Summary Therapeutic drugs that block DNA repair, including poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, fail due to lack of tumor-selectivity. When PARP inhibitors and β-lapachone are combined, synergistic antitumor activity results from sustained NAD(P)H levels that refuel NQO1-dependent futile redox drug recycling. Significant oxygen consumption rate/reactive oxygen species cause dramatic DNA lesion increases that are not repaired due to PARP inhibition. In NQO1+ cancers, such as non-small cell lung, pancreatic and breast, cell death mechanism switches from PARP1 hyperactivation-mediated programmed necrosis with β-lapachone monotherapy to synergistic tumor-selective, caspase-dependent apoptosis with PARP inhibitors and β-lapachone. Synergistic antitumor efficacy and prolonged survival were noted in human orthotopic pancreatic and non-small cell lung xenograft models, expanding use and efficacy of PARP inhibitors for human cancer therapy.

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The sucrose isomerase (SIase) gene from an efficient strain of Erwinia rhapontici NX-5 for isomaltulose hyperproduction was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. Protein sequence alignment revealed that SIase was a member of the glycoside hydrolase 13 family. The molecular mass of the purified recombinant protein was estimated at 66 kDa by SDS-PAGE. The SIase had an optimal pH and temperature of 5.0 and 30 °C, respectively, with a K (m) of 257 mmol/l and V (max) of 48.09 μmol/l/s for sucrose. To the best of our knowledge, the recombinant SIase has the most acidic optimum pH for isomaltulose synthesis. When the recombinant E. coli (pET22b- palI) cells were used for isomaltulose synthesis, almost complete conversion of sucrose (550 g/l solution) to isomaltulose was achieved in 1.5 h with high isomaltulose yields (87%). The immobilized E. coli cells remained stable for more than 30 days in a "batch"-type enzyme reactor. This indicated that the recombinant SIase could continuously and efficiently produce isomaltulose.