A natural compound from Hydnophytum formicarium induces apoptosis of MCF-7 cells via up-regulation of Bax.

Background: Hydnophytum formicarium Jack is an epyphytic shrub that belongs to the family of Rubiaceae and is native to the tropical rain forests of the Asean region, which includes Malaysia. A flavanoid derivative, 7, 3', 5'-trihydroxyflavanone (3HFD), isolated from H. formicarium has been reported to have cytotoxic effects on the human breast carcinoma cell line MCF-7.

Betaine yields from marine algal species utilized in the preparation of seaweed extracts used in agriculture.

Ascophyllum nodosum, and to a lesser extent, Laminaria digitata, L. hyperborea and Fucus serratus, are marine algal species utilized in the commercial production of seaweed extracts used in agriculture. Betaines have been shown to be important constituents of these extracts, but there appears to have been no study made on whether there are variations in the betaine contents of these species based on either the place or date of collection.

Constituents of Carpobrotus edulis inhibit P-glycoprotein of MDR1-transfected mouse lymphoma cells.

A bioassay-guided separation protocol, including the testing of the extracts, fractions and pure compounds for their ability to inhibit P-glycoprotein (the efflux pump responsible for the multidrug resistance of the used cell line) of mouse lymphoma cells containing the human efflux pump gene MDR1, led to the isolation of seven compounds from the chloroform and ethyl acetate soluble fractions of the methanolic extract of Carpobrotus edulis. The compounds were identified by 1D, 2D NMR and MS investigations as triterpens (beta-amyrin, uvaol and oleanolic acid), monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, catechin, epicatechin and procyanidin B5. Uvaol was the most effective and promising compound in the reversal of multidrug resistance in MDR mouse lymphoma cell line.

Comparative study of the antioxidant activities of eleven Salvia species.

The lipid peroxidation-inhibiting activities of aqueous methanolic extracts of eleven Salvia species (Fam. Lamiaceae) were evaluated in an enzyme-independent biological system. The total polyphenol contents and the amounts of the most abundant phenoloids of the genus, caffeic and rosmarinic acids, were also determined.

Spectroscopic diagnosis of myocardial infarction and heart failure by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in serum samples.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Western civilization. In this pilot study we evaluated a new method for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction and heart failure by determining the typical fingerprint in the infrared (IR) spectrum of 1 microL of a dried patient serum sample by Fourier transform IR spectroscopy. For classification, cluster analysis and artificial neural networks (ANN) were applied.

[Antioxidant activity of the fruits and hydrophilic compounds of Physalis alkekengi].

Physalis alkekengi L. (bladder cherry, Chinese lantern, winter cherry) is an unusual species of the family Solanaceae. Although accumulation of alkaloids is characteristic to Solanaceae species, and accordingly the root and above ground parts of P.

Inhibition of quorum-sensing signals by essential oils.

The role of quorum sensing (QS) is well known in microbial pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance. QS is responsible for motility, swarming, and biofilm production based on the signal molecules, e.g.

The traditional Hungarian medicinal plant Centaurea sadleriana Janka accelerates wound healing in rats.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The aerial parts of Centaurea sadleriana Janka, a species native to Hungary, have been used for the healing of wounds of livestock in Hungarian folk medicine. This is the first report of the ethnomedicinal use of this plant.

Aim Of The Study: This study was aimed at investigating the wound-healing efficiency of different extracts of Centaurea sadleriana.

Xanthanolides with antitumour activity from Xanthium italicum.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of a CHCl3 extract of the leaves of Xanthium italicum Moretti led to the isolation of four xanthanolides: xanthatin (1), 4-epixanthanol (2), 4-epi-isoxanthanol (3), and 2-hydroxyxanthinosin (4). Their structures were determined by means of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, including 1H-1H COSY, NOESY, HSQC and HMBC experiments, which resulted in complete and unambiguous 1H and 13C NMR chemical shift assignments. The isolated compounds 1-4 were evaluated for their antiproliferative activities, and were demonstrated to exert significant cell growth inhibitory activity against human cervix adenocarcinoma (HeLa), skin carcinoma (A431), and breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7) cells.

Bioactivity-guided isolation of cytotoxic sesquiterpenes and flavonoids from Anthemis ruthenica.

A new eudesmanolide sesquiterpene, sivasinolide 6-O-angelate (1), was isolated from the aerial parts of Anthemis ruthenica together with the known compounds chrysanin (2), tanacin (3), 3 beta-hydroxycostunolide (4), centauridin (5), and centaureidin (6). The compounds were obtained by means of bioactivity-guided fractionation from the CHCl (3) extract of the herb, which displayed high cytotoxic activity. The structures were determined by UV, HR-ESI-MS, and high-field 1D and 2D NMR spectral analyses, affording complete (1)H- and (13)C-NMR assignments for all compounds.

