/ world today news/ Scientists from the Institute of Agricultural Genomics in Shenzhen (part of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences) have made a breakthrough in the biosynthesis of the anticancer drug paclitaxel, paving the way for its sustainable bioproduction.
The study, led by Yang Jianbin, was published in the latest issue of the academic journal Science.
Paclitaxel is a natural antitumor product with an extremely complex and unique molecular structure and is widely used in the clinical treatment of various types of cancer, including breast, ovarian, lung and others. It is the best-selling plant-based anti-cancer drug in the world and one of the few plant-based drugs capable of controlling the growth of cancer cells, said project leader Yang Jianbin in an interview with Xinhua.
In nature, paclitaxel can only be extracted from rare and endangered gymnosperms of the genus Taxus. They grow very slowly, usually taking decades or even hundreds of years for one to become a large tree. In addition, the content levels of paclitaxel-like substances in Taxus plants are extremely low. All these factors create great difficulties for the further use of the medication, he explains.
“This discovery is a major breakthrough in our understanding of the biosynthesis of complex natural products and will enable a larger scale of our ability to produce other valuable natural products and thus develop new and important drugs,” says Jens Nielsen, Professor at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.
“The research team discovered an environmentally friendly and sustainable method of producing paclitaxel that does not require the consumption of natural resources of Taxus. The development of a green and environmentally friendly strategy for the biosynthesis of paclitaxel is of great importance for the treatment of cancer in China,” said Deng Zuxing of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
#Chinese #scientists #breakthrough #biosynthesis #anticancer #drug #paclitaxel
