Study suggests caterpillar fungus may help reduce cancer cell growth rates
The discovery is an important step towards developing new drugs to treat the disease
(Web Desk) - The research has revealed how the chemical Cordycepin may work as a cancer treatment.
A new study has researched a chemical compound derived from a unique caterpillar fungus known for its potential as a cancer treatment.
This study has uncovered the intricate mechanisms by which this compound interacts with specific genes, effectively disrupting the signals that promote cell growth.
By inhibiting these growth signals, the compound may help to slow down or halt the proliferation of cancer cells, offering new insights into therapeutic strategies for combating cancer.
This finding enhances the understanding of the chemical’s biological effects and paves the way for further exploration of its application in cancer therapies.
The discovery is an important step towards developing new drugs to treat the disease.
The research has revealed how the chemical Cordycepin may work as a cancer treatment.
It interrupts the overactive cell growth signals in cancer, an approach that could be less damaging to healthy tissues than most currently available treatments.
Scientists from the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy have been studying how a parasitic fungus that grows on caterpillars could work as a potential treatment for a range of diseases by studying Cordycepin, one of the drugs found in these mushrooms.
Cordycepin, produced by Cordyceps militaris, a pretty orange fungus that infects caterpillars, has shown promise as a cancer medicine in many studies. Still, it has been unclear how it works.
Using high-throughput techniques, the research team measured Cordycepin’s effects on the activity of thousands of genes in multiple cell lines.
The research compared Cordycepin’s effects with those of other treatments deposited in databases and showed that it works by acting on the cell’s growth-inducing pathways in all cases.
By studying what happens to Cordycepin inside 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 cause cell growth effects likely and is, therefore, the molecule that can directly affect cancer cells.
Dr. Cornelia de Moor, a student at the School of Pharmacy, has led this research.
She explained, “We have been researching the effects of Cordycepin on a range of diseases for a number of years, and with each step, we get closer to understanding how it could be used as an effective treatment.
One of the exciting things to have been happening is that it has become easier and less expensive to do these very large experiments, so we were able to examine thousands of genes at the same time.”
“Our data confirms that Cordycepin is a good starting point for novel cancer medicines and explains its beneficial effects. For instance, derivatives of Cordycepin could aim to produce the triphosphate form of the drug to have the same effect. In addition, the data will help with monitoring the effects of Cordycepin in patients, as our data indicate particular genes whose activity reliably responds to Cordycepin, which could for instance be measured in blood cells,” Dr Cornelia said.
