Metal Complexes in Cancer Treatment: Journey So Far

Metal complexes in cancer therapy have attracted much interest mainly because metals exhibit unique characteristics, such as redox activity, metal-ligand interaction, structure and bonding, Lewis acid properties etc. In 1965, Barnett Rosenberg serendipitously discovered the metal-based compound cisplatin, an outstanding breakthrough in the history of metal-based anticancer complexes and led to a new area of anticancer drug discovery. Many metal-based compounds have been studied for their potential anticancer properties. Some of these compounds have FDA approval for clinical use, while others are now undergoing clinical trials for cancer therapy and detection. In the present study, we have highlighted the primary mode of action of metallic complexes and all FDA-approved/under clinical trial drugs with reference to cancer treatment. This review also focuses on recent progress on metal-based complexes such as platinum, ruthenium, iron, etc. with potential anticancer activities.     

WRKY transcription factors: evolution,regulation, and functional diversity in plants

Protoplasma - The recent advancements in sequencing technologies and informatic tools promoted a paradigm shift to decipher the hidden biological mysteries and transformed the biological issues...     

Duffy blood group determinants and malaria in India

Two hundred and fiftyeight Muria Gond subjects from Bastar district in Central India and 97 subjects from Delhi were typed for Duffy blood group determinants, and their blood examined for malaria antibodies as well as for presence of malarial parasites. We found the Duffy-negative phenotype in high prevalence among Muria Gonds, while in Delhi no subject was observed to be Duffy-negative. Frequencies of seropositivity for malaria antibodies (the test did not distinguish betweenP. falciparum andP. vivax) were not significantly different among subgroups of Muria Gond individuals with different Duffy blood group phenotypes. Examination of thin and thick blood films did not reveal infection withP. vivax in Duffy-negative individuals. Our results suggest that Duffy-negative individuals, though resistant to infection withP. vivax, are not resistant to infection withP. falcipanun.     

Wellness programs: a review of the evidence

OBJECTIVE: To review studies that have examined an association between wellness programs and improvements in quality of life and to assess the strength of the scientific evidence. DATA SOURCES: A MEDLINE search was constructed with the following medical subject headings: "psychoneuroimmunology," "chronic disease" and "health promotion," "chronic disease" and "health behaviour," "relaxation techniques," "music therapy," "laughter," "anger," "mediation" and "behavioural medicine." Searches using the text words "wellness" and "wellness program" were also carried out. References from the primary articles identified in the search and contemporary writing on wellness were also considered. STUDY SELECTION: Selection was limited to randomized controlled trials or prospective studies published in English that involved human subjects and that took place between 1980 and 1996. All studies with an intervention aimed at promoting wellness and measuring outcomes were included, except studies of patients with cancer and HIV and studies of health promotion programs in the workplace. Of the 1082 references initially identified, 11 met the criteria for inclusion in the critical appraisal. DATA EXTRACTION: The following information was extracted from the 11 studies: characteristics of the study population, number of participants (and number followed to completion), length of follow-up, type of intervention, outcome measures and results. All 11 studies were assessed for the quality of their evidence. DATA SYNTHESIS: All studies reported some positive outcomes following the intervention in question, although many had limitations precluding applicability of the results to a wider population. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the suggested benefit associated with wellness programs, the evidence was inconclusive. Whether the composition of the target group or the type of intervention has a role in determining outcomes is unknown. Although trends suggest that wellness programs may be cost-effective, further research is needed for confirmation.     

Cytogenetics of Crotalaria V. Supernumerary nucleoli in C. agatiflora (Leguminosae)

Of 35 species of Crotalaria (Leguminosae) studied, all but one had usually one nucleolus in the premetaphase I cells. In C. agatiflora 300 PMCs from four out of five plants were investigated and the percentage cells with more than one nucleolus was determined as well as the nature of nucleolar attachment to bivalents and the range and the sizes of various nucleoli present in the cell. The aberrant cells ranged from 42 to 50%. The nucleoli (1–6) were usually attached to different bivalents. Where one nucleolus was present in the cell, it was always attached to an X-shaped bivalent, formed of a pair of nucleolar chromosomes. In the aberrant cells one nucleolus usually was attached to such a bivalent. The presence of accessory nucleoli has been attributed to hybridity as a result of large-scale intercrossing among five subspecies and consequent dispersal of intermediates in the adjoining areas where C. agatiflora grows wild (East Africa and Ethiopia). The change in the regulatory system of the cell caused by hybridity results in activation of latent nucleolar organizers, although their overall presence in the genome is not due to hybridity.     

Sister chromatid differentiation and isolabeling of chromosomes

Summary Isolabeling observed during sister chromatid differentiation (SCD) was studied from human skin fibroblasts by the fluorescence-plus-Giemsa (FPG) technique. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) was fed to exponentially dividing cells for 52 h to enable completion of two consecutive cycles of DNA replication. During this period, the late-replicating regions of some chromosomes were able to go through three replication cycles. These chromosome regions had evidently incorporated BrdU bifiliarly in both chromatids and hence, on staining with FPG, appeared isostained (isolabeled). Thus, incubation of exponentially dividing cells with BrdU for a period longer than that required for two cell cycles appears to be a suitable method for revealing the late-replicating regions of the genome, such as the X chromosome in a human female, as isolated.In another experiment with Indian muntjac chromosomes, isolabeled segments were darkly stained, which suggested unifilar incorporation of BrdU. In this case, unequal crossing-over or an unequal distribution of thymine residues probably is responsible for the isolabel.     

Functional antagonism between c-Jun and MyoD proteins: a direct physical association.

The product of the proto-oncogene Jun inhibits myogenesis. Constitutive expression of Jun in myoblasts interferes with the expression and the function of MyoD protein. In transient transfection assays Jun inhibits transactivation of the MyoD promoter, the muscle creatine kinase enhancer, and a reporter gene linked to MyoD DNA-binding sites. Conversely, MyoD suppresses the transactivation by Jun of genes linked to an AP-1 site. We demonstrate that both in vivo and in vitro MyoD and Jun proteins physically interact. Mutational analysis suggests that this interaction occurs via the leucine zipper domain of Jun and the helix-loop-helix region of MyoD.     

Increasing lambing perfcrmance of ewes by active immunization with polyandroalbumin

This study was conducted on 110 cross-bred Hisardale x Nali ewes. The ewes were divided into two groups: one group was treated with 2 ml of polyandroalbumin subcutaneously (s.c.) twice at an interval of 28 d, with breeding rams introduced 28 d after the second injection of the drug. The second group served as the untreated controls. Of the 55 ewes in each group, 52 were mated during the 40 d breeding period. The occurance of estrus and estrous cycle length were the same in the two groups. Fortysix ewes in the treated group and 47 ewes in the control group lambed, producing 55 and 47 lambs, respectively. In the treated group, the lambing rate, fecundity and fertility were 100, 96.36 and 88.46%, while these values for the control group were 85.45, 83.64 and 90.38%. Prolificity rates were 1.15 and 0.98 for the treated and control group, respectively.