An Efficient Method for the Isolation of Toxins from Pteridium aquilinum and Evaluation of Ptaquiloside Against Cancer and Non-cancer Cells.

The common fern, bracken (), is well known for its toxic effects on livestock due principally to the carcinogenic constituent ptaquiloside ( 1: ), although other toxins are present including the cyanogenic glycoside, prunasin ( 2: ). Here, we report an improved and relatively "green" process for the isolation of 1: and 2: from fresh bracken fronds and the evaluation of 1: for cytotoxicity against several cancer cell lines. The results indicate that 1: displays selective toxicity against cancer cells relative to noncancer retinal epithelial cells, and the improved method for the isolation of 1: is expected to facilitate further exploration of its pharmacological properties.

Leiodermatolide, a novel marine natural product, has potent cytotoxic and antimitotic activity against cancer cells, appears to affect microtubule dynamics, and exhibits antitumor activity.

Pancreatic cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, has a negative prognosis because metastasis occurs before symptoms manifest. Leiodermatolide, a polyketide macrolide with antimitotic activity isolated from a deep water sponge of the genus Leiodermatium, exhibits potent and selective cytotoxicity toward the pancreatic cancer cell lines AsPC-1, PANC-1, BxPC-3, and MIA PaCa-2, and potent cytotoxicity against skin, breast and colon cancer cell lines. Induction of apoptosis by leiodermatolide was confirmed in the AsPC-1, BxPC-3 and MIA PaCa-2 cells.

Neopetrosiquinones A and B, sesquiterpene benzoquinones isolated from the deep-water sponge Neopetrosia cf. proxima.

Two new marine-derived sesquiterpene benzoquinones which we designate as neopetrosiquinones A (1) and B (2), have been isolated from a deep-water sponge of the family Petrosiidae. The structures were elucidated on the basis of their spectroscopic data. Compounds 1 and 2 inhibit the in vitro proliferation of the DLD-1 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line with IC(50) values of 3.

Metabolic engineering for the production of prenylated polyphenols in transgenic legume plants using bacterial and plant prenyltransferases.

Prenylated polyphenols are secondary metabolites beneficial for human health because of their various biological activities. Metabolic engineering was performed using Streptomyces and Sophora flavescens prenyltransferase genes to produce prenylated polyphenols in transgenic legume plants. Three Streptomyces genes, NphB, SCO7190, and NovQ, whose gene products have broad substrate specificity, were overexpressed in a model legume, Lotus japonicus, in the cytosol, plastids or mitochondria with modification to induce the protein localization.

Leiodermatolide, a potent antimitotic macrolide from the marine sponge Leiodermatium sp.

Leiodermatolide is a structurally unique macrolide, isolated from the deep-water marine sponge ., which exhibits potent antiproliferative activity against a range of human cancer cell lines (IC <10 nM) and dramatic effects on spindle formation in mitotic cells. Its unprecedented polyketide skeleton and stereochemistry were established using a combination of experimental and computational (DP4) NMR methods, and molecular modelling.

Production of prenylated flavonoids in tomato fruits expressing a prenyltransferase gene from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2).

Flavonoids are natural compounds found in many plants, including the important fruit crop, tomato. Prenylated flavonoids consist of a large group of compounds, which often exhibit antitumour, antibacterial and/or anti-androgen activities. In this study, we engineered the biosynthesis of prenylated flavonoids using a Streptomyces prenyltransferase HypSc (SCO7190) possessing broad-range substrate specificity, in tomato as a host plant.

A novel activity from an old compound: Manzamine A reduces the metastatic potential of AsPC-1 pancreatic cancer cells and sensitizes them to TRAIL-induced apoptosis.

Purpose: Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and new drugs to treat the disease are needed. Pancreatic cancer cells are highly metastatic and exhibit resistance to apoptosis. Small molecules that can restore sensitivity to apoptosis or reduce metastasis would have therapeutic potential against this disease.

Ancient Chinese methods are remarkably effective for the preparation of artemisinin-rich extracts of Qing Hao with potent antimalarial activity.

Ancient Chinese herbal texts as far back as the 4th Century Zhou hou bei ji fang describe methods for the use of Qing Hao (Artemisia annua) for the treatment of intermittent fevers. Today, the A. annua constituent artemisinin is an important antimalarial drug and the herb itself is being grown and used locally for malaria treatment although this practice is controversial.

Isolation, synthesis, and biological activity of aphrocallistin, an adenine-substituted bromotyramine metabolite from the Hexactinellida sponge Aphrocallistes beatrix.

A new adenine-substituted bromotyrosine-derived metabolite designated as aphrocallistin (1) has been isolated from the deep-water Hexactinellida sponge Aphrocallistes beatrix. Its structure was elucidated on the basis of spectral data and confirmed through a convergent, modular total synthetic route that is amenable toward future analogue preparation. Aphrocallistin inhibits the growth of a panel of human tumor cell lines with IC(50) values ranging from 7.

A social-cognitive model of trait and state levels of gratitude.

Three studies tested a new model of gratitude, which specified the generative mechanisms linking individual differences (trait gratitude) and objective situations with the amount of gratitude people experience after receiving aid (state gratitude). In Study 1, all participants (N = 253) read identical vignettes describing a situation in which they received help. People higher in trait gratitude made more positive beneficial appraisals (seeing the help as more valuable, more costly to provide, and more altruistically intended), which fully mediated the relationship between trait and state levels of gratitude.

