Regulation of Hypoxia Dependent Reprogramming of Cancer Metabolism: Role of HIF-1 and Its Potential Therapeutic Implications in Leukemia.

Metabolic reprogramming occurs to meet cancer cells' high energy demand. Its function is essential to the survival of malignancies. Comparing cancer cells to non-malignant cells has revealed that cancer cells have altered metabolism. Several pathways, particularly mTOR, Akt, PI3K, and HIF-1 (hypoxia-inducible factor-1) modulate the metabolism of cancer. Among other aspects of cancer biology, gene expression in metabolism, survival, invasion, proliferation, and angiogenesis of cells are controlled by HIF-1, a vital controller of cellular responsiveness to hypoxia. This article examines various cancer cell metabolisms, metabolic alterations that can take place in cancer cells, metabolic pathways, and molecular aspects of metabolic alteration in cancer cells placing special attention on the consequences of hypoxia-inducible factor and summarising some of their novel targets in the treatment of cancer including leukemia. A brief description of HIF-1α's role and target in a few common types of hematological malignancies (leukemia) is also elucidated in the present article.

Effects of sunlight on the fate of graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide nanomaterials in the natural surface water.

Graphene nanomaterials have been commercialized for use in the electronic and biomedical industries, increasing their dissemination into surface waters and subsequent transformation in natural aquatic environment. While the photodegradation of graphene oxide nanomaterials has been investigated in the past, previous research did not consider actual natural aquatic environment and also focused on primarily graphene oxide nanomaterials. In this study, photodegradation of graphene nanomaterials with varying oxidation levels, including graphene oxide (GO) and partially reduced graphene oxide (rGO-2 h) are evaluated in Columbia River Water and compared with each other. Our results indicate that both direct and indirect photolysis of graphene-based nanomaterials will occur simultaneously in natural surface water. However, environmentally relevant concentrations of photosensitizers in surface water are not capable of producing sufficient ·OH to initiate degradation of GO via indirect photolysis. For all conditions tested, GO showed more rapid photodegradation compared to rGO. Overall, direct and indirect photodegradation of graphene oxide nanomaterials in natural surface water is minimal and slow indicating that phototransformation of graphene-based nanomaterials will be insignificant in natural surface water.

Aggregation morphology of planar engineered nanomaterials.

In this investigation, the utility of a static light scattering (SLS) technique to characterize aggregate morphology of two-dimensional engineered nanomaterials (2D ENMs) was systematically evaluated. The aggregation of graphene oxide (GO) and lithiated-molybdenum disulfide (Li-MoS2) were measured and compared to that of a spherical reference colloid, carboxylate-modified latex (CML) nanoparticles. The critical coagulation concentration (CCC) for all dispersions was determined via analysis of aggregation kinetics using time-resolved dynamic light scattering. This technique allowed for the elucidation of the transition from the reaction-limited aggregation (RLA) regime to diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA). The findings of this study support the aggregation trends predicted by Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) theory and recent computer simulations of aggregation kinetics. For all nanomaterials, as ionic strength increased towards the respective the CCC, fractal dimension decreased; any increase in ionic strength beyond the CCC did not yield significant change in fractal dimension. Across comparable primary particle sizes and using both carbonaceous (GO) and inorganic (Li-MoS2) 2D ENMs, this study further supports the use of SLS for the measurement of fractal dimension for 2D materials. To further support this claim, the aggregate morphology of GO in both RLA and DLA regimes was measured via cryogenic transmission electron microscopy.

The association of serum osteocalcin with the bone mineral density in post menopausal women.

BACKGROUND: The markers of bone remodelling, such as serum osteocalcin, may be used to assess osteoporosis and to predict the fracture risk in elderly persons, especially in women. The bone mineral density which reflects the bone mass and strength, also predicts osteoporotic related hip fractures. So, this work highlights the association between the bone turnover and the bone mass and strength. AIM: To assess the association between the biochemical markers of bone remodeling and osteocalcin with the bone mineral density in non osteoporotic and osteoporotic women among post menopausal subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty postmenopausal women whose ages ranged from 55-65 years included in this study, were further divided into group 1 (thirty non osteoporotic subjects) and group 2 (thirty osteoporotic subjects). For all the subjects, serum osteocalcin was measured by ELISA. BMD was measured by the Dual Energy X- Ray Absorptiometry (DXA) scan. The women with osteoporosis were diagnosed, based on the T- score of the bone mineral density, by the DXA scan. The Student's "t" test was performed between the variables of both the groups and a correlation test was also performed between osteocalcin and BMD by using SPSS. RESULTS: A negative correlation was found between the osteocalcin level and the bone mineral density in post menopausal women. The mean values of both serum osteocalcin and BMD between the osteoporotic and the non osteoporotic subjects were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: An increased bone turnover coincides with the trabecular deterioration in osteoporotic women of the post menopausal age group. A combination of biochemical markers and BMD may be a better predictor of the fracture risk than when it was assessed by either alone. The biochemical markers of the bone turnover cannot be a substitute for the serial BMD measurement, but they may be useful when they are considered in conjunction with the BMD measurement.