that has shown promise as a possible cancer treatment has revealed the way it interacts with genes to inhibit cell growth signals. does This discovery is a crucial step towards the event of recent drugs to treat the disease.
Research on a chemical produced by a caterpillar fungus has revealed the way it may fit as a cancer treatment. It disrupts cell growth signals which can be overactive in cancer, an approach that will cause less damage to healthy tissue than most current treatments.
Scientists on the University of Nottingham's School of Pharmacy are studying how cordycepin, a parasitic fungus that grows on caterpillars, might work as a possible treatment for quite a lot of ailments by studying one in all the drugs present in these mushrooms. can do The research has been published within the journal
Caterpillar fungi are popular in Asia as a health food and traditional medicine. Cordycepin, produced by a good looking orange fungus that infects caterpillars, has shown promise as a cancer drug in several studies, but until now it wasn't clear the way it worked.
Using high-throughput techniques, the research team measured the results of cordycepin on the activity of hundreds of genes in multiple cell lines. The study compared the results of cordycepin with other treatments within the database and showed that it worked by acting on pathways that stimulate cell growth in all cases.
By studying what happens to cordycepin contained in the cell, the team confirmed that cordycepin is converted to cordycepin triphosphate, an analog of the cell's energy carrier ATP. Cordycepin triphosphate was shown to be a possible reason for the results on cell growth, and subsequently a molecule that would directly affect cancer cells.
Dr Cornelia De Moore on the School of Pharmacy led the research, she explains: “We have been researching the results of cordycepin on many diseases for a few years and with each step we come closer to understanding that How it could be used One of the exciting things that has happened as an efficient treatment is that it has turn into easier and inexpensive to do very large experiments, so we are able to test hundreds of genes without delay. Done.
Our data confirm that cordycepin is an excellent place to begin for brand new cancer drugs and explain its useful effects. For example, derivatives of cordycepin are intended to provide the triphosphate type of the drug for a similar effect. In addition, the information will help monitor the results of cordycepin in patients, as our data discover specific genes whose activity reliably responds to cordycepin, for instance in blood cells. I could be measured.”