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Banyal A, Tiwari S, Sharma A, Chanana I, Patel SKS, Kulshrestha S, Kumar P. Vinca alkaloids as a potential cancer therapeutics: recent update and future challenges. 3 Biotech 2023; 13:211. [PMID: 37251731 PMCID: PMC10209376 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-023-03636-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Vinca alkaloids including vincristine, vinblastine, vindesine, and vinflunine are chemotherapeutic compounds commonly used to treat various cancers. Vinca alkaloids are one of the first microtubule-targeting agents to be produced and certified for the treatment of hematological and lymphatic neoplasms. Microtubule targeting agents like vincristine and vinblastine work by disrupting microtubule dynamics, causing mitotic arrest and cell death. The key issues facing vinca alkaloids applications include establishing an environment-friendly production technique based on microorganisms, as well as increasing bioavailability without causing harm to patient's health. The low yield of these vinca alkaloids from the plant and the difficulty of meeting their huge colossal demand around the globe prompted researchers to create a variety of approaches. Endophytes could thus be selected to produce beneficial secondary metabolites required for the biosynthesis of vinca alkaloids. This review covers the significant aspects of these vital drugs, from their discovery to the present day, in a concise manner. In addition, we emphasize the major hurdles that must be overcome in the coming years to improve vinca alkaloid's effectiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditya Banyal
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173229 India
| | - Shubham Tiwari
- IMS Engineering College, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh 201009 India
| | - Aparajita Sharma
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173229 India
| | - Ishita Chanana
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173229 India
| | - Sanjay Kumar Singh Patel
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Konkuk University, 1 Hwayang-Dong, Gwangjin-Gu, Seoul, 143-701 South Korea
| | - Saurabh Kulshrestha
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173229 India
| | - Pradeep Kumar
- Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173229 India
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Jiang CX, Yu JX, Fei X, Pan XJ, Zhu NN, Lin CL, Zhou D, Zhu HR, Qi Y, Wu ZG. Gene coexpression networks allow the discovery of two strictosidine synthases underlying monoterpene indole alkaloid biosynthesis in Uncaria rhynchophylla. Int J Biol Macromol 2023; 226:1360-1373. [PMID: 36442554 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.11.249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 11/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Plant-derived monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIAs) from Uncaria rhynchophylla (UR) have huge medicinal properties in treating Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and depression. Although many bioactive UR-MIA products have been isolated as drugs, their biosynthetic pathway remains largely unexplored. In this study, untargeted metabolome identified 79 MIA features in UR tissues (leaf, branch stem, hook stem, and stem), of which 30 MIAs were differentially accumulated among different tissues. Short time series expression analysis captured 58 pathway genes and 12 hub regulators responsible for UR-MIA biosynthesis and regulation, which were strong links with main UR-MIA features. Coexpression networks further pointed to two strictosidine synthases (UrSTR1/5) that were coregulated with multiple MIA-related genes and highly correlated with UR-MIA features (r > 0.7, P < 0.005). Both UrSTR1/5 catalyzed the formation of strictosidine with tryptamine and secologanin as substrates, highlighting the importance of key residues (UrSTR1: Glu309, Tyr155; UrSTR5: Glu295, Tyr141). Further, overexpression of UrSTR1/5 in UR hairy roots constitutively increased the biosynthesis of bioactive UR-MIAs (rhynchophylline, isorhynchophylline, corynoxeine, etc), whereas RNAi of UrSTR1/5 significantly decreased UR-MIA biosynthesis. Collectively, our work not only provides candidates for reconstituting the biosynthesis of bioactive UR-MIAs in heterologous hosts but also highlights a powerful strategy for mining natural product biosynthesis in medicinal plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng-Xi Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Jia-Xing Yu
- Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Xuan Fei
- Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Xiao-Jun Pan
- Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Ning-Ning Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Chong-Liang Lin
- The 1(st) Affiliated Hospital of WMU, The 1(st) School of Medicine, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325025, China
| | - Dan Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Hao-Ru Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Yu Qi
- Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China
| | - Zhi-Gang Wu
- Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, School of Pharmacy, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325035, China.
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Cuello C, Stander EA, Jansen HJ, Dugé de Bernonville T, Lanoue A, Giglioli-Guivarc'h N, Papon N, Dirks RP, Jensen MK, O'Connor SE, Besseau S, Courdavault V. Genome Assembly of the Medicinal Plant Voacanga thouarsii. Genome Biol Evol 2022; 14:evac158. [PMID: 36300641 PMCID: PMC9673491 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evac158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The Apocynaceae tree Voacanga thouarsii, native to southern Africa and Madagascar, produces monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIA), which are specialized metabolites with a wide range of bioactive properties. Voacanga species mainly accumulates tabersonine in seeds making these species valuable medicinal plants currently used for industrial MIA production. Despite their importance, the MIA biosynthesis in Voacanga species remains poorly studied. Here, we report the first genome assembly and annotation of a Voacanga species. The combined assembly of Oxford Nanopore Technologies long-reads and Illumina short-reads resulted in 3,406 scaffolds with a total length of 1,354.26 Mb and an N50 of 3.04 Mb. A total of 33,300 protein-coding genes were predicted and functionally annotated. These genes were then used to establish gene families and to investigate gene family expansion and contraction across the phylogenetic tree. A transposable element (TE) analysis showed the highest proportion of TE in Voacanga thouarsii compared with all other MIA-producing plants. In a nutshell, this first reference genome of V. thouarsii will thus contribute to strengthen future comparative and evolutionary studies in MIA-producing plants leading to a better understanding of MIA pathway evolution. This will also allow the potential identification of new MIA biosynthetic genes for metabolic engineering purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clément Cuello
- Biomolécules et Biotechnologies Végétales, EA2106, Université de Tours, 37200 Tours, France
| | - Emily Amor Stander
- Biomolécules et Biotechnologies Végétales, EA2106, Université de Tours, 37200 Tours, France
| | - Hans J Jansen
- Future Genomics Technologies, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands
| | | | - Arnaud Lanoue
- Biomolécules et Biotechnologies Végétales, EA2106, Université de Tours, 37200 Tours, France
| | | | - Nicolas Papon
- Univ Angers, Univ Brest, IRF, SFR ICAT, F-49000 Angers, France
| | - Ron P Dirks
- Future Genomics Technologies, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Krogh Jensen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Sarah Ellen O'Connor
- Department of Natural Product Biosynthesis, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena 07745, Germany
| | - Sébastien Besseau
- Biomolécules et Biotechnologies Végétales, EA2106, Université de Tours, 37200 Tours, France
| | - Vincent Courdavault
- Biomolécules et Biotechnologies Végétales, EA2106, Université de Tours, 37200 Tours, France
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Morey KJ, Peebles CAM. Hairy roots: An untapped potential for production of plant products. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:937095. [PMID: 35991443 PMCID: PMC9389236 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.937095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
While plants are an abundant source of valuable natural products, it is often challenging to produce those products for commercial application. Often organic synthesis is too expensive for a viable commercial product and the biosynthetic pathways are often so complex that transferring them to a microorganism is not trivial or feasible. For plants not suited to agricultural production of natural products, hairy root cultures offer an attractive option for a production platform which offers genetic and biochemical stability, fast growth, and a hormone free culture media. Advances in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology tools to engineer hairy roots along with bioreactor technology is to a point where commercial application of the technology will soon be realized. We discuss different applications of hairy roots. We also use a case study of the advancements in understanding of the terpenoid indole alkaloid pathway in Catharanthus roseus hairy roots to illustrate the advancements and challenges in pathway discovery and in pathway engineering.
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