Moroccan Mushroom Compound Shows Promise in Fighting Aggressive Breast Cancer

The scientists concluded that the peptide EnnA, composed of a fungus living in symbiosis with a plant (Aristolochia paucinervis) known for its ability to trap flies and growing in Morocco, would directly inhibit HSP90, a natural and powerful cellular protector that cancer hijacks, and thus help avoid attacks by the immune system, reports the site Jaguire.

This discovery is the work of Ahmed Chadli, a Moroccan biochemist serving at the Georgia Cancer Center’s Department of Medicine, also an associate professor at Augusta University in the United States, and Dr. Abdessamad Debbab, a chemist at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology and Biotechnology at the Heinrich-Heine University in Düsseldorf.

The discovery is a breakthrough in the fight against triple-negative breast cancer, which accounts for 10 to 20% of breast cancers and does not respond to hormone therapy. According to scientists, this type of cancer is more aggressive and deadly than other breast cancers. To date, there is no targeted therapy for this cancer.

"EnnA lets the immune system do what it should by eliminating HSP90. [...] We have found that cells killed by EnnA also appear to be immunized against further attacks from cancer cells. We are very excited about how this compound affects tumors," said Dr. Chadli. He received a $1.8 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to continue developing the potential of EnnA.