Promoting antihepatocellular carcinoma activity against human HepG2 cells via pyridine substituted palladium complexes: in vitro evaluation and QSAR studies.

Bis(4-(4-nitrobenzyl)pyridine)dichloropalladium(II), [PdCl2L12], bis(2-amino-5-bromopyridine)dichloropalladium(II), [PdCl2L22], bis(2,4-dimethylpyridine)dichloropalladium(II), [PdCl2L32], bis(3,4-dimethylpyridine)dichloropalladium(II), [PdCl2L42] were prepared. The spectroscopic techniques (FT-IR and 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR) were used to characterize the compounds. Theoretical calculations were used to validate the experimental results. The LanL2DZ-based DFT/B3LYP method was used to define the most stable possible molecular structure for the complexes. Potential energy distribution analysis was performed to determine the theoretical vibration bands of the complexes. Molecular electrostatic potential maps, boundary molecular orbitals and Mulliken charge distribution were used to determine the active sites of the molecules. The interaction mechanisms between the complexes and liver cancer protein were investigated via molecular docking. The study on the antiproliferative effects of these complexes on hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2) showed that they are potent candidates for use against this liver cancer cell line.

Vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium status of heifers grazing in Northern Cyprus.

Vitamin A, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P) and magnesium (Mg) are essential components for the health and reproductive yield of dairy cows. In this study, it is aimed to profile the calcium, phosphorus and magnesium elements together with vitamin A, which are important components in cattle bred and reared in Northern Cyprus. To analyse these parameters, 260 clinically healthy animals, at least 30 from each region, were blood sampled from eight different regions (Nicosia, Gecitkale, Vadili, Famagusta, Iskele, Ziyamet, Morphou and Kyrenia) during both summer and winter seasons. Vitamin A, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus concentrations were measured from blood samples. Vitamin A levels increased significantly only in Nicosia and Ziyamet regions during the winter season, while there was no seasonal difference from the other regions. Calcium and phosphorus levels were higher in summer when compared with winter. Magnesium levels were significantly higher in winter than in summer. In the comparison between regions in summer and winter, the change in P and Mg values was significant, whereas Ca only showed inter-regional differences during winter. In conclusion, all the parameters found were within the expected ranges but affected by seasonal changes. Therefore, we think that calcium and phosphorus supplementation in winter and vitamin A and magnesium supplementation in summer will provide positive results on cattle.

Piperlongumine inhibits cell growth and enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis in prostate cancer cells

Objective: To investigate whether piperlongumine can sensitize prostate cancer cells to tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and trigger apoptosis in prostate cells.Methods: Human prostate cancer cell lines PC3, LNCaP, and VCaP were cultured with piperlongumine and TRAIL. Then, cell proliferation, migration, caspase activation, apoptotic protein expressions, and death receptor expressions were measured. Results: Piperlongumine inhibited cell proliferation at low doses (<10 μM) alone and in combination with TRAIL (25 ng/mL), induced apoptosis, and suppressed cyclooxygenase activation. Additionally, piperlongumine induced expression of death receptors which potentiated TRAIL-induced apoptosis in cancer cells but did not affect decoy receptors. Piperlongumine also downregulated tumor cell-survival pathways, inhibited colony formation and migration of cancer cells alone or in combination with TRAIL. The combination of piperlongumine with TRAIL was found to be synergistic. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that piperlongumine can sensitize cancer cells to TRAIL through the upregulation of death receptors and can trigger apoptosis with the downregulation of anti-apoptotic proteins.

Comparative proteomic analysis of fibrosarcoma and skin fibroblast cell lines.

Comparative proteomic analysis of normal and cancer cell lines provides for a better understanding of the molecular mechanism of cancer development and is essential for developing more effective strategies for new biomarker or drug target discovery. The purpose of this study is to compare protein expression levels between fibrosarcoma and fibroblast cell lines. In our study, two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE) and liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) techniques were carried out to compare the protein profile between fibrosarcoma and fibroblast cell lines. We prepared cell lysate samples to analyze intracellular proteins and secretome samples to analyze extracellular proteins in both cell lines. Our results revealed 13 upregulated proteins and 1 downregulated protein of which all of them identified in fibrosarcoma cell line after the comparison with fibroblast cell line cell lysates. When comparing secretome profiles of both cell lines, we found and identified 13 proteins only expressed in fibrosarcoma cell line. These identified proteins have common functions such as cell proliferation, cell differentiation, invasion, metastasis, and apoptosis in cancer. The data obtained from this study indicates that these proteins have importance on understanding the molecular mechanism of fibrosarcoma. These proteins may serve as candidate biomarkers and drug targets for future clinical studies.

Capsaicin inhibits cell proliferation by cytochrome c release in gastric cancer cells.

Capsaicin (trans-8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) is the principal pungent component in hot peppers. The role of capsaicin in carcinogenesis is quite controversial. Although some investigators suspect that capsaicin is a carcinogen, co-carcinogen, or tumor promoter, others have reported that it has chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic effects. The present study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity and chemosensitizing activities of capsaicin alone and on 5-flourouracil (5-FU)-treated gastric cancer cells. In this study, the gastric cancer cell line HGC-27 was used and capsaicin used as a chemosensitizer and 5-flourouracil (5-FU) was used as chemotherapeutic. Cytotoxicity and chemosensitizing activities were analyzed with MTT assay; supernatant levels of LDH and glucose were detected as biochemical markers of cell viability; cytochrome c and AIF were evaluated with western blot; and additionally, wound-healing assays were employed. Results suggested that capsaicin had significant anticancer abilities; such capsaicin were capable of causing multifold decreases in the half maximal inhibitory concentration IC50 value of 5-FU. The continuing controversy surrounding consumption or topical application of capsaicin clearly suggests that more well-controlled epidemiologic studies are needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of capsaicin use. In summary, the present study demonstrated that capsaicin has the potential to be used for treating gastric carcinoma with 5-FU in vitro.