The in vivo anthelmintic efficacy of some Verbascum species growing in Turkey

Verbascum L. (Scrophulariaceae) species are used for desiccating wounds and as a fish poison in Anatolia as well as for diarrhea and dysentery of animals in several countries. To further evaluate their activity, methanolic extracts obtained from 13 Verbascum species growing in Turkey, including V. chionophyllum Hub.-Mor., V. cilicicum Boiss., V. dudleyanum (Hub.-Mor.) Hub.-Mor., V. lasianthum Boiss., V. latisepalum Hub.-Mor., V. mucronatum Lam., V. olympicum Boiss., V. pterocalycinum var. mutense Hub.-Mor., V. pycnostachyum Boiss. & Heldr., V. salviifolium Boiss., V. splendidum Boiss., V. stachydifolium Boiss. & Heldr. and V. uschackense (Murb.) Hub.-Mor. were evaluated for their in vivo anthelmintic activity. The extracts from V. lasianthum, V. latisepalum, V. mucronatum and V. salviifolum showed the highest inhibitory rates against Aspiculuris tetraptera at 100 mg/kg in mice. Additionally, extracts from V. dudleyanum and V. pterocalycinum var. mutense were found generally highly effective. The remaining species did not show any activity. Results of the present study support the utilization of these plant species employed in Turkish folk medicine.     

Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis in Relation to Exposure to Magnetic Field

We investigated the effect of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) with pulse trains exposure on lipid peroxidation, and, hence, oxidative stress in the rat liver tissue. The parameters that we measured were the levels of plasma alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase as well as plasma albumin, bilirubin, and total protein levels in 30 adult male Wistar rats exposed to ELF. We also determined the percentage of apoptotic and necrotic cells of the kidney extracts from the animals by flow cytometry method. Apoptotic cell death was further characterized by monitoring DNA degradation using gel electrophoresis. The results showed an increase in the levels of oxidative stress indicators, and the flow cytometric data suggested a possible relationship between the exposure to magnetic field and the cell death. We showed significantly lower necrotic cell percentages in experimental animals compared to either unexposed or sham control groups. However, DNA ladder analyses did not differentiate between the groups. Our results were discussed in relation to the response of biological systems to EMF.     

The Turkish validation of the Brief International Cognitive Assessment for Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) battery

Background

Cognitive impairment may be seen in as many as 43–70% of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and may be observed in all MS subtypes. The Brief International Cognitive Assessment in Multiple Sclerosis (BICAMS) battery may be used to evaluate cognition status. The purpose of the current study is to validate the BICAMS battery in Turkish.

Methods

Patients with MS attending our clinic between September 2014 and April 2015 were invited to participate. Healthy control participants were matched in terms of age, gender and years of education.

Results

One hundred seventy-three MS patients and 153 healthy control participants were enrolled in the study. MS patients performed significantly worse in all trials than the members of the healthy control group. In addition, cognitive dysfunction was identified in 78 of the 173 (45.1%) patients. In the MS with cognitive impairment group, 64 out of 151 (42.4%) subjects were RRMS patients, 12 out of 18 (66.7%) were secondary progressive MS patients, and 2 out of 4 (50%) were primer progressive MS patients.

Conclusions

The BICAMS has been proposed for assessing cognitive impairment in MS patients. This study shows that the battery is suitable for use in Turkey.

     

Salvia siirtica sp. nov. (Lamiaceae) from Turkey

Salvia siirtica Kahraman, Celep & Do?an sp. nov.(Lamiaceae) is described and illustrated as a new species from the northern part of Siirt province in southeast Anatolia, Turkey, where it was found growing in open forests of Quercus. It is morphologically similar to S. indica L., but differs by having densely glandular pilose to villous stems and petioles, close verticillasters, smaller flowers, clearly concave calyx apices, entirely white corollas and smaller nutlets. Salvia siirtica and S. indica are also distinguished by their nutlet and pollen micromorphologies, illustrated by SEM images. The nutlet surface of S. siirtica is very finely wrinkled and its pollen has 3–4 primary lumina per 25 μm², compared to 5–8 in S. indica. Conservation status assessment, distribution map, and notes on biogeography and ecology of the new species are provided.     

