Separation of a tungus producing taxol

An endogenous filariform fungus has been separated from a tree named Taxus growing in the Aba region, Sichuan, China. The fungus is fermented in fluid medium for 3 weeks at 25℃, then the HPLC and MALDI-TOF analysis of the zymotic fluid show that the zymotic fluid contains taxol. So it is a fungus which can produce taxol. It is named Taxomyces sp. temporarily.     

云南红豆杉离体胚的培养

在MS培养基上生长的云南红豆杉离体胚的萌发率较高,达80％;成熟种子胚的萌发率高于未成熟胚;胚的萌发率随着种子贮存时间的延长而下降;胚乳有助于胚的萌发。胚培养1个月左右可获得正常的红豆杉幼苗,成苗率15％～20％。幼苗中的紫杉醇含量为0.004％,远远低于成年树皮中紫杉醇的含量(0.02％)。     

前体、诱导子及抑制剂对细胞培养生产紫杉醇的调节作用

研究了前体、诱导子和抑制剂对中国红豆杉细胞培养生产紫杉醇的影响。结果表明 ,它们之间的协同作用对提高紫杉醇的产量有显著影响。其中向培养基中加入 30mg/L 3 甲基 2 丁烯 1 醇 ,2mmol/L苯甲酸钠 ,10mg/L氯化氯胆碱 (CCC) ,10 0 μmol/L茉莉酸甲酯 (MJ) ,0 1mmol/L丝氨酸 (Ser)可以使紫杉醇含量增加 1141 1%。     

Microtubule assembly after treatment of pig oocytes with taxol: correlation with chromosomes, gamma-tubulin, and MAP kinase.

In this study, taxol was used as a tool to study the correlation of microtubule assembly with chromosomes, gamma-tubulin and phosphorylated mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase in pig oocytes at different maturational stages. Taxol treatment did not affect meiotic resumption and chromosome condensation but inhibited/disrupted chromosome alignment at the metaphase plate and bipolar spindle formation and thus meiotic progression. Microtubules were co-localized with chromosomes and were found to emanate from the chromosomes in taxol-treated oocytes, suggesting that chromosomes may serve as a source of microtubule organization. In addition, the concentric emanation of microtubules within the chromosome-surrounded area in taxol-treated oocytes suggests that microtubule emanation from the chromosomes may be directed by other microtubule-organizing material. The formation of one large spindle or >/=2 spindles in oocytes after taxol removal shows that minus end microtubule-organizing material can be normally located on both sides of chromosomes only when the chromosomes are aligned on the metaphase plate. The co-localization of gamma-tubulin and phosphorylated MAP kinase with microtubule assembly in both control and taxol-treated oocytes suggests that these two proteins are associated microtubule-nucleating material in pig oocytes. However, Western blot analysis showed that neither cytoplasmic microtubule aster formation nor extensive microtubule assembly in the chromosome region induced by taxol was caused by super-activation of MAP kinase. Taxol also induced microtubule assembly depending on chromosome distribution in the first polar body. The results suggest that chromosomes are always co-localized with microtubules and that emanation of microtubules from the chromosomes may be regulated/directed by microtubule-organizing material including gamma-tubulin and phosphorylated MAP kinase in pig oocytes.     

溶氧水平对红豆杉细胞悬浮培养的影响研究

紫杉醇 (Ｔａｘｏｌ)是源自红豆杉提取物的一种高度衍生化的二萜类化合物 ,临床实验结果表明紫杉醇对于卵巢癌、乳腺癌、胃肠道癌等具有明显的抗肿瘤活性[1] ,因而受到世界各国的广泛关注 ,并已被美国食品与药品管理局 (ＦＤＡ)批准用于卵巢癌与乳腺癌的治疗[2 ] 。到目前为止紫杉醇仍然主要从树皮中提取 ,但由于红豆杉生长缓慢 ,天然资源非常有限 ,加快其替代来源的研究势在必行。利用植物细胞悬浮培养生产紫杉醇作为一种可行的选择 ,近年来取得了较大的进展[3 ,4 ] 。本文研究了摇瓶及 2 0 Ｌ反应器培养过程的溶氧水平对细胞生长及紫杉醇…     

