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.'
The research was published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.
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History uncovered South America ReligionFacebookTweetLink Follow Archaeologists say they have discovered the ruins of what they believe are the boundaries of an ancient temple belonging to the mysterious Andean society of Tiwanaku that disappeared around AD 1000. The research team unearthed the immense temple complex in the highlands of what is now Bolivia's municipality of Caracollo. The site is southeast of Lake Titicaca, a different region than where researchers had previously focused their search for clues that might help unravel the secrets of this lost society. The extraordinary find is roughly 130 miles (about 210 kilometers) south of the established archaeological site of Tiwanaku, the capital of the powerful empire that preceded the Incas. The latest findings were described in a study published on June 24 in the journal Antiquity. 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The discovery of the ceremonial temple is shedding light on the interconnectivity of the lost society's various territories and how Palaspata could have served as a gateway for Tiwanaku society to expand its power in the region, according to the researchers. Archaeological investigations of Tiwanaku sites began in the 1860s, but researchers still have scant knowledge of the society. Most of what experts know has been deduced from studying ceramics, camelid remains, and other religious sites, such as Akapana, that dot the Andean highlands. Tiwanaku communities first emerged in an altiplano, or high plain, of the Andes called the Titicaca Basin, named after Lake Titicaca. Due to its location, farming crops, like maize, was difficult, so the people relied on llama caravans to connect the communities in the region and facilitate trade. The capital city of Tiwanaku, also called Tiwanaku, managed trade, commerce and interregional interaction, according to the study. 'Tiwanaku was what we call a primary state formation, meaning that it was a complex society that had complex social stratification,' Capriles said. The empire developed without external influence and 'emerged out of a series of prior agricultural societies.' Evidence of Tiwanaku objects, like pottery, suggests Tiwanaku people began to settle in that area around AD 700, as well as farther west in a valley that's now southern Peru, according to Dr. Nicola O'Connor Sharratt, associate professor of anthropology at Georgia State University. She was not involved in the study. Tiwanaku populations are also suspected to have lived in what is now northern Chile and in Cochabamba, Sharratt added. The Tiwanaku constructed Palaspata to further exert its sociopolitical influence over other societies in the area by controlling trade between regions, the new study suggests. 'The placement of this site is strategically located between two major geographic zones of the Andean Highlands,' Capriles said. 'This might have been sort of a nice strategic control outpost that not only controlled flow of goods in an economic and political sense, but it also did so through religion, and this is why it is a temple,' he said. 'The alignment of religious, political and economic institutions, which is how many of these institutions emerge, is something that I think people were kind of surprised about.' The temple Palaspata is only visible by its perimeter wall, which is outlined with red sandstone. While working on an unrelated archaeology project near the highway, researchers noticed the structure and decided it 'seemed significant,' Capriles said. They investigated the area further on foot and with drones. From the initial findings, Capriles was able to use 3D rendering to create a digital reconstruction of the temple. The structure is 125 meters long and 145 meters wide (410 by 475 feet) — about the size of a city block — with 15 modular enclosures that were likely rooms surrounding an inner courtyard. The building's main entrance faces west, aligned with the solar equinox and indicative of the temple's religious role in the society. While not much is known of Tiwanaku's spiritual practices, archaeologists have previously found stone monoliths and ceramics with plant- and animal-based symbolism that may allude to traditions known to be part of other pre-Inca societies. Researchers on past expeditions related to Tiwanaku commonly uncovered religious structures designed to highlight the landscape's natural features and align with key events in the solar cycle. Archaeologists have also found Tiwanaku pottery at the site, such as keru cups, typically used to drink some form of maize-based alcohol. This suggests that the building was likely used for parties or large gatherings, Sharratt said. 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