Induction of oxidative stress, apoptosis and DNA damage by koumine in Tetrahymena thermophila.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30753239.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0212231 and PMC identifier 6372211.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Koumine is a component of the Chinese medicinal herb Gelsemium elegans and is toxic to vertebrates. We used the ciliate Tetrahymena thermophila as a model to evaluate the toxic effects of this indole alkaloid in eukaryotic microorganisms. Koumine inhibited T. thermophila growth and viability in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, this drug produced oxidative stress in T. thermophila cells and expressions of antioxidant enzymes were significantly elevated at high koumine levels (p < 0.05). Koumine also caused significant levels of apoptosis (p < 0.05) and induced DNA damage in a dose-dependent manner. Mitophagic vacuoles were present in cells indicating induction of autophagy by this drug. Expression of ATG7, MTT2/4, CYP1 and HSP70 as well as the MAP kinase pathway gene MPK1 and MPK3 were significantly altered after exposed to koumine. This study represents a preliminary toxicological evaluation of koumine in the single celled eukaryote T. thermophila.
Medical subject headings
- Apoptosis
- DNA Damage
- Indole Alkaloids
- Oxidative Stress
- Tetrahymena thermophila