The effect of biosynthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles on gene expression and apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Objective(s): Some forms of breast cancer such as triple-negative phenotype, are serious challenge because of high metastatic cases, high mortality and resistance to conventional therapy motivated the search for alternative treatment approaches. Nanomaterials are promising candidates and suitable alternatives for improving tumor and cancer cell treatments.

Materials And Methods: Biosynthesis of ZnO NPs by help of Berberis integerrima fruit extract, has been done.

Apoptotic Effect of Melittin Purified from Iranian Honey Bee Venom on Human Cervical Cancer HeLa Cell Line.

Melittin, an amphipathic 26-residue peptide, is the main component of honey bee venom. Studies have been demonstrated that melittin has an inhibitory effect on proliferation of cancer cells. However, the precise mechanism of action is not completely understood.

First report on the isolation of melittin from Iranian honey bee venom and evaluation of its toxicity on gastric cancer AGS cells.

Background: It has been previously reported that melittin, the main ingredient of honey bee venom, has anticancer properties. However, there appears to be no earlier study focusing on the isolation of melittin from Iranian honey bee venom (Apis mellifera meda), and evaluation of its effect on cancerous cells.

Methods: We isolated melittin using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography, and its potential toxicity on gastric cancer AGS cells was determined with an MTT [3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay.