Deacetyl-mycoepoxydiene, isolated from plant endophytic fungi Phomosis sp. demonstrates anti-microtubule activity in MCF-7 cells.

Deacetyl-mycoepoxydiene (DM), a novel secondary metabolite produced by the plant endophytic fungi Phomosis sp., induced the reorganization of cytoskeleton in actively growing MCF-7 cells by promoting polymerization of tubulin. DM could induce cell cycle arrest at G2/M in MCF-7 cells. Additionally, DM-induced apoptosis was characterized with up-regulating caspase-3, Bax, caspase-9, parp, and p21 while down-regulating Bcl-2 activation. DM conferred dose- and time-dependent inhibitory effects upon cell proliferation of MCF-7 cells both in cultured cells and nude mice with human breast carcinoma xenografts. The results obtained from these in vitro and in vivo models provide new data revealing the potential for DM as a novel microtubule inhibitor.

Saccharomonospora marina sp. nov., isolated from an ocean sediment of the East China Sea.

A novel, aerobic, Gram-positive actinomycete strain, designated XMU15T, was isolated from an ocean sediment collected from Zhaoan Bay in the East China Sea and was subjected to a polyphasic approach to determine its taxonomic position. The isolate grew optimally at 28 degrees C and at pH 7.0 in the presence of 3% (w/v) NaCl on ISP medium 2. Gelatin liquefaction, milk coagulation and nitrate reduction were positive. Cellulose and starch hydrolysis, hydrogen sulfide and melanin production, and catalase, urease and oxidase activities were negative. The predominant menaquinone of the isolate was MK-9 (H4), and meso-diaminopimelic acid was the diagnostic amino acid in the cell wall. The phospholipids of the isolate comprised diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, and a minor amount of phosphatidylethanolamine. The major fatty acids of the strain were iso-C16:0 (26.36%), C17:1omega6c (16.80%), C15:0 (16.2%), C16:0 (8.90%), C17:1omega8c (7.69%) and iso-C16:1 H (5.95%). The DNA G+C content of the genomic DNA was 68.1 mol%. A phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the isolate fell within the evolutionary radiation encompassed by the genus Saccharomonospora and showed the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity (96.7%) to Saccharomonospora xinjiangensis DSM 44391T. Based on the results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and phenotypic and genotypic characterization, strain XMU15T (=KCTC 19701T =CCTCC AA 209048T) represents a novel species of the genus Saccharomonospora, for which the name Saccharomonospora marina sp. nov. is proposed.

Application of (31P) NMR in analyzing the degradation efficiency of organic phosphorus degrading-bacteria.

HPLC and HPLC-MS are the fastest and most accurate techniques for analysis of organic phosphorus pesticide (OPP) at the present time. Using these techniques, 14 strains of methamidopho (MAP) degrading-bacteria from the area contaminated with MAP have been identified. The results from HPLC and HPLC-MS analyses showed that the highest degradation rate was 73% after 7 days. In order to determine what metabolites will be formed after degradation, a key issue that has been neglected for a long time, we used ((31)P) NMR to track the degradation process. The results showed that different strains produced different metabolites. Ten strains were divided into three groups (groups A, B and C) by their metabolic profiling. Strains in group A degraded MAP into phosphor acid by breaking down all P-N, P-O and P-S bonds in 7 days. Strains in groups B and C had only broken down partially P-N and P-S bonds at the same time. Therefore, the bacterial strains in group A had a greater application potential than the other two groups. In addition, most metal phosphates are unsolvable in water. The analysis of X-ray showed, that the phosphate radicals generated by bacterial degradation induce crystallogenesis of heavy metal salts in water phase and also cause the chemical sedimentation of their crystals. Furthermore, these crystals are hydrogen phosphates. The results suggested that the MAP-degrading bacteria could be used for cleaning up not only the organic phosphorous pesticide contamination but also the phosphorous and heavy metal contamination in water environment simultaneously.

Role of tumor metastasis suppressor gene KAI1 in digestive tract carcinomas and cancer cells.

The KAI1 gene is identified as a tumor metastasis suppressor gene in many types of cancer. We examined KAI1 gene and its protein KAI1/CD82 expression by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis, and found that KAI1 mRNA and protein expression were inversely correlated with lymph node and distant metastasis in digestive tract carcinomas, but not with age and gender of the patient, or with tumor differentiation. Moreover, KAI1/CD82 protein expression positively reflected the survival outcome of patients. Western blot analysis showed that VP-16 increased KAI1/CD82 protein expression obviously in various cancer cell lines, especially in those that were highly metastatic. This increased KAI1/CD82 expression was associated with its translocation from the cytomembrane to the nucleus, in which it interacted with nuclear p53 protein, forming a strong complex, observed by confocal microscopy and co-immunoprecipitation, respectively. In nude mice, after feeding with VP-16, the number of tumors metastasized from spleen to liver was obviously reduced, and KAI1/CD82 protein expression became stronger in those metastatic tumors. Accordingly, this demonstrated that KAI1 might be used as an indicator for predicting the clinical outcome, and VP-16 may be clinically considered as a promising candidate for anti-metastasis with regard to its potential to upregulate KAI1 expression.