Characterization of C30 carotenoid and identification of its biosynthetic gene cluster in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1.

Methylobacterium species, the representative bacteria distributed in phyllosphere region of plants, often synthesize carotenoids to resist harmful UV radiations. Methylobacterium extorquens is known to produce a carotenoid pigment and recent research revealed that this carotenoid has a C30 backbone. However, its exact structure remains unknown. In the present study, the carotenoid produced by M. extorquens AM1 was isolated and its structure was determined as 4-[2-O-11Z-octadecenoyl-ß-glucopyranosyl]-4,4'-diapolycopenedioc acid (1), a glycosylated C30 carotenoid. Furthermore, the genes related to the C30 carotenoid synthesis were investigated. Squalene, the precursor of the C30 carotenoid, is synthesized by the co-occurrence of META1p1815, META1p1816 and META1p1817. Further overexpression of the genes related to squalene synthesis improved the titer of carotenoid 1. By using gene deletion and gene complementation experiments, the glycosyltransferase META1p3663 and acyltransferase META1p3664 were firstly confirmed to catalyze the tailoring steps from 4,4'-diapolycopene-4,4'-dioic acid to carotenoid 1. In conclusion, the structure and biosynthetic genes of carotenoid 1 produced by M. extorquens AM1 were firstly characterized in this work, which shed lights on engineering M. extorquens AM1 for producing carotenoid 1 in high yield.

[Mining and discovery for active components of "Coptidis Rhizome-Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex" based on network pharmacology].

To mine and discover the active components of " Coptidis Rhizome-Magnoliae Officinalis Cortex( C&M) " based on the network pharmacology,integrate and analyze the potential targets and mechanisms. The TCMSP database was used to screen active ingredients. TTD and Drug Bank databases were used to predict the potential targets by referring to relevant literature,and the pathway annotation technology was used to enrich and analyze the active ingredients and potential targets of " C&M". A total of 29 potential target active ingredients were screened from " C&M",including 12 alkaloids components such as( R)-canadine,berberine,coptisine,and palmatine; 3 lignans consisting of magnolol,honokiol and obovatol; 6 volatile oils consisting of α-eudesmol,ß-eudesmol,eucalyptol and so on,and flavonoids including quercetin and neohesperidin. Corresponding 199 predicted targets were screened out,mainly including PTGS2,PTGS1,NCOA2,Hsp90 AB1,and so on. 72 signaling pathways were involved,8 of which were related to cancer,such as prostate cancer,bladder cancer,and pancreatic cancer; 9 of which were related to endocrine,including oxytocin signaling pathway,insulin signaling pathway,thyroid hormone signaling pathway and so on,as well as inflammation-related pathway. This study has preliminarily mined and discovered the main active components and potential targets of " C&M",providing material source for the study on the preparation of structural components of traditional Chinese medicine.

[Mechanism of flavonoid components in Astragali Radix in inhibiting tumor growth and immunoregulation in C57BL/6 tumor bearing mice based on "invigorating Qi for consolidation of exterior"].

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the occurrence and development of tumors is related to the body's Qi deficiency. " Invigorating Qi for consolidation of exterior" has became an effective way to treat tumors by traditional Chinese medicine. This study is based on the " invigorating Qi for consolidation of exterior" to explore the effect of flavonoid components in Qi-invigorating herbs Astragali Radix( AR) on the growth and immune function of mouse Lewis lung cancer xenografts,and further explore its mechanism of action. In the present study,high performance liquid chromatography was performed to analyze the flavonoid components in AR.The Lewis lung cancer model of C57 BL/6 mice was constructed,and the tumor volume of mice was determined by Visual Sonics Vevo2100 high frequency color ultrasound. The levels of IL~(-1)7 and RORγt in serum and tumor tissues were detected by ELISA and immunohistochemistry. The expression of IRE~(-1)/XBP~(-1) pathway-related proteins in tumor tissues was detected by Western blot. The results revealed that treatment of 5 and 10 g·kg~(-1)·d~(-1) of flavonoid components in AR significantly inhibited tumor growth of C57 BL/6 tumorbearing mice. The inhibition rates at the dose of 5 and 10 g·kg~(-1)·d~(-1) of flavonoid components in AR were( 29. 5±4. 4) % and( 43. 4±5. 2) %,respectively. The expression of IL~(-1)7 and RORγt in serum and tumor tissues of Lewis lung cancer mice were decreased,and the spleen index and thymus index were significantly enhanced by the flavonoid components in AR. Flavonoid components in AR could decrease the expression of X-box binding protein 1( XBP1),inositol-requiring enzyme( IRE1) and glucose regulated protein 78 k D( GRP78),and increase the expression of C/EBP homologous protein( CHOP),and the high-dose group is better,suggesting that the anti-lung cancer effect of flavonoid components in AR is related to the regulation of XBP1 mediated ERs. This study provides new evidence that the flavonoid components in AR could inhibit the tumor growth of C57 BL/6 tumor-bearing mice by regulating the body's immune function through " invigorating Qi for consolidation of exterior".

[Effective components and signaling pathways of Epimedium brevicornumbased on network pharmacology].

The aim of this paper was to find out the active components of Epimedium brevicornum using network pharmacology, and find the potential targets and mechanisms. The TCMSP database was used to screen the active ingredients, and TTD and DrugBank databases were used to predict the potential targets with the literature mining. The pathway annotation was used to enrich and analyze the active ingredients and potential targets of E. brevicornum. The results showed that E. brevicornum had34 potential target active ingredients, including 21 flavones components, such as icariin, epimedin A, epimedin B, epimedin C, Yinyanghuo A, Yinyanghuo C and so on, 2 lignans involved in (+)-cycloolivil and olivil, 3 sterols consisting of sitosterol, 24-epicampesterol and poriferast-5-en-3beta-ol. The main predicted targets included Ptgs2, NCOA6, RANK, OPG, WNT9B, PTH1R, BMPs, SMAD4A and so on. There were 88 signaling pathways involved in 10 signaling pathways which was related to inflammation, such as NF-kappa B signaling pathway, T cell receptor signaling pathway, IL-17 signaling pathway and 10 pathways which was related to cancer included breast cancer, bladder cancer, pancreatic cancer and so on, and estrogen related signaling pathways included estrogen signaling pathway. This laid the foundation for the discovery of the active components of Epimedium and the study on its mechanism of action.

Cladosins F and G, two new hybrid polyketides from the deep-sea-derived Cladosporium sphaerospermum 2005-01-E3.

Two new fungal hybrid polyketides, cladosins F (1) and G (2), with rare 6(3)-enamino-8,10-dihydroxy-tetraketide system were discovered from the deep-sea-derived fungus Cladosporium sphaerospermum 2005-01-E3 guided by OSMAC approach. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of comprehensive spectroscopic analyses, and cytotoxicity, antitubercular, anti-influenza A H1N1 virus, and NF-κB inhibitory activities were evaluated.