Induction of Apoptosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Lines by Novel Indolylacrylamide Derivatives: Synthesis and Biological Evaluation

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most prevalent primary liver cancer and one of the leading causes of cancer associated death worldwide. This is due to the highly resistant nature of this malignancy and the lack of effective treatment options for advanced stage HCC patients. The hyperactivity of PI3K/Akt and Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathways contribute to the cancer progression, survival, motility, and resistance mechanisms, and the interaction of these two pathways are responsible for the regulation of cancer cell growth and development. Therefore, it is vital to design and develop novel therapeutic options for HCC treatment targeting these hyperactive pathways. For this purpose, novel series of trans-indole-3-ylacrylamide derivatives originated from the lead compound, 3-(1H-indole-3-yl)-N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)acrylamide, have been synthesized and analyzed for their bioactivity on cancer cells along with the lead compound. Based on the initial screening, the most potent compounds were selected to elucidate their effects on cellular signaling activity of HCC cell lines. Cell cycle analysis, immunofluorescence, and Western blot analysis revealed that lead compound and (E)-N-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-3-(1H-indole-3-yl)acrylamide induced cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase, enhanced chromatin condensation and PARP-cleavage, addressing induction of apoptotic cell death. Additionally, these compounds decreased the activity of ERK signaling pathway, where phosphorylated ERK1/2 and c-Jun protein levels diminished significantly. Relevant to these findings, the lead compound was able to inhibit tubulin polymerization as well. To conclude, the novel trans-indole-3-ylacrylamide derivatives inhibit one of the critical pathways associated with HCC which results in cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in HCC cell lines.     

Matrix metalloproteinase‐2 and ‐9 activities in human keloids,hypertrophic and atrophic scars: a pilot study

Proteolytic degradation of extracellular matrix is one of the principal features of cutaneous wound healing but little is known about the activities of gelatinases; matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) and matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) on abnormal scar formation. The aim of this study is to determine collagen levels and the gelatinase activities in tissue from hypertrophic scars, atrophic scars, keloids and donor skin in 36 patients and 14 donors. Gelatinase levels (proenzyme + active enzyme) were determined by ELISA and their activities by gelatin zymography. MMP‐9 activity was undetectable in gelatin zymography analysis. Pro‐MMP‐2 levels (median) were highest in normal skin group 53.58 (36.40–75.11) OD µg^?1 protein, while active MMP‐2 levels were highest in keloid group 52.53 (42.47–61.51) OD µg^?1 protein. The active/pro ratio was the highest in keloid group 0.97 followed by hypertrophic scar, normal skin and atrophic scar groups 0.69 > 0.54 > 0.48, respectively. According to results of our study, the two‐phase theory of the duration of hypertrophic scar and keloid formation can be supported by the data of tissue collagen and gelatinase analysis. This study is the first to relate scar formation relationship in regard to gelatinase activation ratio in a keloid, hypertrophic and atrophic scar patient group which is chosen appropriate in age and sex. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Anti-biofilm properties of Satureja hortensis L. essential oil against periodontal pathogens

Essential oils of several plants are widely used in ethnomedicine for their antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. However, very limited data exist on their use in connection to periodontal diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the bacterial growth inhibiting and anti-biofilm effects of Satureja hortensis L. (summer savory), Salvia fruticosa M. (sage), Lavandula stoechas L. (lavender), Myrtus communis L., and Juniperus communis L. (juniper) essential oils. Chemical compositions of the essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, minimum inhibitor concentrations (MICs) with the agar dilution method, and anti-biofilm effects by the microplate biofilm assay. The toxicity of each essential oil was tested on cultured keratinocytes. Of the 5 essential oils, S. hortensis L. essential oil had the strongest growth inhibition effect. Subinhibitory dose of S. hortensis L. essential oil had anti-biofilm effects only against Prevotella nigrescens. Essential oils did not inhibit keratinocyte viability at the concentrations of 1 and 5 μl/ml, however at the concentration of 5 μl/ml epithelial cells detached from the culture well bottom. The present findings suggest that S. hortensis L. essential oil inhibits the growth of periodontal bacteria in the concentration that is safe on keratinocytes, however, in the subinhibitory concentration its anti-biofilm effect is limited.     

Establishment and characterization of human embryonic stem cell lines, Turkey perspectives

Human embryonic stem cells (hESC), which are derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) of blastocyst stage embryos, are of great importance because of their unpredictable two unique features: their differentiation ability into all types of cells derived from three germ layers and their potentially unlimited capacity of self renewing with stable karyotype. These distinguished properties make hESC very promising cell source for regenerative medicine, tissue replacement therapies, and drug screening studies as well as genomics. However, due to the several technical problems, such as risk of teratoma formation, immune response, and unknown genetic pathways for lineage specific differentiation, and ethical drawbacks of their using in clinical treatments, hESC researches are still waiting to advance beyond to animal trials and drug studies. During the last decade, more than 300 new hESC lines have been derived and published by researchers worldwide. However, despite their similar well-known unique properties, recent studies reported that hESC lines have very individual properties and are differed from each other with regards to their differentiation ability and gene expression profiles. Therefore, all hESC lines should be characterized in detail and then registered in a stem cell bank for generating global database. In this report, the characteristic of hESC lines, which were established in Istanbul Memorial Hospital between 2003 and 2005, and derivation methods were described in detail to inform researchers and to facilitate new prospective cooperative studies.