Anti-Cancer Effect of Gingerol in Cancer Prevention and Treatment.

Cancer is one of the most lethal diseases in the world. Because of the high death rate associated with cancer and the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, patients require alternative strategies for its treatment. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) has enormous medicinal properties and health benefits. In this review, we discuss the basic mechanism by which gingerol (an active component of ginger) modulates a variety of cell signaling pathways linked to cancer, including Nuclear Factors (NF-κB), Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3), Activator Protein-1 (AP-1), ß-catenin, Growth Factors Receptors (EGFR, VEGFR); Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPK) and pro-inflammatory mediators (TNF-α and COX-2). Both in vitro and in vivo studies support the role of gingerol in cancer. The efficacy of gingerol by clinical trials has also been reported. Importantly, natural agents are already in clinical trials against various kinds of cancer. An effort has been made through this comprehensive review to highlight the recent developments and milestones achieved in cancer therapies via studies based on different cell lines using gingerol.

In Vitro Cytotoxicity and Interaction of Noscapine with Human Serum Albumin: Effect on Structure and Esterase Activity of HSA.

Noscapine is effective to inhibit cellular proliferation and induced apoptosis in nonsmall cell, lung, breast, lymphoma, and prostate cancer. It also shows good efficiency to skin cancer cells. In the current work, we studied the mechanism of interaction between the anticancer drug noscapine (NOS) and carrier protein human serum albumin (HSA) by using a variety of spectroscopic techniques (fluorescence spectroscopy, time-resolved fluorescence, UV-visible, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy), electrochemistry (cyclic voltammetry), and computational methods (molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation). The steady-state fluorescence results showed that fluorescence intensity of HSA decreased in the presence of NOS via a static quenching mechanism, which involves ground state complex formation between NOS and HSA. UV-visible and FRET results also supported the fluorescence result. The corresponding thermodynamic result shows that binding of NOS with HSA is exothermic in nature, involving electrostatic interactions as major binding forces. The binding results were further confirmed through a cyclic voltammetry approach. The FRET result signifies the energy transfer from Trp214 of HSA to the NOS. Molecular site marker, molecular docking, and MD simulation results indicated that the principal binding site of HSA for NOS is site I. Synchronous fluorescence spectra, FTIR, 3D fluorescence, CD spectra, and MD simulation results reveal that NOS induced the structural change in HSA. In addition, the MTT assay study on a human skin cancer cell line (A-431) was also performed for NOS, which shows that NOS induced 80% cell death of the population at a 320 µM concentration. Moreover, the esterase-like activity of HSA with NOS was also done to determine the variation in protein functionality after binding with NOS.

Na-Montmorillonite-Dispersed Sustainable Polymer Nanocomposite Hydrogel Films for Anticancer Drug Delivery.

Nanocomposite hydrogels have found a wide scope in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, and smart drug delivery applications. The present study reports the formulations of biocompatible nanocomposite hydrogel films using carboxymethyl cellulose-hydroxyethyl cellulose-acrylonitrile-linseed oil polyol (CHAP) plain hydrogel and Na-montmorillonite (NaMMT) dispersed CHAP nanocomposite hydrogel films (NaCHAP) using solution blending technique. The structural, morphological, and mechanical properties of resultant nanocomposite hydrogel films were further investigated to analyze the effects of polyol and NaMMT on the characteristic properties. The synergistic effect of polyol and nanofillers on the mechanical strength and sustained drug-release behavior of the resultant hydrogel films was studied, which revealed that the increased cross-link density of hydrogels enhanced the elastic modulus (up to 99%) and improved the drug retention time (up to 72 h at both pHs 7.4 and 4.0). The release rate of cisplatin in nanocomposite hydrogel films was found to be higher in CHAP-1 (83 and 69%) and CHAP-3 (79 and 64%) than NaCHAP-3 (77 and 57%) and NaCHAP-4 (73 and 54%) at both pHs 4.0 and 7.4, respectively. These data confirmed that the release rate of cisplatin in nanocomposite hydrogel films was pH-responsive and increased with decrease of pH. All nanocomposite hydrogel films have exhibited excellent pH sensitivity under buffer solution of various pHs (1.0, 4.0, 7.4, and 9.0). The in vitro biocompatibility and cytotoxicity tests of these films were also conducted using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay of human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) and human breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines up to 48 h, which shows their biocompatible nature. However, cisplatin-loaded nanocomposite hydrogel films effectively inhibited the growth of human breast MCF-7 cancer cells. These studies suggested that the proposed nanocomposite hydrogel films have shown promising application in therapeutics, especially for anticancer-targeted drug delivery.

