ABSTRACT
Background: In the present study, we investigated the anti-angiogenic effects of the ethanol extract of Ficus carica leave on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Methods: HUVECs were used in this study. The cells were cultured in DMEM medium and then incubated with different concentrations of ethanolic extract of Ficus carica leave (0-25 μg\ml) in the presence or absence of the extract for 24 hours. Cell viability was analyzed using neutral red assay. Endothelial cell tube formation was measured with the Matrigel basement membrane matrix. The level of VEGF and Integrin β3 mRNA expression in the HUVECs was measured with reverse-transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-q real time PCR). Results: We observed that the extract dose dependently inhibited the tube formation of HUVECs. Furthermore, the extract significantly decreased mRNA expression levels of VEGF-A and Integrin β3 in HUVECs at 20 μg\ml concentration of the extract compared to untreated control cells (P<0.05). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that ethanolic extract of Ficus carica leave contains anti-angiogenic activities and could be a candidate as a potential agent for the prevention of angiogenesis related disorders.
ABSTRACT
Ferulago angulata Boiss. known in Iran as Chavir, has some bioactive compounds having antioxidant activity. Because of its antioxidant activities, it sounded Chavir extract can be a good candidate for finding chemopreventive agents having inductive apoptosis properties on cancer cells. In this study, the cytotoxic effects and proapoptotic activities of Chavir's leaf and flower extracts were investigated on human adenocarcinoma gastric cell line [AGS]. The ferric reducing antioxidant power [FRAP] assay was used to determine antioxidant activity of the extract. Cytotoxic effects of the extract were performed by trypan blue and neutral red assays. For apoptosis detection, we used Annexin V staining, flow cytometry and DNA fragmentation assays. The FRAP assay results showed that antioxidant activity of leaf extract was higher than flower extract. Cytotoxicity and apoptosis-inducing activity of flower and leaf extracts changed coordinately, indicating the cytotoxicity of chavir extracts is due probably to induce apoptosis. Our results revealed that the cytotoxic effects of F. angulate Boiss. extracts on AGS cell line is close to some other plant extracts such as Rhus verniciflua Stokes [RVS] and Scutellaria litwinowii. This is the first study on cytotoxic and apoptosis-inducing effects of chavir leaf and flower extracts against AGS cell line. The Further investigation can be identification of the agent[s] by which these effects is observed
ABSTRACT
To establish human retinal pigment epithelial [RPE] cell culture as a source for cell replacement therapy in ocular diseases Human cadaver globes were used to isolate RPE cells. Each globe was cut into several pieces of a few millimeters in size. After removing the sclera and choroid, remaining tissues were washed in phosphate buffer saline and RPE cells were isolated using dispase enzyme solution and cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium: Nutrient Mixture F-12 supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum. Primary cultures of RPE cells were established and spheroid colonies related to progenitor/stem cells developed in a number of cultures. The colonies included purely pigmented or mixed pigmented and non-pigmented cells. After multiple cellular passages, several types of photoreceptors and neural-like cells were detected morphologically. Cellular plasticity in RPE cell cultures revealed promising results in terms of generation of stem/progenitor cells from human RPE cells. Whether the spheroids and neural-like retinal cells were directly derived from retinal stem cells or offspring of trans-differentiating or de-differentiating RPE cells remains to be answered