Spider bite leads to new active compounds
International research team gets to the root of infection
The bite of a spider caused a severe inflammatory response and cost an Australian woman her forearm. Scientists were able to isolate a fungus from the infected forearm tissue of the patient. This tragic infection has now helped a team led by Christian Hertweck from the Leibniz-HKI find new active compounds, the so-called necroximes. These substances are produced by bacteria that live inside the fungi. The highly effective cytotoxins may provide clues for the development of new cancer drugs. The researchers published their results in the journal Angewandte Chemie.