Overview

• A University of Pennsylvania-led team isolated asperigimycins from Aspergillus flavus and found two unmodified compounds killed leukemia cells in vitro.
• The molecules halt cancer spread by blocking microtubule formation, disrupting the cell division machinery of leukemia cells.
• A lipid-enhanced asperigimycin demonstrated power on par with the FDA-approved drug cytarabine in laboratory studies.
• Researchers discovered that the SLC46A3 gene is essential for asperigimycins to enter leukemia cells, accounting for their specificity.
• The collaboration plans to advance testing into animal models with the goal of moving toward human clinical trials if preclinical results remain positive.