Biotic elicitors enhance diosgenin production in Helicteres isora L. suspension cultures via up-regulation of CAS and HMGR genes

In an attempt to find an alternative and potent source of diosgenin, a steroidal saponin in great demand for its pharmaceutical importance, Helicteres isora suspension cultures were explored for diosgenin extraction. The effect of biotic elicitors on the biosynthesis of diosgenin, in suspension cultures of H. isora was studied. Bacterial as well as fungal elicitors such as Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Aspergillus niger were applied at varying concentrations to investigate their effects on diosgenin content. The HPLC based quantification of the treated samples proved that amongst the biotic elicitors, E. coli (1.5%) proved best with a 9.1-fold increase in diosgenin content over respective control cultures. Further, the scaling-up of the suspension culture to shake-flask and ultimately to bioreactor level were carried out for production of diosgenin. During all the scaling-up stages, diosgenin yield obtained was in the range between 7.91 and 8.64 mg l−1, where diosgenin content was increased with volume of the medium. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed biotic elicitors induced the expression levels of regulatory genes in diosgenin biosynthetic pathway, the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) and cycloartenol synthase (CAS), which can be positively correlated with elicited diosgenin contents in those cultures. The study holds significance as H. isora represents a cleaner and easy source of diosgenin where unlike other traditional sources, it is not admixed with other steroidal saponins, and the scaled-up levels of diosgenin achieved herein have the potential to be explored commercially.     

Solvent-Free Synthesis,Characterization, and In Vitro Biological Activity Study of Xanthenediones and Acridinediones

Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry - The present work highlights the broad range of oxygen and nitrogen heterocycles and their applications in medicinal field. A facial approach has been...     

Synthesis,Characterization, and Evaluation of Five Coordinated Copper(II) Complexes as Antibacterial,Artificial Nuclease,and Sod Mimics

The copper(II) complexes with ciprofloxacin (CFLH), levofloxacin (LFLH), norfloxacin (NFLH), and neutral bidentate ligands have been synthesized and characterized. The complexes have been evaluated for their antibacterial activity against selective species. Complexes have been also checked for their interacting behavior with DNA, and were found to have two different modes of interaction, classical and partial intercalation. Tested complexes were found to be better antioxidants with their IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.51 to 0.97 μM.     

Controlled Release of Ropinirole Hydrochloride from a Multiple Barrier Layer Tablet Dosage Form: Effect of Polymer Type on Pharmacokinetics and IVIVC

The purpose of the present study was to control in vitro burst effect of the highly water-soluble drug, ropinirole hydrochloride to reduce in vivo dose dumping and to establish in vitro–in vivo correlation. The pharmacokinetics of two entirely different tablet formulation technologies is also explored in this study. For pharmacokinetics study, FDA recommends at least 10% difference in drug release for formulations to be studied but here a different approach was adopted. The formulations F8A and F9A having similar dissolution profiles among themselves and with Requip® XL™ (f₂ value 72, 77, 71 respectively) were evaluated. The C_max of formulation F8A comprising hypromellose 100,000 cP was 1005.16 pg/ml as compared to 973.70 pg/ml of formulation F9A comprising hypromellose 4000 cP irrespective of T_max of 5 and 5.75 h, respectively. The difference in release and extent of absorption in vivo was due to synergistic effect of complex RH release mechanism; however, AUC_0–t and AUC_0–∞ values were comparable. The level A correlation using the Wagner–Nelson method supported the findings where R² was 0.7597 and 0.9675 respectively for formulation F8A and F9A. Thus, in vivo studies are required for proving the therapeutic equivalency of different formulation technologies even though f₂ ≥ 50. The technology was demonstrated effectively at industrial manufacturing scale of 200,000 tablets.KEY WORDS: controlled release polymer, in vitro–in vivo correlation (IVIVC), multiple barrier layer tablets, pharmacokinetics, ropinirole hydrochloride (RH)     

Immunomodulatory Effects in a Phase II Study of Lenalidomide Combined with Cetuximab in Refractory KRAS-Mutant Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients

This study assessed the immunomodulatory effects in previously treated KRAS-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer patients participating in a phase II multicenter, open-label clinical trial receiving lenalidomide alone or lenalidomide plus cetuximab. The main findings show the T cell immunostimulatory properties of lenalidomide as the drug induced a decrease in the percentage CD45RA⁺ naïve T cells 3-fold while increasing the percentage HLA-DR⁺ activated T helper cells and percentage total CD45RO⁺ CD8⁺ memory T cytotoxic cells, 2.6- and 2.1-fold respectively (p<0.0001). In addition, lenalidomide decreased the percentage of circulating CD19⁺ B cells 2.6-fold (p<0.0001). Lenalidomide increased a modest, yet significant, 1.4-fold change in the percentage of circulating natural killer cells. Our findings indicate that lenalidomide significantly activates T cells, suggestive of an immunotherapeutic role for this drug in settings of maintenance therapy and tumor immunity. Furthermore, reported for the first time is the effect of lenalidomide in combination with cetuximab on T cell function, including increases in circulating naïve and central memory T cells. In summary, lenalidomide and cetuximab have significant effects on circulating immune cells in patients with colorectal carcinoma.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT01032291","term_id":"NCT01032291"}}NCT01032291     

