5-FU resistant colorectal cancer cells possess improved invasiveness and β-tubulin expression.

Background: Elevated β-tubulin levels are associated with resistance to a broad spectrum of drugs in different carcinomas and with poor prognosis of various epithelial cancers. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a widely used standard drug in chemotherapeutic regimens for colorectal cancer treatment, although the resistance to 5-FU is a major obstacle to successful therapy.

Aim: The aim of the study was to compare the invasive and adhesion properties and the expression levels of β-tubulin in a 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-resistant colorectal cancer (CRC) cell line HCT116 and parental cells.

[Transgenic Belarussian-bred potato plants expressing genes for antimicrobial peptides of the cecropin-melittin type].

Binary vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation were constructed to express the genes for antimicrobial peptides (APs) of the cectropin-melittin type under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S RNA promoter in plants. It was shown with Escherichia coli and Agrobacterium tumefaciens cells that the cassettes could be cloned in pB1121-based vectors with deletion of the 3-D-glycuronidase gene only in the orientation opposite to that of the original vector. Transgenic potato plants were obtained using the Belarussian varieties Odyssey, Vetraz, and Scarb.