Cardiovascular effects of black tea and nicotine alone or in combination against experimental induced heart injury

The present study was designed to elucidate the outcome of subchronic co-administration of black tea and nicotine on cardiovascular performance and whether these substances could modulate the isoproterenol-induced cardiac injury. Animal groups were control, black tea, nicotine and black tea plus nicotine. Test groups received nicotine (2 mg/kg s.c.) and black tea brewed (p.o.) each alone and in combination for 4 weeks. On the 28th day, myocardial damage was induced by isoproterenol (50 mg/kg i.p.), and blood samples were taken. On day 29, after hemodynamic parameters recording, hearts were removed for histopathological evaluation. Tea or nicotine consumption had no significant effects on hemodynamic indices of animals without heart damage. When the cardiac injury was induced, tea consumption maintained the maximum dp/dt, and nicotine significantly decreased the pressure–rate product. Moreover, severity of heart lesions was lower in the presence of nicotine or black tea. Concomitant use of these materials did not show extra effects on mentioned parameters more than the effect of each of them alone. The results suggest that subchronic administration of black tea or nicotine for a period of 4 weeks may have a mild cardioprotective effect, while concomitant use of these materials cannot intensify this beneficial effect.     

Investigations with spectroscopy, zeta potential and molecular modeling of the non-cooperative behaviour between cyclophosphamide hydrochloride and aspirin upon interaction with human serum albumin: binary and ternary systems from multi-drug therapy

The interaction between cyclophosphamide hydrochloride (CYC) and aspirin (ASA) with human serum albumin (HSA) was studied by various kind of spectroscopic, ζ potential and molecular modeling under physiological conditions. The fluorescence data showed that the binding of drugs to proteins caused strong static fluorescence quenching. The analysis of the fluorescence quenching of HSA in the binary and ternary systems displayed that ASA was affected by the complex formed between CYC and HSA. Moreover, CYC was influenced by the HSA-ASA complex. The inherent binding information, including the quenching mechanism, binding constants, number of binding sites, effective quenching constant, fraction of the initial fluorescence and thermodynamic parameters were measured by the fluorescence quenching technique at various temperatures. In addition, according to the synchronous fluorescence spectra of HSA, the results showed that the fluorescence quenching of HSA originated from the Trp and Tyr residues, and indicated a conformational change of HSA with the addition of the drugs. Far-UV CD spectra of HSA were recorded before and after the addition of ASA and CYC as binary and ternary systems. An increase in intensity of the positive CD peak of HSA was observed in the presence of the drugs. The results were interpreted by excited interactions between the aromatic residues of the HSA binding sites and the drugs bound to them. The distance r between donor and acceptor was obtained by the Forster energy according to fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and found to be 2.35 nm and 1.78 nm for CYC and ASA, respectively. This confirmed the existence of static quenching for proteins in the presence of CYC and ASA. Furthermore, docking studies pointed at a reduction of the affinity of each of the drug compounds to the protein in the presence of the other in meaningful amounts. Pre-binding of any of the said compounds forced the second to bind in a non-optimized location and orientation. The potential at the electrokinetic shear surface of the protein-drug solution were measured at several concentrations of the drugs by the ζ potential technique, which confirmed experimental and theoretical results.     

Antiproliferative activity of chloroformic extract of Persian Shallot, Allium hirtifolium, on tumor cell lines

Allium hirtifolim (Persian Shallot) belongs to Allium genus (Alliaceae family). We investigated the in vitro effects of chloroformic extract of A. hirtifolium and its Allicin on the proliferation of HeLa (cervical cancer), MCF7 (human, caucasion, breast, adenocarcinoma) and L929 (mouse, C3H/An, connective) cell lines. Our results showed that components of A. hirtifolium might inhibit proliferation of tumor cell lines. This inhibition in HeLa and MCF-7 cells was dose-dependent. The presence of Allicin was evaluated by TLC method in bulbs and the extract of A. hirtifolium was analyzed by HPLC. MTT test was performed 24, 48 and 72 h after cell culture. A significant decrease in cell lines was observed in HeLa and MCF-7 as compared to L929 cell lines. DNA fragmentation analysis revealed a large number of apoptotic cells in treated HeLa and MCF-7 cell groups, but no effects in L929 cells. Therefore A. hirtifolium might be a candidate for tumor suppression.     

Thermoluminescence dose–response of synthesized and doped hydroxyapatite: effect of formed crystal phases

In this research work, pure and doped hydroxyapatite samples were synthesized using hydrolysis and hydrothermal methods to produce powder material. The crystal structure was carried out by producing data using the X-ray diffraction system and the Rietveld method using material analysis using diffraction software. Then the sample was irradiated with different radiation absorbed doses, and their thermoluminescence response was investigated from the dosimetry point of view. The results showed that the synthesis method, doping, and annealing temperature could significantly affect the crystal structure and thermoluminescence dosimetry response of hydroxyapatite samples, consequently. The results showed that the high-temperature annealing process and dopant could lead to the formation of the β-TCP crystal phase during or after the synthesis of hydroxyapatite, and the percentage of this formed phase increased when raising the temperature, and finally led to increase in the thermoluminescence response.     