Physicochemical Characterization of Curcumin Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles: Implications in Cervical Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Curcumin is a potent anticancer agent and has great potential efficacy against different types of cancers. A major disadvantage of curcumin, however, is its poor solubility and bioavailability. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present work is to synthesize chitosan and curcumin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles and their characterization through various physicochemical methods and cellular uptake in cervical cancer cell line SiHa. METHOD: Chitosan nanoparticles were synthesized through the method of ionic gelation of chitosan with sodium Tripolyphosphate (TPP). In addition, the internal structure of chitosan nanoparticles and curcumin loaded chitosan nanoparticles were characterized by DLS, UV-Visible spectrophotometer, DSC, LCMS and LDH assay. RESULTS: The studies presented demonstrate that curcumin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles showed increased uptake in the SiHa cells as compared to free curcumin and chitosan nanoparticles did not show any significant uptake in SiHa cell line. The curcumin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles released more lactate and lower ATP as compared to native curcumin in cervical cancer lines such as SiHa, CaSki and HeLa. CONCLUSION: Thus, chitosan based curcumin nanoparticles could be used as a potent vector / delivery agent for drug targeting in the treatment of cervical cancer.

Biocompatible and mechanically robust nanocomposite hydrogels for potential applications in tissue engineering.

The synergistic contributions of nanofillers and polymer matrix induce remarkable properties in nanocomposite hydrogels. Present article reports the facile synthesis of biocompatible nanocomposite hydrogels using microporous multi wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) dispersed chitosan (CH)-Acrylonitrile (AN), N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAAm) and linseed polyol through solution blending method. Polyol and N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAAm) was used as the crosslinking agent. The structural characterization and formation of highly crosslinked network with dendrimer morphology was confirmed by FT-IR and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. In addition, transmission electron microscope (TEM) was employed to visualize the size and proper dispersion of MWCNT in the polymer matrices. The strong mechanical strength exhibited by these hydrogel films was confirmed by the tensile strength analysis. The dispersion of the conductive nanofillers, like MWCNTs has significantly enhanced the strength, which revealed unique characteristics of these hydrogel films. The high swelling capacity and sustained expansion of hydrogel films were confirmed in the buffer solutions of pH4 and 7.4. The biodegradability of these films was estimated by hydrolytic and soil burial tests. The biocompatibility test was conducted on Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK-293) cell line, which confirmed the non-toxic and biocompatible nature of these films. Incorporation of carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in the polymer matrix enhanced the film forming properties, high modulus and tensile strength, swelling ability, biodegradable and biocompatibility. These properties can be finely tuned through the variation of MWCNT concentrations, as a result these nanostructure hydrogel films have potential scope for their diverse applications in the field of tissue engineering.

Peroxynitrite-modified histone as a pathophysiological biomarker in autoimmune diseases.

Under physiological conditions, reactive nitrogen and oxygen species are produced continuously. However, excess of these radicals may damage biomolecules like lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. These reactive species have been implicated in many disease conditions including acute/chronic inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), neurodegenerative diseases and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Peroxynitrite, an oxidant and nitrating molecule, formed in in vivo, when nitric oxide reacts with superoxide radical. The abnormal levels of nitrotyrosine detected in tissues affected by autoimmune diseases have been attributed to peroxynitrite-mediated enhanced nitration of tyrosine residues in proteins. The chromosomal histone proteins are conserved and weak immunogens. However, they exhibit strong immunogenicity after nitration. Rabbits challenged with peroxynitrite-modified histone induce high titre antibodies, indicating that peroxynitrite modification generated immunogenic epitopes. The preferential binding of peroxynitrite-modified histones by autoantibodies derived from SLE and RA sera shows oxidatively and nitrated modified histones involve in the initiation and progression of autoimmune diseases. This review article presents the literature review of the physicochemical and immunological studies on histone proteins modified with peroxynitrite with an objective of the possible role of oxidatively nitrated histones in the initiation/progression of autoimmune inflammatory diseases.

Characterization and carboplatin loaded chitosan nanoparticles for the chemotherapy against breast cancer in vitro studies.

