Researchers have discovered how a compound found in a caterpillar fungus may be able to disrupt the out-of-control cell growth that drives cancer. The findings represent an important step toward developing new, potentially less toxic treatments.
The compound, known as cordycepin, is produced by a parasitic fungus called Cordyceps militaris that infects caterpillars. The fungus itself is well known for its medicinal qualities, particularly in traditional Chinese medicine.
Cordycepin has shown promise as a cancer medication in previous studies, but scientists didn't fully understand how it worked until now.
Using advanced screening techniques, a University of Nottingham, U.K., team examined the effects of cordycepin on thousands of genes across multiple cell lines. They found that cordycepin acts by interfering with the cellular pathways that promote uncontrolled cell division -- a hallmark of cancer.
"Our data confirms that cordycepin is a good starting point for novel cancer medicines and explains its beneficial effects," said Cornelia de Moor, who led the research published in the journal FEBS Letters, said in a statement.
The researchers discovered that once inside cells, cordycepin is converted into a molecule called cordycepin triphosphate. This altered form of the compound is able to directly disrupt the cell's growth-inducing signals, ultimately causing cancer cells to stop dividing.
Cordycepin triphosphate was identified as the likely factor influencing cell growth and, thus, the molecule capable of directly targeting cancer cells.
Targeting the cell signaling pathways that drive uncontrolled growth represents a promising alternative to traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy, which can damage healthy cells.
By selectively interfering with the mechanisms fueling tumor growth, cordycepin-based drugs could potentially be less harmful to the body.
"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," de Moor said.
"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."
According to de Moor, derivatives of cordycepin could be designed to produce its triphosphate form to achieve similar effects.
Furthermore, the findings could aid in tracking cordycepin's impact on patients, as certain genes identified in the data show consistent activity changes in response to the drug, which could be measured in blood cells.
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Lawrence, S., Lin, J., Khurshid, A., Utami, W., Singhania, R., Ashraf, S., Thorn, G. J., Mangangcha, I. R., Spriggs, K., Kim, D.-H., Barrett, D., & de Moor, C. H. (n.d.). Cordycepin generally inhibits growth factor signal transduction in a systems pharmacology study. FEBS Letters, n/a(n/a). https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.15046