IIT Madras and IIT Mandi Engineer N Nimmoniana Plant Cells To Produce Camptothecin, an Anti-Cancer Drug

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IIT Madras and IIT Mandi have applied metabolic engineering techniques for the production of Camptothecin, which is generally found in plant cells of Nothapodytes Nimmoniana and is used for the treatment of cancer. Read full details here!

IIT Madras and IIT Mandi Engineer N Nimmoniana Plant Cells To Produce Camptothecin, an Anti-Cancer Drug

New Delhi: Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and IIT Mandi have applied metabolic engineering techniques to elevate the production of Camptothecin, found in the plant cells of Nothapodytes nimmoniana, a compound pivotal in cancer treatment. Their breakthrough promises to enable cost-effective large-scale production of Camptothecin and other essential medicinal alkaloids, potentially revolutionizing cancer drug manufacturing.

At the Plant Cell Technology Lab in IIT Madras, scientists constructed a comprehensive genome-scale metabolic model for N. nimmoniana using advanced computational tools. This development marks a significant stride in generating drugs for cancer treatment as Camptothecin, ranked third among sought-after alkaloids, is currently sourced from the endangered Nothapodytes nimmoniana in India.

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Camptothecin (CPT) is a crucial precursor for high-value anti-cancer drugs like Topotecan and Irinotecan, acting as a potent topoisomerase I inhibitor. Historically extracted from Camptotheca acuminata (indigenous to Eastern Asia) and Nothapodytes nimmoniana (native to India), these plants now face endangerment due to climate change and extensive deforestation driven by CPT extraction practices.

This pioneering research involved the metabolic engineering of plant cells through a genome-scale model led by Ms. Sarayu Murali, a Ph.D. student at IIT Madras, in collaboration with experts like Dr. Maziya Ibrahim and Professors Karthik Raman and Smita Srivastava from IIT Madras, alongside Dr. Shyam K. Masakapalli and Ms. Shagun Saini from IIT Mandi's Metabolic Systems Biology Lab.

Funded by the Science and Engineering Board (SERB) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the Government of India, this research has recently been published in the peer-reviewed Journal Frontiers of Plant Science. Principal Investigator Prof. Smita Srivastava of IIT Madras emphasized integrating metabolic engineering with bioprocess principles, foreseeing enhanced and sustainable Camptothecin production. This approach aims to meet the rising market demand while conserving natural resources efficiently.

Cancer remains a global health concern, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In India, projected figures from the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Cancer Registry Programme (ICMR-NCRP 2020) estimate a rise to 15.7 lakh cases by 2025. Given this alarming trend, the pressing demand for increased anti-cancer drug production has never been more critical.

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