Assessment of the Anti-proliferative Effect and Preliminary Analysis of Cell Cycle Arrest and Pro-apoptotic Effects of Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Delile on Colorectal Cancer Cells HCT-116 and HT-29

Balanitesaegyptiaca(L.) Delile (Zygophyllaceae), is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of intestinal worms, wounds, and inflammatory diseases. The purpose of this study is to assess the anti-proliferative effect and to analyse the pro-apoptotic and cell cycle arrest activities of B. aegyptiacaroot bark extract and fractions against colorectal cancer cells HCT-116 and HT-29. The cytotoxicity of the crude extract and fractions were evaluated by MTS assay. The most active fractionwas subjected to crystal violet assay, Hoechst staining, cell cycle arrest, and annexin V/PI assays on cancer cells to highlight its mechanismsof action. The ethyl acetate fraction demonstrated the most cytotoxic effect on HCT-116 and HT-29 with IC50values ranging between 3 and 4 μg/mL. At 10 μg/mL in the cell cycle arrest assay, the fraction increased G1 phase by 3.83% on HCT-116 and by 8.6% on HT-29 whilst G2/M phase was decreased by 5.63% on HCT-116 and by 6.62% on HT-29. Moreover, apoptotic cells were increased by 11.4% on HCT-116. The results suggest a potential source of anticancer molecules against colorectal cancer for isolation from the ethyl acetate fraction

Construction of the recombined adenovirus containing HBV X gene and expression in HepG2 cells / 生物医学工程学杂志

The HBV X gene was amplified by PCR according to the pecob6 containing the whole fragment of adw subtype of HBV, then the fragment was inserted into the multiple clone site of pAdTrack-CMV. The linearized shuttle plasmid was homogenously recombined with AdEasy-1 in BJ5183 and the recombinant adenoviral plasmid pAd-X was generated. Then plasmid pAd-X was digested with Pac I and transfected into 293 cells for packaging and amplifying. Infection titer and rate were monitored by green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression. With restriction endonuclease analysis and PCR methods, it has been confirmed that HBV X gene was cloned into the adenovirus vector successfully. The expression of X protein in HepG2 cells was detected by Western-blot. The recombined adenovirus Ad-X was constructed successfully, which would contribute to the advanced functional study of HBV X protein.