In vitro culture and precocious germination ofTaxus embryos

Summary The lengthy dormancy requirement of yew seeds can be overcome with a simple in vitro method. Viable embryos were excised from seeds ofTaxus brevifolia and four cultivars ofT. media over a range of developmental stages. Embryos were cultured in several basal media formulations (Whites’, Gamborg’s B5 and Murashige and Skoog’s) under dark or light. After a lag period of 1 to 2 wk, embryos of both species germinated precociously. Germination rates of up to 70% were obtained withT. media cv. Hicksi embryos. The highest rates of germination were obtained in White’s and MS media. Embryos excised from green seeds with undeveloped arils showed the highest germination rates. As the seeds approached maturity, in vitro germination rates of the excised embryos declined dramatically. Green seeds and seeds with developing arils could be stored at 5° C without large loss in embryo germination. Seeds with fully developed arils could be stored frozen at −20° C for 1 wk while still allowing about 50% of embryo germination. At least 30% of the precociously germinated embryos of both species were able to develop into full seedlings. Our method appears to be generally applicable toTaxus spp. This research was supported by a grant from the Hawaii Biotechnology Group, Inc.     

紫杉醇免疫检测方法的研究进展

紫杉醇是一种有效的抗肿瘤药物,广泛应用于治疗卵巢癌、乳腺癌和肺癌等癌症。紫杉醇在紫杉树皮中的含量极低（仅为0．01％）,而且紫杉醇是一种对蛋白质有着高亲和力的小分子,在体液中约有98％的分子与蛋白质结合,因此需要一种高灵敏度、高通量的检测方法对紫杉醇进行鉴定。在分析紫杉醇检测方法的基础之上,综述了紫杉醇免疫学检测方法的研究进展,包括紫杉醇半抗原的分子修饰、蛋白偶联物的构建和鉴定以及免疫学检测方法在植物组织和病人血浆中紫杉醇定性和定量中的应用。     

Peptide neuroprotection through specific interaction with brain tubulin

This study aimed to identify the neuronal target for the potent neuroprotective peptide NAP. When added to pheochromocytoma cells (neuronal model), NAP was found in the intracellular milieu and was co-localized with microtubules. NAP induced neurite outgrowth and protected primary neurons against microtubule-associated ZnCl2 toxicity. Rapid microtubule reorganization into distinct microtubules ensued after NAP addition to both pheochromocytoma cells and primary cerebral cortical neurons, but not to fibrobalsts. While binding neuronal tubulin and protecting pheochromocytoma cells against oxidative stress, NAP did not bind tubulin extracted from fibroblasts, nor did it protect those cells against oxidative stress. Affinity chromatography identified the brain-specific betaIII-tubulin as a major NAP binding protein. Paclitaxel (a microtubule aggregating agent that interacts with beta-tubulin) reduced NAP tubulin binding. Thus, the underlying mechanism for the neuroprotection offered by NAP is targeting neuronal microtubules that are essential for neuronal survival and function.     

Discovery of facile amides-functionalized rhodanine-3-acetic acid derivatives as potential anticancer agents by disrupting microtubule dynamics

Microtubule dynamics are crucial for multiple cell functions, and cancer cells are particularly sensitive to microtubule-modulating agents. Here, we describe the design and synthesis of a series of (Z)-2-(5-benzylidene-4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-3-yl)-N-phenylacetamide derivatives and evaluation of their microtubule-modulating and anticancer activities in vitro. Proliferation assays identified I₂₀ as the most potent of the antiproliferative compounds, with 50% inhibitory concentrations ranging from 7.0 to 20.3 µM with A549, PC-3, and HepG2 human cancer cell lines. Compound I₂₀ also disrupted cancer A549 cell migration in a concentration-dependent manner. Immunofluorescence microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and tubulin polymerisation assays suggested that compound I₂₀ promoted protofilament assembly. In support of this possibility, computational docking studies revealed a strong interaction between compound I₂₀ and tubulin Arg β369, which is also the binding site for the anticancer drug Taxol. Our results suggest that (Z)-2-(5-benzylidene-4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-3-yl)-N-phenylacetamide derivatives could have utility for the development of microtubule-stabilising therapeutic agents.     

红豆杉细胞悬浮培养中不同添加物对细胞生长和紫杉醇合成的影响

采用正交实验检测红豆杉（Ｔａｘｕｓ ｃｈｉｎｅｎｓｉｓ（Ｐｉｌｇｅｒ）Ｒｅｈｄ．）细胞悬浮培养中水杨酸、Ｄ－果糖、甘露醇和硫酸镧对细胞生长和紫杉醇（ｔａｘｏｌ）积累的影响。添加１０ｇ／ＬＤ－果糖,可使细胞的鲜重和干重明显增加;添加６０ｇ／Ｌ甘露醇使细胞的鲜重和干重明显减少;１ｍｇ／Ｌ水杨酸仅使细胞鲜重增加,对干重影响不明显;硫酸镧对细胞生长无明显影响。单独添加这４种物质,紫杉醇含量均下降,同时添加