Implicit theories of a desire for fame.

The aim of the present studies was to generate implicit theories of a desire for fame among the general population. In Study 1, we were able to develop a nine-factor analytic model of conceptions of the desire to be famous that initially comprised nine separate factors; ambition, meaning derived through comparison with others, psychologically vulnerable, attention seeking, conceitedness, social access, altruistic, positive affect, and glamour. Analysis that sought to examine replicability among these factors suggested that three factors (altruistic, positive affect, and glamour) neither display factor congruence nor display adequate internal reliability.

Neopeltolide, a macrolide from a lithistid sponge of the family Neopeltidae.

A new marine-derived macrolide designated as neopeltolide (1) has been isolated from a deep-water sponge of the family Neopeltidae. Its structure was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data interpretation. Neopeltolide (1) is a potent inhibitor of the in vitro proliferation of the A-549 human lung adenocarcinoma, the NCI-ADR-RES human ovarian sarcoma, and the P388 murine leukemia cell lines, with IC50's of 1.

Simple and efficient plastid transformation system for the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha L. suspension-culture cells.

We have established a simple and efficient plastid transformation system for liverwort, Marchantia polymorpha L., suspension-culture cells, which are homogenous, chloroplast-rich and rapidly growing. Plasmid pCS31 was constructed to integrate an aadA expression cassette for spectinomycin-resistance into the trnI-trnA intergenic region of the liverwort plastid DNA by homologous recombination.

The molecular basis of heme oxygenase deficiency in the pcd1 mutant of pea.

The pcd1 mutant of pea lacks heme oxygenase (HO) activity required for the synthesis of the phytochrome chromophore and is consequently severely deficient in all responses mediated by the phytochrome family of plant photoreceptors. Here we describe the isolation of the gene encoding pea heme oxygenase 1 (PsHO1) and confirm the presence of a mutation in this gene in the pcd1 mutant. PsHO1 shows a high degree of sequence homology to other higher plant HOs, in particular with those from other legume species.

Post-traumatic growth in acquired brain injury: a preliminary small scale study.

Primary Objective: To examine the nature, degree and time course of positive psychological change in people with severe acquired brain injury.

Research Design: This preliminary exploratory study employed a cross-sectional design, comparing two matched samples, one early post-brain injury (M = 7 months) and one late post-brain injury (M = 10 years).

Methods And Procedures: The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), Sense of Coherence Scale-13 (SOC-13) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) were administered.

Growth following adversity: theoretical perspectives and implications for clinical practice.

A number of literatures and philosophies throughout human history have conveyed the idea that there is personal gain to be found in suffering, and it is an idea central to the existential-humanistic tradition of psychology. However, it is only relatively recently that the topic of growth following adversity has become the focus for empirical and theoretical work. In this paper, we review theoretical models of growth, and discuss the implications of growth for clinical practice.

Positive and negative changes following occupational death exposure.

Professionals who work in situations that expose them to death have long been of interest to traumatic stress research. However, the positive changes that these professionals may also experience have not been the subject of empirical scrutiny. This study examined occupational death exposure, death attitudes, subjective appraisals, intrusions, avoidance, social support, and positive and negative affect, and their associations with positive and negative psychological changes in funeral directors.

Trauma work, sense of coherence, and positive and negative changes in therapists.

Background: The negative effects of vicarious traumatization through trauma work are well known. However, a growing body of evidence testifies to the positive effects that have been reported following trauma. This study explored the potential positive effects of trauma work on therapists, with a focus on the associations of the personality construct 'sense of coherence' with both positive and negative changes.

Assessing positive and negative changes in the aftermath of adversity: psychometric evaluation of the changes in outlook questionnaire.

The Changes in Outlook Questionnaire (CiOQ; S. Joseph, R. Williams, & W.

The tomato photomorphogenetic mutant, aurea, is deficient in phytochromobilin synthase for phytochrome chromophore biosynthesis.

The aurea mutants of tomato have been widely used as phytochrome-deficient mutants for photomorphogenetic and photobiological studies. By expressed sequence tag (EST)-based screening of sequence databases, we found a tomato gene that encodes a protein homologous to Arabidopsis HY2 for phytochromobilin synthase catalyzing the last step of phytochrome chromophore biosynthesis. The tomato protein expressed in Escherichia coli showed phytochromobilin synthase activity.

Rapid assessment of well-being: The Short Depression-Happiness Scale (SDHS).

The purpose of this paper was: first, to develop the short six-item form of the Depression-Happiness Scale; and second, to examine evidence of reliability and validity for the short form. Three studies are presented. In the first study, principal components analysis is reported and used to select six items to compose the short form of the scale.

In-vitro cytotoxic activities of the major bromophenols of the red alga Polysiphonia lanosa and some novel synthetic isomers.

Bioassay-guided fractionation was applied to the cytotoxic chloroform fraction of the red alga Polysiphonia lanosa. The major compounds of the most active fraction were identified using GLC-MS analysis as lanosol (1), methyl, ethyl, and n-propyl ethers of lanosol (1a, 1b, and 1c, respectively), and aldehyde of lanosol (2), although 1b appears to be an artifact arising during the fractionation procedure. These compounds and other known bromophenols were synthesized in addition to four novel isomers (3, 3a-c).