Researchers have isolated Antarctic fungi for new chemotherapeutic treatment

New Delhi:

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad researchers and National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, have isolated Antarctic fungi that contain L-asparaginase, an enzyme-based chemotherapeutic agent used to treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The isolation of L-asparaginase containing fungi from extreme environments can lead to development of new chemotherapeutic treatment methods that have fewer side effects than the existing methods, say researchers.

ALL is the most common type of childhood cancer. In ALL, the bone marrow produces an excess of immature lymphocytes, a form of white blood cells. One of the most frequently used chemotherapy drugs to treat ALL is the enzyme L-Asparaginase. L-Asparaginase reduces the supply of asparagine, an amino acid that is essential for the synthesis of protein, to cancer cells. This prevents the growth and proliferation of the malignant cells.

The research team includes associate professors- Devarai Santhosh Kumar and Asif Qureshi and research students -Anup Ashok, Kruthi Doriya and Jyothi Vithal Rao from IIT Hyderabad as well as Anoop Kumar Tiwari from NCPOR.

“Extensive purification steps are necessary before L-Asparaginase derived from E. Coli and E. Chrysanthemi is used as a drug to treat ALL. This increases the cost of the drug,” said Kumar who is the principal investigator.