Monday 23/June/2025 – 05:00 PM
A research team led by the University of Pennsylvania succeeded in converting a toxic mushroom that was believed to have caused deaths inside ancient archaeological graves into a promising drug boat in fighting cancer, and the researchers managed to isolate new chemical particles of Aspergillus Flavus, known for his association with health accidents in graves such as the cemetery of King Tutankhamun, and modified these vehicles to show a high ability to kill leukemia cells.
Scientists convert a poisonous break into a weapon against cancer
According to PHYS.ORG, Dr. Sherry Gao, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and participating in the study published in the Nature Chemical Biology: Funia gave us penicillin before, and still hide in them the treasures of pharmaceutical treasures that have not yet been discovered, and added that this discovery proves that natural products are still a promising source the future.
She added: It is noteworthy that the mushroom used in this discovery was historically linked to the legend of the curse of the Pharaohs after the death of a number of archaeologists after the opening of the Tutankhamun cemetery, and similar incidents were repeated in other archaeological sites such as the Casimer IV cemetery in Poland, where the same mushroom was found and doubts were raised about his role in deaths.
She explained: The new compound discovered by the team is classified as a rare group known as Ripps, which are proteins produced inside the cells and are modified later to enhance their vital properties. Such as cyttarbin and dunorubin.
Add a fatty molecule
Experiments showed that adding a fatty molecule to one of the variables greatly strengthened its effectiveness, which prompted the team to study how the boat entered the cells, and the researchers found that a gene called SLC46A3 plays a decisive role in facilitating the crossing of the boat into the cancer cells.
The researchers pointed out that the aspirigmisin specifically targets the cell division process, by disrupting the composition of the microscopic pipes, which impedes the growth of cancer cells without affecting other cells, which is a necessary advantage for any future treatment.
The team hopes to test the boat on animal models soon, in preparation for transferring it to clinical experiences on humans, and Gao emphasized: Nature gives us amazing solutions, and our role as engineers is to continue to decipher and turn them into effective tools to treat incurable diseases.