Aim of the studies to synthesized chitosan nanoparticles by an ionic interaction procedure. The nanoparticles were characterized by physicochemical methods like, DLS, TEM, Surface potential measurements, FT-IR and DSC. The average particle size of chitosan and carboplatin nanoparticles was found to be 277.25±11.37nm and 289.30±8.15nm and zeta potential was found to be 31±3.14mV and 33±2.15mV respectively with low polydispersity index. The maximum entrapment of carboplatin in nanoparticles was a spherical shape with a positive charge. The maximum encapsulation and loading efficiencies of carboplatin (5mg/ml) were obtained to be 58.43% and 13.27% respectively. The nanocarboplatin was better blood compatibility as compared to chitosan nanoparticles. Finally, the cytotoxic effects of the carboplatin loaded chitosan nanoparticles were tested in-vitro against breast cancer (MCF-7) cell lines. Our studies showed that the chitosan nanoparticles could be used as a promising candidate for drug delivery for the therapeutic treatment of breast cancer.

Profiling of Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines in Radiation Induced Oral Mucositis (RIOM) among Indian patients

Radiation-induced oral mucositis (RIOM) is aimed at evaluating the expression of NF-κß, IL-1α, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α in patients with RIOM so as to validate their role in the pathobiology of the disease. Blood samples were collected and serum of 45 patients isolated with clinical signs and symptoms of mucositis and 10 healthy controls were also included in the study. The expression level of NF-κß, IL-1α, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α was investigated using ELISA. Mann Whitney U test was applied to find the significance of the expression of these markers in RIOM patients as compared to normal healthy controls and significant expression (P< 0.05) for NF-κß, IL-6, TNF-α and non-significant expression (P > 0.05) IL-1α and IL-8 was found. No significant change in the expression level of the cytokines was observed for patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy as well as those receiving only the radiation therapy as a part of their treatment. We have also found less expression in grade 1 of mucositis as compared to grade 4. Pro- inflammatory cytokines indeed play a vital role in the pathogenesis as well as progression of RIOM (AU)

Characterization and anti-proliferative activity of curcumin loaded chitosan nanoparticles in cervical cancer.

In the present study the chitosan nanoparticles (CsNPs) and curcumin loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CLCsNPs) were synthesized by tripolyphosphate (TPP) cross-linking method. The nanoparticles were prepared within a zone of appropriate chitosan and TPP concentrations. The average size of CsNPs and CLCsNPs were approximately 189±11.8nm and 197±16.8nm, exhibited a zeta potential of +76±5.6mV and +71±6.4mV respectively and drug entrapment efficiency was ≈85%. The CLCsNPs and CsNPs were further characterized by different physicochemical methods like transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), HPLC, MALDI-TOF, FT-IR, XRD and UV-vis Spectroscopy. In vitro studies revealed a fast release of ≈35% at pH 5 and ≈25% at pH 7.4 of the drug during the first 3h, followed by controlled release of curcumin over a period of 120h and sustained anti-proliferative activity of the drug in a dose and time dependent manner of CLCsNPs and combination with methyl jasmonate. The higher cytotoxicity effect of CLCsNPs may be due to their higher cellular uptake as compared to curcumin. Chitosan nanoparticles were not only stable but also a nontoxic. Our data suggested that curcumin loaded nanoformulations, therefore, might be promising candidates in cancer therapy.

Monocyclic ß-lactam and unexpected oxazinone formation: synthesis, crystal structure, docking studies and antibacterial evaluation.

Novel monocyclic ß-lactam derivatives bearing aryl, phenyl and heterocyclic rings were synthesized as possible antibacterial agents. Cyclization of imines (3h, 3t) with phenylacetic acid in the presence of phosphoryl chloride and triethyl amine did not afford the expected ß-lactams. Instead, highly substituted 1,3-oxazin-4-ones (4h, 4t) were isolated as the only product and confirmed by single crystal X-ray analysis of 4t. The results of antibacterial activity showed that compound 4l exhibited considerable antibacterial activity with MIC and MBC values of 62.5 µg/mL against Klebsiella pneumoniae. Cytotoxicity assay on Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell line revealed non-cytotoxic behavior of compounds 4d, 4h, 4k and 4l up to 200 µg/mL conc. Molecular docking was performed for compound 4l with penicillin binding protein-5 to identify the nature of interactions. The results of both in silico and in vitro evaluation provide the basis for compound 4l to be carried as a potential lead molecule in the drug discovery pipeline against bacterial infections.

