Figure 2.
Fungal source of fingolimod precursors compounds. Fingolimod is a chemical derivative of myriocin/ISP-1, a fungal metabolite that was isolated from Isaria sinclairii, the anamorph stage of the ascomycete species Cordyceps. Along with ginseng and the young antlers of deer, Cordyceps fungi were considered as one of the three oriental medicines that give ‘eternal youth.’ Cordyceps fungi enter into living insects, feed on the insides of the host, and eventually grow onto the surface of the cadaver in the summer. Drugs derived from Cordyceps are Cordycepin (3′ deoxyadenosine) which inhibits tumor growth, Cyclosporin, the classical immunosuppressant used in transplant medicine, and Myriocin (ISP-1), the immunosuppressant that targets serine palmitoyl transferase (SPT). Fingolimod, despite being a chemical derivative of myriocin, has lost activity on SPT but targets the class of G protein-coupled S1P receptors. Isaria sinclairii, photo courtesy of Mr. Clive Shirely; cicada nymph, photo courtesy of Alastair Robertson and Maria Minor; soil bugs, from An Illustrated Guide to New Zealand Soil Invertebrates, http://soilbugs.massey.ac.nz. © Massey University.