Applications of SELDI-MS technology in oncology.

Considerable interest, speculation and controversy have been generated utilising surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization in conjunction with mass spectrometry (SELDI-MS) for the diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic monitoring of cancer and offers an attractive approach to cancer biomarker discovery from tissues and biological fluids. This technology utilises a combination of mass spectrometry and chromatography to facilitate protein profiling of complex biological mixtures. Compared to some other more traditional proteomic platforms, such as 2D polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, it has a high-throughput capability and can resolve low-mass proteins. However, a considerable number of challenging issues related to the design of studies, including reproducibility, sensitivity, specificity, variation in sample collection, processing and storage, have been reported as problematic with this technology; albeit some of these concerns could perhaps also be lauded against other proteomic approaches that have attempted to address complex protein mixtures, such as plasma. Applications, successes and limitations of SELDI-MS in both clinical and basic science arenas will be reviewed in this article.

Effects of the polyacetylene capillin on human tumour cell lines.

We investigated the effects of capillin, a constituent of Artemisia monosperma, on four human tumour cell lines: colon carcinoma H729, pancreatic carcinoma MIA PaCa-2, epidermoid carcinoma of the larynx HEp-2 and lung carcinoma A549. Cells were treated with capillin to examine both the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects, as well as the molecular mechanism underlying these effects. Changes in cell proliferation, membrane permeability, macromolecular synthesis, glutathione (GSH), cell cycle and programmed cell death were evaluated. Capillin (1microM-10microM) inhibited cell proliferation and decreased macromolecular synthesis simultaneously, in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Co-incubation with L-buthionine sulfoximine (L-BSO) augmented the efficacy of capillin. Capillin modulated GSH levels, accumulated cells in the S+G2/M-phase of the cell cycle and induced cell death and DNA fragmentation, as indicated by flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy and DNA fragmentation assay. These findings suggest that capillin has cytotoxic activity and can induce apoptosis in human tumour cell lines.

Ethanolic extracts of Euphorbia and other ethnobotanical species as inhibitors of human tumour cell growth.

Ethanolic extracts of 20 plant species, selected from the ethnobotanical literature, were analysed for their pharmacological potential as antineoplastic agents against the HEp-2 cell line. Psoralea corylifolia and E. grandidens were the most efficacious species eliciting IC50 values of 22 microg/ml and 57 microg/ml respectively. Psoralea corylifolia, additionally tested against lung carcinoma (A549) cells gave an IC50 value of 68 microg/ml. Such data would justify a search for active compounds from this species.