Cordycepin From Caterpillar Fungus May Disrupt Cancer Cell Growth

Researchers at the University of Nottingham have uncovered how cordycepin, a compound derived from the caterpillar fungus Cordyceps militaris, may help disrupt cancer cell growth by targeting essential signaling pathways within cells. This insight into cordycepin’s mechanisms could inform the development of more effective and less damaging cancer treatments, offering an alternative to conventional therapies.

Mechanism of cordycepin in halting cancer growth

The study, published in FEBS Letters, shows that cordycepin can interfere with cell growth signals, specifically pathways that are often overactive in cancer cells. This process might allow for a more targeted approach to slowing or halting tumor growth without impacting healthy tissues as severely as current treatments. While cordycepin has shown potential in previous studies, this is the first research to reveal the underlying molecular action it exerts within cancer cells.

Using high-throughput screening, researchers assessed cordycepin’s impact on the expression of thousands of genes across multiple cancer cell types. By comparing these effects to those of other known treatments cataloged in research databases, the team identified that cordycepin consistently acts on pathways that regulate cell growth, suggesting a broad impact on various types of cancer cells.

Cordycepin triphosphate: A potential anti-cancer agent

In their experiments, the research team observed that once cordycepin enters the cell, it converts to cordycepin triphosphate, a molecule similar in structure to adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the primary energy carrier in cells. This triphosphate form is thought to be the active agent responsible for cordycepin’s effects on cancer cell pathways, effectively mimicking ATP to disrupt processes essential for cancer cell survival and proliferation.

The identification of cordycepin triphosphate as the primary active form could serve as a basis for designing new drug derivatives that mimic its structure and maximize therapeutic impact. By focusing on the conversion to cordycepin triphosphate, future drug development efforts might enhance the anti-cancer properties of this compound.

Cordycepin’s therapeutic potential and future directions

The team’s findings offer a foundation for exploring cordycepin as a starting point for developing new cancer drugs. By understanding how specific genes respond to cordycepin, researchers may also establish biomarkers that can monitor patient response to the treatment, potentially through simple blood tests. Such markers would help track therapeutic progress and optimize treatment protocols.

“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."
Dr. Cornelia de Moor

While cordycepin has a history of use in traditional Asian medicine, these findings could propel the compound toward modern clinical applications. Further research will investigate potential derivatives of cordycepin that might replicate its effects and confirm its suitability as a targeted cancer therapy.

Reference: Lawrence S, Lin J, Khurshid A, et al. Cordycepin generally inhibits growth factor signal transduction in a systems pharmacology study. FEBS Letters. 2024;n/a(n/a). doi: 10.1002/1873-3468.15046

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