Day 2 :
Keynote Forum
Ganapathy Sivakumar
University of Houston, USA
Keynote: Biomanufacturing of biorhizome-based colchicine
Biography:
Ganapathy Sivakumar has extensively studied the plant-based small molecules pathway biochemistry, synthetic biotechnology and metabolic & bioprocess engineering. His research is primarily focused on biomanufacturing and biotech implications of biopharmaceuticals. He is internationally recognized in the field of
Biopharmaceuticals and a pioneer in biomanufacturing of biorhizome-based colchicine. He has over 45 publications. He is also on the Editorial Board of several journals. He serves as an expert of grant proposals as well as numerous scientific journals. His laboratory focuses on metabolic and bioprocess engineering of
colchicine pathway and developing potential anticancer medicine
Abstract:
Many human medicines are biomanufactured by recombinant DNA technology. Colchicine is one of the potential plantbased alkaloid medicines used to treat gout, which is commercially extracted from Gloriosa superba. My laboratory is establishing the biorhizome-based colchicine biomanufacturing technology to produce the drugs. G. superba-based biorhizomes are unique and efficient colchicine biosynthetic mechanisms, which is an advanced biotechnological platform compared to root and cell cultures. Colchicine from biorhizomes could lower upstream biomanufacturing costs, speed production and reduce pesticide contamination. Metabolic engineering of colchicine biosynthetic pathway in biorhizome requires detailed pathway elucidation. The biorhizome-based colchicine biomanufacturing and colchicine pathway elucidation will be presented.
- Polymer Chemistry | Quantum Chemistry | Innovative Therapies for Serious Diseases | Chromatographic Techniques | Cancer Biotherapeutics | Advancements in Biotherapeutics
Location: Dallas
Session Introduction
Annette Frenk Oquendo
University of Houston, USA
Title: Transcriptome analysis of colchicine producing plant species: Gloriosa superba and Colchicum autumnale
Biography:
Abstract:
Colchicine is a FDA-approved plant-based alkaloid that is commonly used to treat gout. It has also been proven to bebeneficial in cardiovascular diseases and its antimitotic properties make it a promising cancer treatment. Traditionally, the natural isomer of colchicine is extracted from Gloriosa superba, which was initially isolated from Colchicum autumnale. The biosynthetic pathway of colchicine is not yet characterized, and the pathway genes and mechanisms must be elucidated to improve colchicine production. G. superba and C. autumnale transcriptomes were analyzed and compared against NCBI and Swissprot protein databases to identify the biosynthetic pathway genes. Th e annotation data of these transcriptomes revealed that there were 60927 assembled multi-tissue transcripts of C. autumnale, which represented 21945 unigenes. Additionally, G.superba has 32312 assembled multi-tissue transcripts which represented 15088 unigenes in known plant-specifi c Gene Ontology (GO). Gene annotation and pathway mapping data will be presented.
Santhana Krishnan
University of Houston, USA
Title: Computational fluid mechanics in biomanufacturing
Biography:
Abstract:
Gloriosa superba is a commercial source of the pharmaceutical colchicine. Colchicine is one of the primary sources of
treatment for gout. Th e balloon type bubble reactor (BTBR) has been successfully used to biomanufacture bioactive small
molecules. Colchicine production can be improved by understanding the fl uid mechanics inside this reactor, which primarily
depends on several parameters such as reactor working volumes, diameter of the sparger, fl ow rate, viscosity, surface tension,
density of the fl uids, and nutrient volume fractions. Our initial bioimaging study suggests that in 4L BTBR at low air injection
rate the fl ow ascends up a fairly straight vertical path, concentrating mostly toward the center of the reactor. However, at
higher injection rates, a more chaotic fl ow forms. Th e post processed images reveal that the fl ow patterns inside the reactor
vary, as positive and negative vorticity zones. We will present the clockwise/counter-clockwise directions of the dimensionless
mapping of fl uid dynamics data. Th is analysis will not only address the geometric patterns of mixing, but will also apply to the
nature of liquids, solutions, and injection gases with various combinations of density, viscosity, and surface tension that will
eventually improve the colchicine biomanufacturing design process.
