The researchers have found a way to produce the drug using a novel microbial fermentation method that produces high yield without too much cost.
Topotecan and Irinotecan are two widely used anticancer drugs, which are produced by using camptothecin as the lead molecule. More than a dozen derivatives and conjugates of camptothecin are under various stages of clinical trials for anti-cancer applications.
Camptothecin is an alkaloid isolated from the Chinese tree Camptotheca acuminata and the Indian tree Nothapodytes nimmoniana. Nearly 1,000 tons of plant material is required to extract just one ton of Camptothecin. Due to extensive overharvesting to meet the market demand, both these plants are now critically endangered. The N. nimmoniana population has seen more than a 20% decline in the last decade alone.
The research was led by Smita Srivastava, associate professor, department of biotechnology, IIT Madras. This work was recently published in the international Journal of Scientific Reports (a Nature Research Publication).
Speaking about the applications for this research, Srivastava, the principal investigator of the study, said, “The novelty of the work lies in the fact that unlike other potential microbial strains reported, this strain has been found to show sustainable production even beyond 100 generations. The plan now is to use the isolated novel strain for the development of a microbial fermentation based sustainable bioprocess for large scale in vitro production of Camptothecin, preferably in collaboration with interested Industrial partner(s).”
Cancer has been a leading cause of death worldwide including in India. It is projected that by 2026, the new cancer cases in India annually would reach 0.93 million in male and 0.94 million in female patients, according to a study published in Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention.
Speaking about the applications of this research, Suresh Kumar Rayala, department of biotechnology, IIT Madras, said, “Preliminary investigations on breast cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer cell lines revealed that the microbial extract demonstrates a potent cytotoxic effect on lung cancer (H1299), ovarian cancer (SKOV3) and colorectal cancer (HT29; Caco-2) cell lines, comparable to the standard camptothecin.”
Khwajah Mohinudeen, an IIT Madras PhD research scholar who worked on this study, said, “Researchers from the Plant Cell Bioprocessing laboratory at IIT Madras have been able to successfully isolate the highest-yielding strain of Camptothecin reported to date with sustainable production up to reactor level. In addition to isolating a novel microbial source for bioprocess development for the large scale production of Camptothecin, we have also come up with a rapid screening technique for isolation of high Camptothecin yielding microbial strains from plants.”
Rahul Kanumuri, senior research fellow, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras; KN. Soujanya, researcher, School of Ecology and Conservation, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru and R. Uma Shaanker, Professor, School of Ecology and Conservation, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bengaluru took part in the research.