Osteogenic differentiation of preconditioned bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells with lipopolysaccharide on modified poly-l-lactic-acid nanofibers

Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary expertise that involves the use of nanoscaffolds for repairing, modifying, and removing tissue defects and formation of new tissues. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can differentiate into a variety of cell types, and they are attractive candidates for tissue engineering. In the current study, the electrospinning process was used for nanofiber preparation, based on a poly-l -lactic-acid (PLLA) polymer. The surface was treated with O ₂ plasma to enhance hydrophilicity, cell attachment, growth, and differentiation potential. The nanoscaffolds were preconditioned with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to enhance induction of differentiation. The nanoscaffolds were categorized by contact angle measurements and scanning electron microscopy. The MTT assay was used to analyze the rate of growth and proliferation of cells. Osteogenic differentiation of cultured MSCs was evaluated on nanofibers using common osteogenic markers, such as alkaline phosphatase activity, calcium mineral deposition, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and immunocytochemical analysis. Based on the in vitro results, primed MSCs with LPS on the PLLA nanoscaffold significantly enhanced the proliferation and osteogenesis of MSCs. Also, the combination of LPS and electrospun nanofibers can provide a new and suitable matrix to support stem cells’ differentiation for bone tissue engineering.     

De novo complex chromosomal rearrangement of 46, XY,t (3; 16; 8) (p26; q13; q21.2) in a non-obstructive azoospermic male

Complex Chromosomal Rearrangements (CCRs) are rare structural abnormalities that are usually associated with infertility or subfertility in male carriers. We described clinical and chromosomal features of a non-obstructive azoospermic male that has been referred for infertility. Cytogenetic analysis showed three chromosomes, i.e. 3, 8 and 16, which have been involved and caused spermatogenesis failure.     

Interaction of two new mixed ligand copper(II) complexes with DNA probed by thermodynamic and spectroscopic studies

The DNA binding behavior of [Cu(4,7-dmp)(phen-dione)Cl]Cl (1) and [Cu(2,9-dmp)(phen-dione)Cl]Cl (2) where dmp and phen-dion stand for dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline and 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dion, respectively, was studied with a series of techniques including Viscometry, UV–Vis absorption, circular dichroism and fluorescence spectroscopy. Cytotoxicity effect was also investigated. Thermodynamic parameters, enthalpy and entropy changes were calculated according to Van’t Hoff equation, which indicated that both reactions are predominantly enthalpically driven. However, these two complexes show different behavior in fluorescence, circular dichroism and viscometry methods which indicate the Cu(II) complexes interact with calf-thymus DNA by different mode of binding. These have further been verified by competition studies using Hoechst as a distinct groove binder. All these results indicate that these two complexes (1) and (2) interact with CT-DNA via groove binding and partially intercalative mode, respectively and the binding affinity of the complex 1 is higher than that of complex 2. Finally, our findings suggest that the type of ligands and structure of complexes have marked effect on the binding affinity of complexes involving CT-DNA. Also, these new complexes showed excellent antitumor activity against human T lymphocyte carcinoma-Jurkat cell line.     

Tumor necrosis factor alpha induces stronger cytotoxicity in ABCG2-overexpressing resistant breast cancer cells compared with their drug-sensitive parental line

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) has been reported to modulate the multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype in vitro and in vivo. Multidrug-resistant cells overexpressing the ABCB1 transporter are more susceptible to inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis by TNF-α than their drug-sensitive counterparts. This study was aimed to investigate TNF-α modulatory and antiproliferative effects on drug-resistant cells overexpressing ABCG2. The effects of TNF-α on viability and proliferation rate of MCF-7 breast cancer cells and their ABCG2-overexpressing sublines MCF-7/mitoxantrone (MX) cells were studied using dye exclusion assay, dimethylthiazolyl-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide technique, and flow cytometric analysis of cell cycle. TNF-α influence on MX accumulation was investigated by flow cytometry. ABCG2-overexpressing cells were more susceptible to antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects of TNF-α than their parental cells. TNF-α increased accumulation of MX in both parental and resistant cells. Higher sensitivity of MDR cells to TNF-α cytotoxicity would help in characterization of its complex modulatory effects on cancer cells and benefit us in designing new approaches to overcome MDR.     

The crosstalk between trace elements with DNA damage response,repair, and oxidative stress in cancer

DNA damage response (DDR) is a regulatory system responsible for maintaining genome integrity and stability, which can sense and transduce DNA damage signals. The severity of damage appears to determine DDRs, which can include damage repair, cell-cycle arrest, and apoptosis. Furthermore, defective components in DNA damage and repair machinery are an underlying cause for the development and progression of various types of cancers. Increasing evidence indicates that there is an association between trace elements and DDR/repair mechanisms. In fact, trace elements seem to affect mediators of DDR. Besides, it has been revealed that oxidative stress (OS) and trace elements are associated with cancer development. In this review, we discuss the role of some critical trace elements in the risk of cancer. In addition, we provide a brief introduction on DDR and OS in cancer. Finally, we will further review the interactions between some important trace elements including selenium, zinc, chromium, cadmium, and arsenic, and DDR, and OS in cancer.