Relief of Oxidative Stress Using Curcumin and Glutathione Functionalized ZnO Nanoparticles in HEK-293 Cell Line.

To elucidate the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) with different surface modifications in relieving the oxidative stress in cultured human embryonic kidney cells (HEK-293) following investigation was performed. Oxidative stress was artificially induced by hydrogen peroxide in HEK-293 cell culture and its management was studied. Alkyl amines modified ZnO-NPs with curcumin and reduced glutathione (GSH) functionalization was used in managing oxidative stress and had shown promising results. ZnO-NPs used in this study were synthesized via non-aqueous sol-gel method and FESEM characterisation showed them of spherical shape of about 20-50 nm size with amine, curcumin and GSH functionalization. UV-visible and FTIR spectroscopic characterizations confirmed functionalization of ZnO-NPs. Decrease in oxidative stress was found with the dose-dependent culture of HEK-293 cells with these functionalized ZnO-NPs. Cell viability and morphology, as observed using AFM and inverted microscope, was retained with the prescribed dosages of the functionalized nanoparticles while at higher dosages they caused cytotoxicity and death. Diethylamine (DEA) modified ZnO-NPs and their functionalization with GSH and curcumin were found more effective in managing oxidative stress in cells. Present study could help in designing economical and bio-compatible functionalized non-toxic nanoparticles designed for managing oxidative stress leading to possible therapeutical and medicinal uses.

Ethyl acetate Salix alba leaves extract-loaded chitosan-based hydrogel film for wound dressing applications.

High toxicity and multidrug resistance associated with various standard antimicrobial drugs have necessitated search for safer alternatives in plant-derived materials. In this study, we performed biological examination of chitosan-based hydrogel film loaded with ethyl acetate Salix alba leaves extract against 11 standard laboratory strains. FTIR showed regeneration of saccharide peak in CP1A at 1047 cm(-1) and increased in height of other peaks. DSC exothermic decomposition peaks at 112 °C, 175 °C and 251 °C reveal the effect of extract on hydrogel film. From FESEM images, three-dimensional cross-linking and extract easily seen in the globular form from the surface. MTT assay on HEK 293 cells showed that CP1A was non-toxic. Minimum inhibitory concentration ranges from 4000 µg/ml to 125 µg/ml. Enterococcus faecium, Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis were the most resistant, while Salmonella typhi and Candida guilliermondii were the most susceptible micro-organisms.

Redox cycling of endogenous copper by ferulic acid leads to cellular DNA breakage and consequent cell death: A putative cancer chemotherapy mechanism.

Ferulic acid (FA) is a plant polyphenol showing diverse therapeutic effects against cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. FA is a known antioxidant at lower concentrations, however at higher concentrations or in the presence of metal ions such as copper, it may act as a pro-oxidant. It has been reported that copper levels are significantly raised in different malignancies. Cancer cells are under increased oxidative stress as compared to normal cells. Certain therapeutic substances like polyphenols can further increase this oxidative stress and kill cancer cells without affecting the proliferation of normal cells. Through various in vitro experiments we have shown that the pro-oxidant properties of FA are enhanced in the presence of copper. Comet assay demonstrated the ability of FA to cause oxidative DNA breakage in human peripheral lymphocytes which was ameliorated by specific copper-chelating agent such as neocuproine and scavengers of ROS. This suggested the mobilization of endogenous copper in ROS generation and consequent DNA damage. These results were further validated through cytotoxicity experiments involving different cell lines. Thus, we conclude that such a pro-oxidant mechanism involving endogenous copper better explains the anticancer activities of FA. This would be an alternate non-enzymatic, and copper-mediated pathway for the cytotoxic activities of FA where it can selectively target cancer cells with elevated levels of copper and ROS.

