Isolation and Cytotoxic Potency of Endophytic Fungi Associated with , a Study for the Novel Resources of Podophyllotoxin.

Endophytic fungi are promising sources for the production of podophyllotoxin-an important anticancer compound, replacing depleted medical plants. In this study, the endophytes associated with -an ethnomedicinal plant species were isolated to explore novel sources of podophyllotoxin. Fifty-three endophytic fungi were isolated and identified by morphological observation and ITS-based rDNA sequencing, assigning them to 27 genera in 3 divisions.

Killed Bacillus subtilis spores expressing streptavidin: a novel carrier of drugs to target cancer cells.

Carriers of drugs in cancer therapy are required to reduce side-effects of the drugs to normal cells. Here we constructed killed recombinant Bacillus subtilis spores (SA1) that expressed streptavidin as a chimeric fusion to the spore coat protein CotB and used the spores as bioparticle carrier. When bound with biotinylated cetuximab these spores could specifically target to the epidermal growth factor receptor on HT 29 colon cancer cells, thereby delivered paclitaxel to the cells with 4-fold higher efficiency, as indicated by fluorescent intensity of paclitaxel Oregon Green 488 bound to HT29 cells.