Construction of New Biological Screening System Using Insects and Search for Biologically Active Substances from Natural Sources

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(1) The immune response in Drosophila and other insects has recently received much interest as a model for innate immune reactions in general because it could lead to the understanding of the immune system of mammalians and the discovery of novel drugs. Thus, we constructed the novel screening system using transgenic Drosophila which is useful to search the compounds affecting the innate immunity.(2) We investigated the constituents of cellular slime molds to clarify the diversity of their secondary metabolites and to explore biologically active substances that could be useful for development of novel drugs. From their multicellular fruit bodies, we isolated novel α-pyronoids, aromatics, and amino sugar analogues showing a variety of biological activities.