John Samuel Bass
University of Houston, USA
Title: Identification of genes related to the development of Gloriosa superba rhizome
Biography:
Abstract:
The pharmaceutical demand for plant-based colchicine is increasing because it is an eff ective FDA-approved gout medicine that also has potential for cancer therapeutics due to its ability to bind to microtubules and halt cell division. Understanding the biorhizome developmental genes are necessary to improve the biomanufacturing of colchicine. RNA-Seq was used to identify the rhizome developmental genes from Gloriosa superba and Colchicum autumnale. Th e transcriptome of both species were compared against NCBI and Swissprot protein databases. Python scripts were utilized to parse the transcriptome.
Bioinformatics analysis revealed 60927 assembled multiple-tissue transcripts of C. autumnale represented 21948 unigenes and G. superba has 32312, which represented 15089 unigenes in known plant specifi c gene ontology (GO). Further GO analysis was used to identify known rhizome-specifi c and developmental genes in G. superba. Th is study could provide a foundation to
enhance the biorhizome-based colchicine biomanufacturing in G. superba.
Banda J M
Kaduna State University, Nigeria
Title: Maternal serum cytokines and pregnancy specific beta-1 glycoprotein in normal pregnancies and those complicated by eclampsia in Kaduna state
Biography:
Banda J M has his expertise in Medical Laboratory Science with PhD in Immunology. He believes that quality laboratory results is achievable and can be a veritable tool in improving health and wellbeing of Nigerians. He leads a team (quality team) of Medical Laboratory Scientists and together they have been able to achieve an in-country CDC/Afro Accreditation through the Strengthening of Laboratory Management toward Accreditation (SLMTA) curriculum and WHO Stepwise Laboratory Improvement Process towards Accreditation (SLIPTA) checklist. He has achieved this after years of experience in research, teaching and administration both in hospital and education institutions. He has developed special interest in Maternal Health and believes that through research the high maternal morbidity and mortality rate in Nigeria could be reduced to the barest minimum, especially in the Northern part of Nigeria where there is high level of poverty and poor healthseeking behavior.
Abstract:
Statement of Problem: Eclampsia (EC) is the life-threatening occurrence of convulsion(s) in association with hypertension and proteinuria in human pregnancy. It has remained a signifi cant public health threat, contributing to signifi cant maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria, though the mechanism of the disease is not fully understood and there is no cure, it is widely held that an immunological mechanism is involved. Disturbance of the cytokines equilibrium has been accused for many pathological disorders including EC.
Subject & Method: Enzyme linked immunoassay (ELSA) was used to measure levels of pro-infl ammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL -2), anti-infl ammatory cytokines (IL-4, IL-10) and PSG-1 in the peripheral blood of patients with eclampsia (EC; n=38), normal healthy pregnant women (PC; n=25) and compared with healthy non pregnant controls (NPC; n=25).
Findings: Th e overall result of TNF-α (2.34 ±0.13 pg/ml) in EC was signifi cantly higher than the mean values (2.25±0.07 pg/ ml and 2.24±0.10 pg/ml) in PC and NPC respectively. Furthermore, EC had higher TNF-α mean value compared with NPC (P<0.05). Th ere was no statistical diff erence in mean IL-2 value between EC (1.69±0.17 pg/ml), PC (1.71±0.0.09 pg/ml) and NPC (1.72±0.13 pg/ml) (P>0.05). Th e mean value of IL-10 was lower in EC (1.28±0.54 pg/ml) compared with PC (1.58±0.61 pg/ml) and NPC (2.06±0.08 pg/ml). No signifi cant diff erence in IL-4 mean value exist between EC (2.45±0.10 pg/ml) and NPC (2.45 pg/ml) (P>0.05) but signifi cant diff erence exist between EC and NPC (2.40±0.06 pg/ml) (P<0.05). Th e serum PSG-1 levels in EC (2.53±0.11 pg/ml) and PC (2.56±0.03 pg/ml) were similar and signifi cantly higher than in NPC (0.06±0.020 pg/ml) P<0.05.
Conclusion: While a pro-infl ammatory cytokine environment was demonstrated in EC, and decreased anti-infl ammatory reactivity, EC was not as associated with low levels of PSG-1. Further research is advocated to discover how anti-infl ammatory cytokines could be exploited as a therapeutic agent for women at high risk of eclampsia.