(C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. JNK inhibitor All rights reserved.”
“Artemisinin, a sesquiterpene lactone derived from the sweet wormwood plant Artemisia annua, and its bioactive derivatives exhibit potent anticancer effects in a variety of human cancer cell model systems. The pleiotropic response in cancer cells includes growth inhibition by cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, inhibition of angiogenesis, disruption of cell migration, and modulation of nuclear receptor responsiveness. These effects of artemisinin and its derivatives result from perturbations of many cellular signalling pathways. This review provides
a comprehensive discussion of these cellular responses, and considers the ramifications for the potential development of artemisinin-based compounds in anticancer therapeutic and preventative strategies.”
“Few studies have investigated microtubules from plants that host pathogenic fungi. Considerable efforts are underway to find an antimitotic agent against plant pathogens like Phytophthora infestans. However, screening the effects of antifungal agents on plant tubulin in vivo or using purified native microtubule in vitro is a time consuming process. A recombinant, correctly folded, microtubule-like structure forming tubulin could accelerate research in this area. In this study, we cloned full length cDNAs isolated from potato leaves using reverse-transcribed polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Solanum tuberosum
(Stub) alpha-tubulin and beta-tubulin were predicted to encode 449 and 451 amino acid long proteins with molecular masses of 57 kDa and 60 kDa, respectively. Average yields of alpha- and beta-tubulin DMXAA Angiogenesis inhibitor were 2.0-3.5 mg buy SNX-5422 l(-1) and 1.3-3.0 mg l(-1) of culture, respectively. The amino acids, His6, Glu198, and Phe170 involved in benomyl sensitivity were conserved in Stub tubulin. The dimerization of tubulin monomers was confirmed by western blot analysis. When combined under appropriate conditions, these recombinant alpha- and beta-tubulins were capable of polymerizing into microtubules.
Accessibility of cysteine residues of tubulin revealed that important ligand binding sites were folded correctly. This recombinant tubulin could serve as a control of phytotoxicity of selected antimitotic fungicide compounds during in vitro screening experiments. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.”
“There is growing interest in utilizing replicating oncolytic viruses as cancer therapeutics agents. The effectiveness of myxoma virus-induced oncolysis was evaluated in two feline cancer cell cultures. Although myxoma virus is a rabbit-specific pathogen, protein expression driven by myxoma virus and production of infectious viral particles were detected. Cell death occurred in primary feline cancer cells within 48 h of inoculation with myxoma virus. Future studies to determine if other feline neoplasms are susceptible to myxoma virus infection are warranted. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.