Research shows caterpillar fungus may slow this down

New research into a chemical produced by the caterpillar fungus that holds promise as a possible cancer treatment has revealed how it interacts with genes to disrupt cell growth signals. The discovery is an important step towards the development of new drugs to treat the disease.

Research into a chemical produced by the caterpillar fungus has revealed how it could work in treating cancer. It interrupts cell growth signals that are overactive in cancer; This is an approach that may be less damaging to healthy tissues than most current treatments.

Scientists from the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy are investigating how a parasitic fungus that grows on caterpillars might work as a potential treatment for a range of diseases by studying cordycepin, one of the drugs found in these fungi. The research was published in the journal FEBS Letters.

Caterpillar mushrooms are famous as healthy food and traditional medicine in Asia. Manufactured by Cordycepin Cordyceps militarisThe fungus, a pretty orange fungus that infects caterpillars, has shown promise as a cancer drug in a number of studies, but until now it was unclear how it worked.

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 the effects of cordycepine with those from other treatments stored in databases and showed that in each case it worked by acting on the cell’s growth-inducing pathways.

By examining what happens to cordycepin inside the cell, the team confirmed that cordycepin is converted into cordycepin triphosphate, an analogue of the cell’s energy carrier ATP. Cordycepin triphosphate has been shown to be the likely cause of its effects on cell growth and thus is the molecule that can directly affect cancer cells.

This research was conducted by Dr. from the Faculty of Pharmacy. Cornelia de Moor leads and explains: “We have been studying the effects of cordycepine on various diseases for several years, and with each step we are getting closer to understanding how it could be used as an effective treatment. One of the exciting things that is happening is that it is becoming easier and cheaper to do these very large trials.” So we were able to examine thousands of genes at the same time.

Our data confirm that cordycepin is a good starting point for new cancer drugs and explain its beneficial effects. For example, cordycepin derivatives may aim to produce a triphosphate form of the drug that has the same effect. Additionally, the data will help monitor the effects of cordycepin in patients; because our data indicate specific genes whose activity responds reliably to cordycepin and can be measured, for example, in blood cells.”