Anti-Breast Cancer Activity on MCF-7 Cells of Melittin from Indonesia's Apis cerana: An In Vitro Study.

Objective: Breast cancer is the most common case of cancers. Apitheraphy has been traditionally used for abundance diseases. This study aims to evaluate and compare the anti-breast cancer activity of melittin from Indonesia's Apic cerana as a potential drug for treating breast cancer.

Evaluating the potency of Sulawesi propolis compounds as ACE-2 inhibitors through molecular docking for COVID-19 drug discovery preliminary study.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Up to date, there has been no specific cure to treat the disease. Indonesia is one of the countries that is still fighting to control virus transmission.

Molecular interaction analysis of Sulawesi propolis compounds with SARS-CoV-2 main protease as preliminary study for COVID-19 drug discovery.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a respiratory disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is a global health concern, as the World Health Organization declared this outbreak to be a global pandemic in March 2020. The need for an effective treatment is urgent because the development of an effective vaccine may take years given the complexity of the virus and its rapid mutation. One promising treatment target for COVID-19 is SARS-CoV-2 main protease.

Signaling Inhibitors Accelerate the Conversion of mouse iPS Cells into Cancer Stem Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a class of cancer cells characterized by self-renewal, differentiation and tumorigenic potential. We previously established a model of CSCs by culturing mouse induced pluripotent stem cells (miPSCs) for four weeks in the presence of a conditioned medium (CM) of cancer cell lines, which functioned as the tumor microenvironment. Based on this methodology of developing CSCs from miPSCs, we assessed the risk of 110 non-mutagenic chemical compounds, most of which are known as inhibitors of cytoplasmic signaling pathways, as potential carcinogens.

A novel model of liver cancer stem cells developed from induced pluripotent stem cells.

Background: Liver cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related death. Every type of tumours including liver cancer contains cancer stem cells (CSCs). To date, the molecular mechanism regulating the development of liver CSCs remains unknown.

Targeting Ovarian Cancer Cells Overexpressing CD44 with Immunoliposomes Encapsulating Glycosylated Paclitaxel.

Paclitaxel (PTX) is one of the front-line drugs approved for the treatment of ovarian cancer. However, the application of PTX is limited due to the significant hydrophobicity and poor pharmacokinetics. We previously reported target-directed liposomes carrying tumor-selective conjugated antibody and encapsulated glycosylated PTX (gPTX-L) which successfully overcome the PTX limitation.

Use of DNA-generated gold nanoparticles to radiosensitize and eradicate radioresistant glioma stem cells.

The surface reactivity of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) is receiving attention as a radiosensitizer of cancer cells for radiation therapy and/or as a drug carrier to target cells. This study demonstrates the potential of DNA-AuNPs (prepared by mixing calf thymus DNA with HAuCl solution) as a radiosensitizer of human glioma cells that have cancer stem cell (CSC)-like properties, to reduce their survival. CSC-like U251MG-P1 cells and their parental glioblastoma U251MG cells are treated with a prepared DNA-AuNP colloid.

Targeting Glioblastoma Cells Expressing CD44 with Liposomes Encapsulating Doxorubicin and Displaying Chlorotoxin-IgG Fc Fusion Protein.

We recently have established a successful xenograft model of human glioblastoma cells by enriching hyaluronic acid-dependent spheroid-forming populations termed U251MG-P1 cells from U251MG cells. Since U251MG-P1 cells have been confirmed to express CD44 along with principal stemness marker genes, , , and , this CD44 expressing population appeared to majorly consist of undifferentiated cells. Evaluating the sensitivity to anti-cancer agents, we found U251MG-P1 cells were sensitive to doxorubicin with IC at 200 nM.

A new PDAC mouse model originated from iPSCs-converted pancreatic cancer stem cells (CSCcm).

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most representative form of pancreatic cancers. PDAC solid tumours are constituted of heterogeneous populations of cells including cancer stem cells (CSCs), differentiated cancer cells, desmoplastic stroma and immune cells. The identification and consequent isolation of pancreatic CSCs facilitated the generation of genetically engineered murine models.