Project description:Analysis of U251 glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells treated with a new culcita novaeguineae asterosaponion, CN-3. A new asterosaponin was isolated from culcita novaeguineae, an abundant marine resource in the south China sea. The asterosaponin induced significant growth inhibition with a 50% inhibitory concentration at 48 h of 2.013 μg/mL in U251MG cells. 1.8μg/mL of the asterosaponin reduced U251 MG cells viability from 100 % to 42.5% (24 h), 37.4% (48 h) and 52.1% (72 h). In this study, a microarray analysis was performed using RNA prepared from U251MG GBM cells treated with the asterosaponion. These data revealed that 661 genes had significant differential expressions.
Project description:Bathymodiolin mussels are a group of bivalves associated with deep-sea reducing habitats, such as hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. These mussels usually engage in an obligatory symbiosis with sulfur and/or methane oxidizing Gammaproteobacteria. In addition to these bacteria, Bathymodiolus heckerae that inhabit gas and oil seeps in Campeche Bay, the southern Gulf of Mexico, host bacteria phylogenetically with the Cycloclasticus genus. We recently discovered the capability for short-chain alkane degradation in draft genomes of symbiotic Cycloclasticus. With proteomics, we investigated whether the genes required for this process are expressed by the symbionts.
Project description:Two novel polyketides, ocellatusones A and B (1 and 2), characterized by either an uncommon oxatricyclo[4.2.1.02,4]nonane skeleton (1) or a mesitylene connected dimethylfuran-3(2H)-one nucleus (2), were isolated in racemic forms from the South China Sea sacoglossan Placobranchus ocellatus, together with seven uncommon polypropionates (3, 4a,4d, 5, and 6). Compounds 1 and 2 were further separated by chiral HPLC to their corresponding enantiomers (±)-1 and (±)-2, respectively. The structures, including absolute configurations, of the new compounds, were unambiguously determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis, quantum chemical computation, and/or X-ray diffraction analysis. The new compounds (+)-1, 4a, 4b, 4d exhibited interesting dose dependent cytotoxic effect on human cancer cell lines, including non-small cell lung cancer and acute promyelocytic leukemia, with IC50 values ranging from 6.1 μM to 28.8 μM. A plausible bio-photosynthetic pathway of these isolates was proposed.
