Regulation of miR-30b in cancer development, apoptosis, and drug resistance.

miR-30b, which is encoded by the gene located on chromosome 8q24.22, plays an important role in a variety of diseases. In most types of tumors, miR-30b significantly inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of cancer cells through the regulation of target genes. Moreover, miR-30b can inhibit the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway through the regulation of EGFR, AKT, Derlin-1, GNA13, SIX1, and other target genes, thus inhibiting the EMT process of tumor cells and promoting apoptosis. In addition, miR-30 plays a significant role in alleviating drug resistance in tumor cells. Although the use of miR-30b as a clinical diagnostic indicator or anticancer drug is still facing great difficulties in the short term, with the deepening of research, the potential application of miR-30b is emerging.

Antitumor activity of bacterial exopolysaccharides from the endophyte Bacillus amyloliquefaciens sp. isolated from Ophiopogon japonicus.

The endophytic bacterium, MD-b1, was isolated from the medicinal plant Ophiopogon japonicas and identified as the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens sp. with 99% similarity based on the partial sequence analysis of 16S rDNA. Exopolysaccharides were extracted from the endophyte for the evaluation of its antitumor activity against gastric carcinoma cell lines (MC-4 and SGC-7901). 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays and microscopy were performed to estimate the cell viability and morphological changes of the MC-4 and SGC-7901 cells following treatment with the exopolysaccharides at 14, 22 and 30 µg/µl. The results revealed that the exopolysaccharides displayed concentration-dependent inhibitory effects against the MC-4 and SGC-7901 cells, with an IC50 of 19.7 and 26.8 µg/µl, respectively. The exopolysaccharides also induced morphological abnormalities in the cells. These effects indicated the the exopolysaccharides had an antitumoral mechanism of action associated with the mitochondrial dysfunction of the treated cells. This is the first study to investigate the endophytic microorganism isolated from O. japonicas and also the first discovery of such antitumoral exopolysaccharides derived from the genus Bacillus. This provides a promising and reproducible natural product source with high therapeutic value for anticancer treatment, thereby facilitating the development of new anticancer agents.

A PVP-extract fungal protein of Omphalia lapideacens and its antitumor activity on human gastric tumors and normal cells.

Omphalia lapidescens is an important medicinal fungus as well as traditional Chinese medicine used for disease treatment. It is mainly used as a vermifuge for anthelmintic therapy, but it has not been hitherto reported to possess antitumor activity. In this study, a purified bioactive protein in O. lapidescens (pPeOp) was obtained using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) followed by gel filtration chromatography. To evaluate the in vitro antitumor activity of pPeOp in human gastric tumor cells (MC-4 and SGC-7901) and normal cells (MC-1), MTT assay and FCM assay were used and the morphological changes, cell viability, cell death rate and cell apoptosis rate of MC-4, SGC-7901 and MC-1 cells were estimated. The results showed that pPeOp could significantly reduce the cell viability of MC-4 and SGC-7901 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, with IC50 values of 236.05 and 156.28 µg/ml, respectively. The morphological observation also indicated a similar result. In FCM assays, a significant increase of cell death rate and cell apoptosis rate of the tumor cells were observed, indicating probable necrosis-inducing effects and/or apoptosis-inducing effects of pPeOp. Importantly, there was no significant effect of pPeOp on MC-1 cells in each assay, showing that pPeOp has no adverse effects on the normal cells. In conclusion, pPeOp is a newly discovered bioactive protein in O. lapidescens and this is the first report on antitumor activity of such a fungal protein. This may provide a meaningful basis for developing a new protein drug for treatment against cancer, especially gastric cancer.

[Effect of proteins extracted from mycelia of Omphalia lapidescens on inhibiting H, liver cancer in mice and regulating immune function].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of proteins extraceed from mycelia of Omphalia lapidescens on inhibiting H22 liver cancer in vivo. METHODS: 50 hepatoma 22 tumor bearing mice models were divided into five groups randomly:control group( CG), cyclophosphamide group, and 3 groups of incremental Hepatoma 22 dosages (5, 3, 1 mg/kg). All groups were i.v. with drugs once a day. After 8 consecutive days, the concentrations of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA). The weight changes of tumor, thymus, liver, heart, spleen, lung and kidney were observed. RESULTS: It showed the tumors' weight were significant heavier in CG than in EGs. The tumor-inhibition rate (IR) was 36.4% in high dosage group,which was lower than 43.2% in cyclophosphamide group. The spleen mass of proteins groups increased significantly. The concentration of IFN-gamma in serum of proteins groups increased as CG, but IL-4 in inverse direction. The observations of thymus, liver, heart, lung and kidney in EGs were the same as CG. CONCLUSION: The proteins extracted from mycelium of Omphalia lapidescens can inhibit the growth of tumour and enhance the immune function of H22 tumor-bearing mice.

[Study on endophyte and the growth stages of Ophiopogon japonicus].

OBJECTIVE: To study on the relationship between the endophyte and the life cycle of Ophiopogon japonicus in Zhejiang. METHODS: Sample roots of Ophiopogon japonicus at different growth stages were thoroughly washed and cut into small fragments, then cleared (removing cytoplasmic contents from cells) using hot 10% KOH and stained with acid fuchsin (alternative stain). The hyphae, the arbuscular and the vesicular of endophyte were examined. RESULTS: The hyphae appeared and grew in the seedling stage, the hyphae grew into arbuscular in the root tuber generating stage and vesicular in the stage of root tuber expanding period. CONCLUSION: The endophytes in Ophiopogon japonicus appeared in forms of hyphae, arbuscular and vesicular at different growth stages to meet the needs of Ophiopogon japonicus developing.

[Isolation and fermentation culture of fungi from Cordyceps soofifera].

OBJECTIVE: To study the fungi isolated from Cordyceps sobolifera and its fermentation culture. METHODS: The fungi was isolated and identified by its hypha and spores. Three liquid media were used in the culture. RESULTS: Pure culture was gained and the fungi was identified to be Paecilomyces cicadae. The fungi can grow best in liquid media: egg 110 g + silkworm powder 30 g + VB1 2 tahlets + MgSO4 x 7H2O 0.5 g + K2HPO4 1 g + H2O 1000 ml, in which every litre can produce 135 g wet hypha after cultured 4 d. CONCLUSION: Paecilomyces cicadae from Cordyceps sobolifera can be cultured in liquid media.