Microbial regulation of plant secondary metabolites: Impact, mechanisms and prospects.

Plant secondary metabolites possess a wide range of pharmacological activities and play crucial biological roles. They serve as both a defense response during pathogen attack and a valuable drug resource. The role of microorganisms in the regulation of plant secondary metabolism has been widely recognized. The addition of specific microorganisms can increase the synthesis of secondary metabolites, and their beneficial effects depend on environmental factors and plant-related microorganisms. This article summarizes the impact and regulatory mechanisms of different microorganisms on the main secondary metabolic products of plants. We emphasize the mechanisms by which microorganisms regulate hormone levels, nutrient absorption, the supply of precursor substances, and enzyme and gene expression to promote the accumulation of plant secondary metabolites. In addition, the possible negative feedback regulation of microorganisms is discussed. The identification of additional unknown microbes and other driving factors affecting plant secondary metabolism is essential. The prospects for further analysis of medicinal plant genomes and the establishment of a genetic operation system for plant secondary metabolism research are proposed. This study provides new ideas for the use of microbial resources for biological synthesis research and the improvement of crop anti-inverse traits for the use of microbial resources.

Research Progress of Traditional Chinese Medicine Monomers in Reversing Multidrug Resistance of Breast Cancer.

Breast cancer is a malignant disease with an increasing incidence. Chemotherapy is still an important means for breast cancer treatment, but multidrug resistance (MDR) greatly limits its clinical application. Therefore, the high-efficiency MDR reversal agents are urgently needed. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) monomers have unique advantages in reversing chemotherapeutic MDR because of its low toxicity, high efficiency, and ability to impact multiple targets. This review firstly summarizes the major mechanisms of MDR in breast cancer, including the reduced accumulation of intracellular chemotherapeutic drugs, the promoted inactivation of intracellular chemotherapeutic drugs, and the enhanced damage repair ability of DNA, etc., and secondly highlights the research progress of 15 kinds of TCM monomers, including curcumin, resveratrol, emodin, apigenin, tetrandrine, gambogic acid, matrine, paeonol, schisandrin B, [Formula: see text]-elemene, astragaloside IV, berberine, puerarin, tanshinone IIA, and quercetin, in reversing MDR of breast cancer. This review also provides the suggestion for the future research of MDR reversal agents in breast cancer.

Genetic polymorphisms of pharmacogenomic VIP variants in the Lahu population from Yunnan Province.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacogenomics has been widely used to study the very important pharmacogenetic (VIP) variants among populations, but information on pharmacogenomics in the Lahu population is limited. The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in the distribution of VIP variants between the Lahu and the other 26 populations. METHODS: We genotyped 55 VIP variants of 27 genes in the Lahu population from the PharmGKB database. χ2 test was used to compare the genotype and allele frequencies between the Lahu and the other 26 populations from the 1000 Genomes Project. RESULTS: The genotype and allele frequencies of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on rs20417 (PTGS2), rs776746 (CYP3A5), rs2115819 (ALOX5), and rs3093105 (CYP4F2) were considerably different in the Lahu population compared with those in the other 26 populations. Besides, based on the PharmGKB database, we identified several VIP variants that may alter the drug metabolism of aspirin (PTGS2), tacrolimus (CYP3A5), montelukast (ALOX5), and vitamin E (CYP4F2). CONCLUSION: The results show that there are significant differences in the genotype frequency distribution between the Lahu and the other 26 populations. Our study supplements the pharmacogenomics information of the Lahu population and provides a theoretical basis for individualized medicine in Lahu.