Bone Morphogenetic Protein Type I Receptor Antagonists Decrease Growth and Induce Cell Death of Lung Cancer Cell Lines

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are highly conserved morphogens that are essential for normal development. BMP-2 is highly expressed in the majority of non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC) but not in normal lung tissue or benign lung tumors. The effects of the BMP signaling cascade on the growth and survival of cancer cells is poorly understood. We show that BMP signaling is basally active in lung cancer cell lines, which can be effectively inhibited with selective antagonists of the BMP type I receptors. Lung cancer cell lines express alk2, alk3, and alk6 and inhibition of a single BMP receptor was not sufficient to decrease signaling. Inhibition of more than one type I receptor was required to decrease BMP signaling in lung cancer cell lines. BMP receptor antagonists and silencing of BMP type I receptors with siRNA induced cell death, inhibited cell growth, and caused a significant decrease in the expression of inhibitor of differentiation (Id1, Id2, and Id3) family members, which are known to regulate cell growth and survival in many types of cancers. BMP receptor antagonists also decreased clonogenic cell growth. Knockdown of Id3 significantly decreased cell growth and induced cell death of lung cancer cells. H1299 cells stably overexpressing Id3 were resistant to growth suppression and induction of cell death induced by the BMP antagonist DMH2. These studies suggest that BMP signaling promotes cell growth and survival of lung cancer cells, which is mediated through its regulation of Id family members. Selective antagonists of the BMP type I receptors represents a potential means to pharmacologically treat NSCLC and other carcinomas with an activated BMP signaling cascade.     

Chemokine Receptors CCR6 and CXCR3 Are Necessary for CD4+ T Cell Mediated Ocular Surface Disease in Experimental Dry Eye Disease

CD4⁺ T cells are essential to pathogenesis of ocular surface disease in dry eye. Two subtypes of CD4⁺ T cells, Th1 and Th17 cells, function concurrently in dry eye to mediate disease. This occurs in spite of the cross-regulation of IFN-γ and IL-17A, the prototypical cytokines Th1 and Th17 cells, respectively. Essential to an effective immune response are chemokines that direct and summon lymphocytes to specific tissues. T cell trafficking has been extensively studied in other models, but this is the first study to examine the role of chemokine receptors in ocular immune responses. Here, we demonstrate that the chemokine receptors, CCR6 and CXCR3, which are expressed on Th17 and Th1 cells, respectively, are required for the pathogenesis of dry eye disease, as CCR6KO and CXCR3KO mice do not develop disease under desiccating stress. CD4⁺ T cells from CCR6KO and CXCR3KO mice exposed to desiccating stress (DS) do not migrate to the ocular surface, but remain in the superficial cervical lymph nodes. In agreement with this, CD4⁺ T cells from CCR6 and CXCR3 deficient donors exposed to DS, when adoptively transferred to T cell deficient recipients manifest minimal signs of dry eye disease, including significantly less T cell infiltration, goblet cell loss, and expression of inflammatory cytokine and matrix metalloproteinase expression compared to wild-type donors. These findings highlight the important interaction of chemokine receptors on T cells and chemokine ligand expression on epithelial cells of the cornea and conjunctiva in dry eye pathogenesis and reveal potential new therapeutic targets for dry eye disease.     

Evaluation of effects of arsenic on carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur metabolism in two contrasting varieties of Brassica juncea

This study evaluated the effects of arsenic (As) exposure on carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur (CNS) metabolism in Brassica juncea. Two contrasting, tolerant (TPM-1) and sensitive (TM-4), varieties of B. Juncea were selected and grown either in control sand (150 g) or in sand containing 10 mg of arsenate. Harvesting was performed at 7 and 15 days and various metabolites and enzymes of CNS as well as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) metabolism were analyzed. At 7 days, TM-4 showed significantly higher As accumulation and stressed phenotype with increase in superoxide radicals, malondialdehyde, and cell death, as compared with TPM-1. However, the level of hydrogen peroxide was higher in TPM-1 than in TM-4. The level of GABA and the activity of glutamate decarboxylase increased in both roots and shoots of TPM-1, but not in TM-4. The level of nitrate and sulfate increased and decreased in shoots of TPM-1 and TM-4, respectively. The supply of fumarate and succinate was maintained in both shoots and roots of TPM-1 while it was only in shoots of TM-4. There was significant alteration in the profile of amino acids and in sulfur and nitrogen metabolism. However, at 15 days, As accumulation of both varieties was found to be similar along with an increase in GABA, nitrate, and sulfate in both shoots and roots except sulfate in TM-4. Supply of fumarate and succinate was also maintained and other responses were found to be similar in TPM-1 and TM-4. The study demonstrates that responses of CNS metabolism differ in varietal and time-dependent manner.