Deadly fungus in Tutankhamun's ‘cursed' tomb can help fight cancer
Aspergillus flavus is a mould that often grows in long-sealed tombs and can trigger deadly breathing problems or allergic reactions in people with weakened immune systems.
It is thought to be partly responsible for the deaths of several people who entered tombs, including Tutankhamun's in 1923, and the 15th-century Polish king Casimir IV Jagiellon's in 1973.
Now scientists have found that its deadly spores are also lethal to leukaemia and are hoping to begin testing in animals, before eventually moving on to humans.
'Nature has given us this incredible pharmacy, it's up to us to uncover its secrets,' said Dr Sherry Gao, an associate professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.
'Fungi gave us penicillin. These results show that many more medicines derived from natural products remain to be found.'
Aspergillus flavus can lie dormant for centuries, only becoming active again once disturbed. It is known to grow on cereals, which were often sealed up as grave goods inside tombs.
After archaeologists opened Tutankhamun's tomb a series of untimely deaths among the excavation team - including those of British patron Lord Carnarvon, George Jay Gould, the financier, and Egyptologist Arthur Mace - fuelled rumours of a pharaoh's curse.
But experts later theorised that it could have been the fungus, which may have lain dormant for millennia.
In the 1970s, a dozen conservationists entered the tomb of Casimir IV in Poland and within weeks, 10 of them had died. Later investigations revealed the tomb contained Aspergillus flavus.
In the new study, scientists studied a dozen strains of Aspergillus to see if they produced anything that might be repurposed as a medicine. They discovered potent cancer-fighting molecules, which they named asperigimycins.
Even with no modification, the asperigimycins showed strong medical potential against leukaemia cells.
When researchers added a molecule found in the royal jelly - the substance that nourishes developing bees - the asperigimycins performed as well as cytarabine and daunorubicin, two drugs that have been used for decades to treat leukaemia.
Through further experimentation, the researchers discovered that asperigimycins seem to work by disrupting the process of cancer cell division.
'Cancer cells divide uncontrollably,' added Dr Gao. 'These compounds block the formation of microtubules, which are essential for cell division.'
The team also found that the cancer-fighting properties only seemed to work on leukaemia, and had little to no effect on other cancers such as breast, liver or lung cancer.
The researchers identified similar clusters of genes in other fungi, suggesting that more potential drugs from fungi remain to be discovered.
It suggests that natural remedies to individual cancers may be present already in nature and the scientists are keen to explore whether other fungi also produce similar molecules.
'Even though only a few have been found, almost all of them have strong bioactivity,' said Dr Qiuyue Nie, of the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.
'This is an unexplored region with tremendous potential.'
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