• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.135-137
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• 2008

The metabolic engineering of epothilones, as secondary metabolites, was investigated using Sorangium cellulosum to achieve the selective production of epothilone B, a potent anticancer agent. Thus, the propionyl-CoA synthetase gene (prpE) from Ralstonia solanacearum was heterologously expressed in S. cellulosum to increase the production of epothilone B. Propionyl-CoA synthetase converts propionate into propionyl-CoA, a potent precursor of epothilone B. The recombinant S. celluloslim containing the prpE gene exhibited a significant increase in the resolution of epothilones B/A, with an epothilone B to A ratio of 127 to 1, which was 100 times higher than that of the wild-type cells, demonstrating its potential use for the selective production of epothilone B.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.1208-1212
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• 2007

Production of extracellular epothilone B, one of the potent anticancer agents, by free and immobilized Sorangium cellulosum was studied using the repeated batch culture process. The concentration of alginate used in immobilization was directly related to the mass transfer rate of nutrients, mechanical stability, and the epothilone B production yield. With the optimized 3% (w/v) calcium alginate carrier, a prolonged repeated batch culture was investigated for the 5 repeated batches for 24 days. The maximum productivity of epothilone B obtained from the alginate-immobilized cells was 5.03 mg/l/day, which is 3 times higher than that of free cells (1.68 mg/l/day).

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.519-523
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• 2006

To improve epothilones production and the ratio of epothilone B/A, carbon sources were investigated in flask culture of Sorangium cellulosum. Depending on the initial concentration, starch significantly enhanced cell growth, but the maximum epothilones productivity and the maximum epothilones production (0.3 mg/l day and 2.6 mg/l at 15 g/l starch, respectively) were relatively low compared with cell growth. On the other hand, addition of glycerol did not stimulate cell growth, but epothilone production was increased from 2.81 mg/l to 7.59 mg/l. Addition of glycerol to culture medium resulted in more significant enhancement of the production of epothilone A, whereas epothilone B levels were relatively constant. Furthermore, when sodium propionate was added as a precursor of methylmalonyl-CoA, it resulted in increase of both total epothilones production and epothilone B/A resolution. Maximum epothilone A and B concentrations reached 10.9 mg/l and 8.58 mg/l, respectively, at 5 mM sodium propionate.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.15
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• pp.6535-6539
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• 2015

This study was designed to assess, whether a new chemotherapeutic microtubule inhibitor, Epothilone B (EpoB, Patupilone), can induce DNA damage in normal ovarian cells (MM14.Ov), and to evaluate if such damage could be repaired. The changes were compared with the effect of paclitaxel (PTX) commonly employed in the clinic. The alkaline comet assay technique and TUNEL assay were used. The kinetics of DNA damage formation and the level of apoptotic cells were determined after treatment with IC50 concentrations of EpoB and PTX. It was observed that PTX generated significantly higher apoptotic and genotoxic changes than EpoB. The peak was observed after 48 h of treatment when the DNA damage had a maximal level. The DNA damage induced by both tested drugs was almost completely repaired. As EpoB in normal cells causes less damage to DNA it might be a promising anticancer drug with potential for the treatment of ovarian tumors.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.213-220
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• 2018

We classified the previously reported antagonistic strains of Sorangium cellulosum into 5 subspecies (A-E). Four strains were antagonistic to Botrytis cinerea (AB group) and two strains were antagonistic to Colletotrichum acutatum (AC group). According to the genetic and sequential analyses with standard genes, xynB1, bglA2, groEL1 for grouping, all strains of AB group were belonged to subspecies C and all strains of AC group were belonged to subspecies D. In addition, high pressure liquid chromatography with the culture filtrates confirmed the genetic results, because AB group had peaks with retention time at 20-22.5 minutes, whereas AC group had no peak. There was positive relationship ($R^2=0.9652$) between the control values of infecting B. cinerea on cherry tomatoes and the main peak areas of chromatograms among the four isolates of AB group. From the subspecies results of AB group, the main peak of KYC 3270 was expected to be epothilone D. However the retention times of the standard of commercial epothilone D and the main peak of KYC 3270 culture filtrate were different as 9.9 and 11.581 min., respectively. Finally, the antagonistic metabolite of AB group was inferred as 7-ketone epothilone D.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.993-1001
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• 2016

Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients are at increased risk of many forms of malignancies, especially of the pancreas, colon and hepatocellular cancer. Unfortunately, little is known of the possible interaction between antidiabetic drugs and anticancer agents. The present study investigates the influence of metformin (MET) and sitagliptin (SITA) on the in vitro anticancer activity of the microtubule depolymerization inhibitor agent epothilone A (EpoA). Hepatocellular liver carcinoma cell line (HepG2) viability and apoptosis were determined by the MTT test and by double staining with PO-PRO-1 and 7-aminoactinomycin D, respectively, after treatment with EpoA, metformin or sitagliptin. The levels of nuclear factor NF-${\kappa}B$ and p53 were evaluated in the presence and absence of inhibitors. While EpoA and MET inhibited HepG2 cell proliferation, SITA did not. EpoA and SITA induced higher p53 levels than MET. All tested drugs increased the level of NF-${\kappa}B$. Only MET enhanced the proapoptotic effect of EpoA. The EpoA+MET combination evoked the highest cytotoxic effect on HepG2 cells and led to apoptosis independent of p53, decreasing the level of NF-${\kappa}B$. These findings support the link between NF-${\kappa}B$ and p53 in the modulation of apoptotic effects in HepG2 cells treated by EpoA. Our studies indicate that the combination of EpoA and MET applied in subtoxic doses has a stronger cytotoxic effect on liver cancer cells than each of the compounds alone. The therapeutic advantages of the combination of EpoA with MET may be valuable in the treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) and liver cancer.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.367-368
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• 2007

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
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• 2005.05a
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• pp.172-172
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• 2005

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.297-303
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• 2013

Phylogenetic analysis of the groEL1 and xynB1 gene sequences from Sorangium cellulosum strains isolated in Korea previously revealed the existence of at least 5 subgroups (A-E). In the present study, we used sequence analysis of polymerase chain reaction-amplified biosynthetic genes of strains from the 5 subgroups to indicate correlations between S. cellulosum subgroups and their secondary metabolic gene categories. We detected putative biosynthetic genes for disorazol, epothilone, ambruticin, and soraphen in group A, group C, group D, and group E strains, respectively. With the exception of KYC3204, culture extracts from group A, group B, and group C strains exhibited no noticeable antimicrobial inhibitory activities. By contrast, culture extracts from group D strains inhibited the growth of Candida albicans, whereas culture extracts from group E strains inhibited the growth of C. albicans and Staphylococcus aureus. High performance liquid chromatography analysis of the culture extracts from the strains of each subgroup revealed unique peak patterns. Our findings indicate the existence of at least 5 subgroups of S. cellulosum strains, each of which has the potential to produce a unique set of secondary metabolites.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1299-1308
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• 2016

Our previous studies clearly demonstrated that a combination of WP 631 and Epo B has higher activity against ovarian cancer cells than either of these compounds used separately. In order to fully understand the exact mechanism of action in combination, we assessed effects on the cell cycle of SKOV-3 cells. We evaluated three control points essential for WP 631 and Epo B action to determine which cell cycle-regulating proteins (CDK1/cyclin B complex, EpCAM or HMGB1) mediate activity. The effects of the drug on the cell cycle were measured based on the nuclear DNA content using flow cytometry. Expression of cell cycle-regulating genes was analyzed using real-time PCR. It was discovered that WP 631, at the tested concentration, did not affect the SKOV-3 cell cycle. Epo B caused significant G2/M arrest, whereas the drug combination induced stronger apoptosis and lower mitotic arrest than Epo B alone. This is very important information from the point of view of the fight against cancer, as, while mitotic arrest in Epo B-treated cells could be overcame after DNA damage repair, apoptosis which occurs after mitotic slippage in combination-treated cells is irreversible. It clearly explains the higher activity of the drug combination in comparison to Epo B alone. Epo B acts via the CDK1/cyclin B complex and has the ability to inhibit CDK1, which may be a promising strategy for ovarian cancer treatment in the future. The drug combination diminishes EpCAM and HMGB1 expression to a greater degree than either WP 631 and Epo B alone. Owing to the fact that the high expression of these two proteins is a poor prognostic factor for ovarian cancer, a decrease in their expression, observed in our studies, may result in improved efficacy of cancer therapy. The presented findings show that the combination of WP 631 and Epo B is a better therapeutic option than either of these drugs alone.