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Heat shock, visible light or high calcium augment the cytotoxic effects of Ailanthus altissima (Swingle) leaf extracts against Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells
Identifier
018312
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a species of yeast. It is perhaps the most useful yeast, having been instrumental to winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have been originally isolated from the skin of grapes (one can see the yeast as a component of the thin white film on the skins of some dark-color fruits such as plums; it exists among the waxes of the cuticle). It is one of the most intensively studied eukaryotic model organisms in molecular and cell biology, much like Escherichia coli as the model bacterium. It is the microorganism behind the most common type of fermentation.
A description of the experience
Nat Prod Res. 2015;29(18):1744-7. doi: 10.1080/14786419.2014.998215. Epub 2015 Jan 14.
Heat shock, visible light or high calcium augment the cytotoxic effects of Ailanthus altissima (Swingle) leaf extracts against Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells.
Popa CV1, Lungu L, Cristache LF, Ciuculescu C, Danet AF, Farcasanu IC.
- 1a Faculty of Chemistry, University of Bucharest , Sos. Panduri 90-92, 050663 Bucharest , Romania.
Abstract
To gain new insight into the antimicrobial potential of Ailanthus altissima Swingle, ethanol leaf extracts were evaluated for the antifungal effects against the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisae. The extracts inhibited the yeast growth in a dose-dependent manner, and this effect could be augmented by heat shock, exposure to visible light or exposure to high concentrations of Ca(2+). Using transgenic yeast cells expressing the Ca(2+)-dependent photoprotein, aequorin, it was found that the leaf extracts induced cytosolic Ca(2+) elevation. Experiments on yeast mutants with defects in Ca(2+) transport demonstrated that the cytotoxicity of the A. altissima leaf extracts (AaLEs) was mediated by transient pulses of Ca(2+) ions which were released into the cytosol predominantly from the vacuole. The investigation of the antifungal synergies involving AaLEs may contribute to the development of optimal and safe combination therapies for the treatment of drug-resistant fungal infections.
KEYWORDS:
Ailanthus altissima extracts; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; anti-fungal synergy; calcium; heat shock; visible light
PMID:
25587627