Rice bran phytic acid induced apoptosis through regulation of Bcl-2/Bax and p53 genes in HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Phytic acid (PA) has been reported to have positive nutritional benefits and prevent cancer formation. This study investigated the anticancer activity of rice bran PA against hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells. Cytotoxicty of PA (0.5 to 4mM) was examined by MTT and LDH assays after 24 and 48 h treatment. Apoptotic activity was evaluated by expression analysis of apoptosis-regulatory genes [i.e. p53, Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase-3 and -9] by reverse transcriptase-PCR and DNA fragmentation assay. The results showed antioxidant activity of PA in Fe3+ reducing power assay (p ≤ 0.03). PA inhibited the growth of HepG2 cells in a concentration dependent manner (p ≤ 0.04). After 48h treatment, cell viability was recorded 84.7, 74.4, 65.6, 49.6, 36.0 and 23.8% in MTT assay and 92.6, 77.0%, 66.8%, 51.2, 40.3 and 32.3% in LDH assay at concentrations of 1, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5mM, respectively. Hence, treatment of PA for 24h, recorded viability of cells 93.5, 88.6, 55.5, 34.6 and 24.4% in MTT assay and 94.2, 86.1%, 59.7%, 42.3 and 31.6%, in LDH assay at concentrations of 1, 2.2, 3.0, 3.6 and 4.0mM, respectively. PA treated HepG2 cells showed up-regulation of p53, Bax, Caspase-3 and -9, and down- regulation of Bcl-2 gene (p ≤ 0.01). At the IC50 (2.49 mM) of PA, the p53, Bax, Caspase-3 and-9 genes were up- regulated by 6.03, 7.37, 19.7 and 14.5 fold respectively. Also, the fragmented genomic DNA in PA treated cells provided evidence of apoptosis. Our study confirmed the biological activity of PA and demonstrated growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in HepG2 cells with modulation of the expression of apoptosis-regulatory genes.

Composition of Cassia fistula oil and its antifungal activity by disrupting ergosterol biosynthesis.

Cassia fistula oil was investigated for antifungal activities against standard and clinical isolates of Candida species. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis of C. fistula oil revealed the presence of antimicrobial compounds like beta-sitosterol, stigmasterol, ergosterol, betulinic acid, lupeol, fucosterol, alpha-amyrin and friedelin. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the pulp and seed oils ranged between 250-300 and 350-500 microg/mL respectively. Both oils also inhibited by > or = 63.8% ergosterol bio-synthesis in Candida cell wall {fluconazole (standard) > or = 89.1%)}. The MICs were significantly correlated with the ergosterol content decrease in the cell wall (Student's t test p < or = 0.005). We can, therefore, conclude that active compounds are present in Cassia fistula oil that primarily target ergosterol biosynthesis in Candida cell wall.

Biocompatible nanostructured magnesium oxide-chitosan platform for genosensing application.

A novel organic-inorganic platform comprising of chitosan (CH) modified nanostructured magnesium oxide (nanoMgO) has been electrophoretically deposited on the indium-tin-oxide (ITO) substrate. The single stranded probe DNA (ssDNA) sequence of Vibrio cholerae has been covalently functionalized onto CH-nanoMgO/ITO surface. The cytotoxicity assay of nanoMgO particles, examined using human intestinal cell line (INT 407), reveals no significant cytotoxicity at the given doses in the range of 50-350 µg/mL. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and various microscopic techniques have been employed for the structural and morphological analysis of the fabricated electrodes. The electrochemical response studies of ssDNA and fragmented genomic DNA hybridized electrode (dsGDNA/CH-nanoMgO/ITO) have been carried out using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) techniques. The dsGDNA/CH-nanoMgO/ITO bioelectrode exhibits a linear response in the range 100-500 ng/µL with improved sensitivity of 36.72 nA/ng/cm(2), faster response time of 3s and high stability of 3-4 months under refrigerated condition. The lower detection limit of fabricated genosensor has been estimated as 35.20 ng/µL and it shows good reproducibility/repeatability.

Comparative Analysis of the Antioxidant Activity of Cassia fistula Extracts.

Antioxidant potential of various extracts of Cassia fistula was determined by the DPPH, FRAP, Fe(3+) reducing power, and hydrogen peroxide scavenging assay. Methanolic extracts of Cassia fistula showed the highest amount of phenolic and flavonoid content and reducing capacity, whereas hexane extracts exhibited the lowest level of reducing capacity. The order of antioxidant activity in Cassia fistula extracts displayed from higher to lower level as methanolic extracts of pulp, methanolic extracts of seed, hexane extracts of pulp, and hexane extracts of seed. The antioxidant potential of Cassia fistula extracts significantly correlated (P < 0.02) with the phenolic content of the methanolic extracts. Ascorbic acid taken as control showed highest antioxidant power in the present study.