Prodigiosin

As an anticancer drug, prodigiosin shows its activity by inhibiting or activating certain signaling pathways that have not been clearly understood. Prodiginines (PGs) are a family of tripyrrole red pigments with numerous biological activities, including antifungal, antibacterial, antiprotozoal, antimalarial, immunosuppressive, and anticancer activities.

Prodigiosin has been effective in tumor cell inhibition and the induction of apoptosis. It is a secondary metabolite produced from Serratia species and other unrelated microbial strains such as Streptomyces griseoviridis, Pseudomonas magnesiorubera, Vibrio species, and various marine bacteria.

Some enzymes involved in the biosynthetic pathways of prodigiosin are now known, and several related genes have been identified and cloned. However, the biosynthetic pathway remains poorly understood. Prodigiosin production in organisms such as Serratia and Streptomyces is now well understood, including aspects of its physiology and regulation. However, its biological role in these organisms is still unclear.

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana is known for its high levels of natural durability and termiticidal activity due to the attractive content of its heartwood. In this study, we describe the isolation of a prodigiosin-producing bacterium, HDZK-BYSB107, collected from Port Orford Cedar (C. lawsoniana) in Oregon, USA.

The prodigiosin-producing strain was identified as Serratia marcescens subsp. lawsoniana. We extracted and purified a red pigment from this strain and identified it as prodigiosin using ultraviolet absorption analysis, mass spectrographic analysis, LC-MS, and NMR spectroscopy.

To explore its anticancer activities and mechanisms, we conducted studies using human choriocarcinoma (JEG3) and prostate cancer cell lines (PC3) in vitro, as well as JEG3 and PC3 tumor-bearing nude mice in vivo.

Findings

Our results suggested that bacterial prodigiosin had strong antibacterial, anticancer, and proapoptotic activities against cancer cells, raising the possibility of its use as a chemotherapeutic drug in the future. Together with its excellent anticancer activity, the mechanism was further verified in JEG3 and PC3 cells. We confirmed that the bacterial prodigiosin promotes cancer cell apoptosis.

Thus, we concluded that the HDZK-BYSB107 prodigiosin could be considered a non-toxic anticancer drug in the near future.

To read more please visit our publication: Biological Potential and Mechanism of Prodigiosin from Serratia marcescens Subsp. lawsoniana in Human Choriocarcinoma and Prostate Cancer Cell Lines