Our rent paper (Slaninová et.al., 2001) reported the effects of four quaternary benzophenanthridine alakloids (QBA) on human tumor (HeLa) cells an two yeast species (Saccaromyces serevisiace, Schizosaccharomyces japonicus). We had only limite amounts of QBA from the collection of lakaloids at Department of Biochemistry LF MU Brno. The aim of this project is to cultivate selected plant species from the tribe Chelidonieae (Papaveraceae) which contain minor QBA. The cultivation wil be perormed in Centre of Medicinal Plants Medical Faculty MU. The following task is to determine the best plant source of these minor QBA and to develop optimal cultivation method. Our next aim is to identify new compounds which display biological activities, expecially on cell proliferation, to compare their effects on human (normal and cancer) and yeast cells, to attempt to explain a mechanism of their activities. Tests assessing the cytotoxicity, antiproliferative activity and apoptosis will be used. The effects on the cell morphology, cytoskeleton and the dynamics of alkaloids in cells will be used. The effects on the cell morphology, cytoskeleton and the dynamics of alkaloids in cells will be studied using fluorescent microscopy (indirect immunofluorescence). The changes on the ultrastructural level will be followed using electron microschopy. On molecular level, in vitro interactions of some quaternary alkaloids with bases of nucleic acids, nucleotides and oligonucleotides will be studied by NMR spectroschopy and X-ray diffraction analysis.

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