Possible antidote for death cap mushroom poisoning found

Abstract

Amanita phalloides , also known as the death cap mushroom, contains the toxin α-amanitin, which causes irreparable liver and kidney damage. While this type of mushroom poisoning is rare in the US, it accounted for 788 deaths in China from 2010 to 2020, according to a study of China’s Foodborne Disease Outbreaks Surveillance System . Scientists led by Guohui Wan and Qiaoping Wang at Sun Yat-sen University wanted to understand how α-amanitin kills cells and possibly discover an antidote. Using genome-wide CRISPR screening, they found that a protein called STT3B is required for α-amanitin toxicity. The researchers then virtually screened a library of more than 3,000 compounds approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to find one that could block STT3B. In molecular-docking simulations, they found that indocyanine green—a dye used to determine heart and liver function—could slip into the entrance of STT3B’s substrate-binding pocket. Indocyanine green prevented α-amanitin