Effect of mesenchymal stem cells-derived exosomes on tumor microenvironment: Tumor progression versus tumor suppression

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells with the potential to differentiate into different cell types. Owing to their immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties, they are widely used in regenerative medicine, but they have a dual effect on cancer progression and exert both growth-stimulatory or -inhibitory effects on different cancer types. It has been proposed that these controversial effects of MSC in tumor microenvironment (TME) are mediated by their polarization to proinflammatory or anti-inflammatory phenotype. In addition, they can polarize the immune system cells that in turn influence tumor progression. One of the mechanisms involved in the TME communications is extracellular vesicles (EVs). MSCs, as one of cell populations in TME, produce a large amount of EVs that can influence tumor development. Similar to MSC, MSC-EVs can exert both anti- or protumorigenic effects. In the current study, we will investigate the current knowledge related to MSC role in cancer progression with a focus on the MSC-EV content in limiting tumor growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis. We suppose MSC-EVs can be used as safe vehicles for delivering antitumor agents to TME.     

Novel water-soluble polyurethane nanomicelles for cancer chemotherapy: physicochemical characterization and cellular activities

Background  

Efficient delivery of anticancer chemotherapies such as paclitaxel (PTX) can improve treatment strategy in a variety of tumors such as breast and ovarian cancers. Accordingly, researches on polymeric nanomicelles continue to find suitable delivery systems. However, due to biocompatibility concerns, a few micellar nanoformulations have exquisitely been translated into clinical uses. Here, we report the synthesis of novel water-soluble nanomicelles using bioactive polyurethane (PU) polymer and efficient delivery of PTX in the human breast cancer MCF-7 cells.     

Natural flavonoids for the prevention of colon cancer: A comprehensive review of preclinical and clinical studies

Flavonoids comprise a group of natural polyphenols consisting of more than 5,000 subtypes mostly existing in fruits and vegetables. Flavonoids consumption could potentially attenuate the incidence and recurrence risk of colorectal cancers through their antiperoxidative, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, these compounds regulate the mitochondrial function, balance the bacterial flora and promote the apoptosis process in cancerous cells. However, some previous data failed to show the effectiveness of flavonoids in reducing the risk of colorectal cancer. In this study, we have reviewed the efficacy of different flavonoids subtypes on the risk of colon cancer and molecular mechanisms involved in this process in both clinical and animal studies. In addition, we tried to elucidate the potential synergy between these compounds and current colorectal cancer treatments.     

D,L-Sulforaphane Loaded Fe3O4@ Gold Core Shell Nanoparticles: A Potential Sulforaphane Delivery System

A novel design of gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles was fabricated as a potential delivery system to improve the efficiency and stability of d, l-sulforaphane as an anticancer drug. To this purpose, the surface of gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles was modified for sulforaphane delivery via furnishing its surface with thiolated polyethylene glycol-folic acid and thiolated polyethylene glycol-FITC. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by different techniques such as FTIR, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The average diameters of the synthesized nanoparticles before and after sulforaphane loading were obtained ∼ 33 nm and ∼ 38 nm, respectively, when ∼ 2.8 mmol/g of sulforaphane was loaded. The result of cell viability assay which was confirmed by apoptosis assay on the human breast cancer cells (MCF-7 line) as a model of in vitro-cancerous cells, proved that the bare nanoparticles showed little inherent cytotoxicity, whereas the sulforaphane-loaded nanoparticles were cytotoxic. The expression rate of the anti-apoptotic genes (bcl-2 and bcl-x_L), and the pro-apoptotic genes (bax and bak) were quantified, and it was found that the expression rate of bcl-2 and bcl-x_L genes significantly were decreased when MCF-7 cells were incubated by sulforaphane-loaded nanoparticles. The sulforaphane-loaded into the designed gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticles, acceptably induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells.     

Association of Genetic Structure and Diversity in Iranian Wild Germplasms of Mentha longifolia L. Based on Phenotypical,Biochemical, and Molecular Markers

Mentha longifolia L. is well-known to be one of the most pervasive wild-growing species of the Lamiaceae family, which has extensive beneficial properties in the fields of pharmacology and biological products. In the present study, the correlation between Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers and morpho-chemical parameters of twenty different M. longifolia accessions (MLACs) were assessed. The geographic information system (GIS) has been employed to interpret the original habitat of the accessions in Iran. ISSR analysis indicated a remarkable difference in the studied accessions, segregated them into three main groups, constructed by an unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic (UPGMA) and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA). A total of 89 bands were generated by 12 ISSR primers, among which 82 (91.97 %) of them were polymorphic. The cluster analysis based on agro-morphological data scattered MLACs into two main groups. The essential oils (EOs) were analyzed through GC/FID/MS, and four chemotypes were characterized according to the major constituents. Pulegone ranged from 0.17 to 69.50 % was the main oil constituent with the highest content. Also, HPLC-PDA was employed to identify and to quantify the phenolic compounds in the MeOH extracts of MLACs. Heatmap cluster based on phenolic compounds produced three main categories of accessions. The components identified in the extracts were rosmarinic acid, rutin, vanillic acid, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and p-coumaric acid, which among them rosmarinic acid (RA) varied from 39.16 to 261.55 mg/100 g (DW) as a predominant constituent. Subsequently, multiple regression analyses between ISSR fragments and morpho-chemical data illustrated considerable relationships in the plant materials. The high variation and correlation observed in metabolic and phenotypic traits of MLACs establish an adequate source to conduct reserves conservation programs.     

Effect of fungicidal essential oils against Botrytis cinerea and Rhizopus stolonifer rot fungus in vitro conditions

The development of natural crop protection products as alternatives to the use of synthetic fungicides is currently popular. The aim of this study is to evaluate the antifungal effects of several essential oils against the fungal pathogens, Botrytis cinerea and Rhizopus stolonifer, under in vitro condition. Four essential oils (fennel, black caraway, peppermint and thyme) were each tested at five concentrations (0, 200, 400, 600 or 800 μl l^?1). In vitro results showed that the essential oil of black caraway and fennel had the highest fungicidal effect against B. cinerea and R. stolonifer, respectively. The growth of B. cinerea was completely inhibited by the essential oil of black caraway at 400 μl l^?1. Fennel oil perfectly inhibited growth of R. stolonifer fungus colonies at concentration higher than 600 μl L^?1 in potato dextrose agar medium. Percentage of spores germination was the lowest in medium of Fennel and black caraway essential oils, and was the highest in Thyme ones. These results show that plant essential oils can have a strong effect on reducing post-harvest decay. These plant essential oils could provide an alternative to synthetic chemicals to control post-harvest phytopathogenic fungi on fruit.     

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphism in diabetes and obesity

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphism may play an important role in the pathophysiology of obesity and diabetes accompanied by obesity due to its influence on plasma homocysteine levels. There are significant and sometimes very strong relationship between levels of homocysteine and several multi-system diseases including CHD and CVA. To examine the association between MTHFR gene C677T polymorphism in diabetes and obesity with serum homocysteine levels. A total of 682 subjects were recruited in four groups (Normal, obese, diabetic and obese and diabetics). MTHFR gene C677T polymorphism was detected using PCR-RFLP technique. Serum homocysteine levels were measured using HPLC. There was a significant increase in the mean serum homocysteine levels in subjects carrying TT genotype (34.6 ± 26.5) compared to subjects carrying CC (15.1 ± 8) or CT genotype (16.4 ± 7.8) (P < 0.000). We found no significant differences for MTHFR allele and genotype frequencies between different groups. Our data have confirmed the association between serum homocysteine levels and MTHFR C677T genotype reported in other populations.