Levan promotes antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects in MCF-7 breast cancer cells mediated by oxidative stress.

Exopolysaccharides are high-valued bio-products produced by various microbial species and have been described to possess biological response modifying activities. These bio-products have been effective as therapeutic agents in various human disease conditions. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of levan (a (2→6)-ß-d-fructan) produced on sucrose by the halophilic bacterium, Halomonas smyrnensis AAD6T, in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells. MCF-7 cells were exposed to levan for 24 and 48h. The antiproliferative activity was analyzed by the MTT assay. Oxidative stress was measured by the CM-H2DCFDA assay, and cell apoptosis was analyzed by the caspase-3/7 assay. Cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry and gene expression was determined by RT-PCR. Levan showed a time- and concentration-dependent antiproliferative activity, and this effect was associated with an increase in cell apoptosis and oxidative stress. In addition, levan increased the gene expression of p53 and p27. Here we demonstrated that levan exhibited an antiproliferative effect that was mediated by an increase in apoptosis and oxidative stress.

Baccharis dracunculifolia methanol extract enhances glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in pancreatic islets of monosodium glutamate induced-obesity model rats.

CONTEXT: Obesity is the main risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Secondary metabolites with biological activities and pharmacological potential have been identified in species of the Baccharis genus that are specifically distributed in the Americas. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effects of methanol extracts from Baccharis dracunculifolia DC. Asteraceae on metabolic parameters, satiety, and growth in monosodium glutamate (MSG) induced-obesity model rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MSG was administered to 32 newborn rats (4 mg/g of body weight) once daily for 5 consecutive days. Four experimental groups (control, control + extract, MSG, and MSG + extract) were treated for 30 consecutive days with 400 mg/kg of B. dracunculifolia extract by gavage. Biochemical parameters, antioxidant activity, total extract phenolic content (methanolic, ethanolic, and acetone extractions), and pancreatic islets were evaluated. RESULTS: High levels of phenolic compounds were identified in B. dracunculifolia extracts (methanol: 46.2 ± 0.4 mg GAE/L; acetate: 70.5 ± 0.5 mg GAE/L; and ethanol: 30.3 ± 0.21 mg GAE/L); high antioxidant activity was detected in B. dracunculifolia ethanol and methanol extracts. The concentration of serum insulin increased 30% in obese animals treated with extract solutions (1.4-2.0 µU/mL, p < 0.05). Insulin secretion in pancreatic islets was 8.3 mM glucose (58%, p < 0.05) and 16.7 mM (99.5%, p < 0.05) in rats in the MSG + extract and MSG groups, respectively. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Treatment with B. dracunculifolia extracts protected pancreatic islets and prevented the irreversible cellular damage observed in animals in obesity and diabetes models.

Antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of three fungal exocellular ß-glucans in MCF-7 breast cancer cells is mediated by oxidative stress, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and the Forkhead transcription factor, FOXO3a.

Fungal ß-d-glucans of the (1→3)-type are known to exhibit direct antitumor effects, and can also indirectly decrease tumor proliferation through immunomodulatory responses. The underlying molecular mechanisms involved in decreasing tumor formation, however, are not well understood. In this study, we examined the antiproliferative role and mechanism of action of three different fungal exocellular ß-glucans in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. The ß-glucans were obtained from Botryosphaeria rhodina MAMB-05 [two botryosphaerans; (1→3)(1→6)-ß-d-glucan; one produced on glucose, the other on fructose] and Lasiodiplodia theobromae MMPI [lasiodiplodan; (1→6)-ß-d-glucan, produced on glucose]. Using the cell proliferation-MTT assay, we showed that the ß-glucans exhibited a time- and concentration-dependent antiproliferative activity (IC50, 100µg/ml). Markers of cell cycle, apoptosis, necrosis and oxidative stress were analyzed using flow cytometry, RT-PCR and Western blotting. Exposure to ß-glucans increased apoptosis, necrosis, oxidative stress, mRNA expression of p53, p27 and Bax; the activity of AMP-activated protein-kinase, Forkhead transcription factor FOXO3a, Bax and caspase-3; and decreased the activity of p70S6K in MCF-7 cells. In the presence of hydrogen peroxide, the fungal ß-glucans increased oxidative stress, which was associated with reduced cell viability. We showed that these ß-glucans exhibited an antiproliferative effect that was associated with apoptosis, necrosis and oxidative stress. This study demonstrated for the first time that the apoptosis induced by ß-glucans was mediated by AMP-activated protein-kinase and Forkhead transcription factor, FOXO3a. Our findings provide novel mechanistic insights into their antiproliferative roles, and compelling evidence that these ß-glucans possess a broad range of biomodulatory properties that may prove useful in cancer treatment.

Biotreatment of an effluent from a wood laminate industry using Lentinula edodes UEC 2019.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the performance of the fungus Lentinula edodes UEC 2019 in the treatment of an effluent derived from a wood laminate manufacturing process. The factorial design methodology was employed to verify the influence of the source of nitrogen, co-substratum and treatment time variables on the color and total phenols reduction. Assays were conducted in Erlenmeyer flasks and bench bioreactor and the obtained results showed that the best conditions for the effluent remediation were observed when using the effluent itself as the nitrogen source (1g/L) and glucose (79 g/L) as co-substratum (glucose) during a treatment period of 30 days. It was possible the remove 92% phenol, 97% color and reduce the COD in the bioreactor by 99% while controlling the temperature, pH and feeding. These results demonstrate that the fungus was able to use the effluent components as substrate and that it has potential for use in wood lamination effluent remediation.

PVA-hydrogel entrapped Candida guilliermondii for xylitol production from sugarcane hemicellulose hydrolysate.

Viable cells of Candida guilliermondii were immobilized by inclusion into polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel using the freezing-thawing method. Entrapment experiments were planned according to a 2(3) full factorial design, using the PVA concentration (80, 100, and 120 g L(-1)), the freezing temperature (-10, -15, and -20 degrees C), and the number of freezing-thawing cycles (one, three, and five) as the independent variables, integrated with three additional tests to estimate the errors. The effectiveness of the immobilization procedure was checked in Erlenmeyer flasks as the pellet capability to catalyze the xylose-to-xylitol bioconversion of a medium based on sugarcane bagasse hemicellulosic hydrolysate. To this purpose, the yield of xylitol on consumed xylose, xylitol volumetric productivity, and cell retention yield were selected as the response variables. Cell pellets were then used to perform the same bioconversion in a stirred tank reactor operated at 400 rpm, 30 degrees C, and 1.04 vvm air flowrate. At the end of fermentation, a maximum xylitol concentration of 28.7 g L(-1), a xylitol yield on consumed xylose of 0.49 g g(-1) and a xylitol volumetric productivity of 0.24 g L(-1) h(-1) were obtained.