Hepatic transit time analysis using contrast-enhanced ultrasound with BR1: A prospective study comparing patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer with healthy volunteers.

We prospectively compared hepatic transit time (HTT) measurements in subjects with liver metastases from colorectal cancer (group a) and healthy volunteers (group b) using contrast-enhanced ultrasound with BR1. The purpose of this study was to verify our hypothesis that the hemodynamic changes of the liver, which occur during metastasis seeding, would shorten the HTT, and we expect that such changes could be used for the detection of occult liver metastases from colorectal cancer in the future. The study had institutional review board approval and all subjects gave informed written consent.

Antiviral activities of extracts of Euphorbia hirta L. against HIV-1, HIV-2 and SIVmac251.

The antiretroviral activities of extracts of Euphorbia hirta were investigated in vitro on the MT4 human T lymphocyte cell line. The cytotoxicities of the extracts were tested by means of the MTT cell proliferation assay, and then the direct effects of the aqueous extract on HIV-1, HIV-2 and SIV(mac251) reverse transcriptase (RT) activity were determined. A dose-dependent inhibition of RT activity was observed for all three viruses.

Antitumor activity of alkaloids derived from Amaryllidaceae species.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the anticancer properties of five alkaloids isolated from Amaryllidaceae, including the inhibitory effect on P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and the apoptosis-inducing capacity. The tested alkaloids were evaluated for their multidrug resistance (MDR)-reversing activity on human MDR1-gene-transfected L5178 mouse lymphoma cells, using the rhodamine-123 (Rh-123) assay. Trisphaeridine and pretazettine increased the intracellular Rh-123 concentration 30- and 50-fold, respectively, as compared to the non-treated cells, and 2-O-acetyllycorine and trisphaeridine were demonstrated by means of the checkerboard method to enhance the antiproliferative activity of doxorubicin on L5178 MDR mouse lymphoma cells.

A systems approach to prion disease.

Prions cause transmissible neurodegenerative diseases and replicate by conformational conversion of normal benign forms of prion protein (PrP(C)) to disease-causing PrP(Sc) isoforms. A systems approach to disease postulates that disease arises from perturbation of biological networks in the relevant organ. We tracked global gene expression in the brains of eight distinct mouse strain-prion strain combinations throughout the progression of the disease to capture the effects of prion strain, host genetics, and PrP concentration on disease incubation time.

An anatomic gene expression atlas of the adult mouse brain.

Studying gene expression provides a powerful means of understanding structure-function relationships in the nervous system. The availability of genome-scale in situ hybridization datasets enables new possibilities for understanding brain organization based on gene expression patterns. The Anatomic Gene Expression Atlas (AGEA) is a new relational atlas revealing the genetic architecture of the adult C57Bl/6J mouse brain based on spatial correlations across expression data for thousands of genes in the Allen Brain Atlas (ABA).

Inhibition of human cytomegalovirus IE gene expression by dihydro-beta-agarofuran sesquiterpenes isolated from Euonymus species.

The development of strategies intended to inhibit human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) immediate-early (IE) antigen expression is an important goal in research designed to prevent and treat certain forms of cancer. The aim of this study was to identify potent IE antigen-targeting natural compounds as antitumor promoters in an in vitro model of tumor promotion. Nineteen dihydro-beta-agarofuran sesquiterpenes isolated from Euonymus species were evaluated for their ability to inhibit HCMV IE antigen expression in human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells.

Expression profiling of the solute carrier gene family in the mouse brain.

The solute carrier (Slc) superfamily is a major group of membrane transport proteins present in mammalian cells. Although Slc transporters play essential and diverse roles in the central nervous system, the localization and function of the vast majority of Slc genes in the mammalian brain are largely unknown. Using high-throughput in situ hybridization data generated by the Allen Brain Atlas, we systematically and quantitatively analyzed the spatial and cellular distribution of 307 Slc genes, which represent nearly 90% of presently known mouse Slc genes, in the adult C57BL/6J mouse brain.

Antiproliferative activity of Hungarian Asteraceae species against human cancer cell lines. Part II.

The antiproliferative activities of aqueous and organic extracts prepared from 26 Hungarian species of the tribes Cynereae and Lactuceae (Asteraceae) were tested in vitro against HeLa (cervix epithelial adenocarcinoma), A431 (skin epidermoid carcinoma) and MCF7 (breast epithelial adenocarcinoma) cells by using the MTT assay. Of the tested 200 extracts of different plant parts obtained with n-hexane, chloroform, 50% methanol and water, 16 extracts displayed noteworthy cell growth inhibitory activity (>50% inhibition at a concentration of 10 microg/mL). The IC50 values of these extracts were determined, and their direct cytotoxic effects were measured.

Antiproliferative effect of flavonoids and sesquiterpenoids from Achillea millefolium s.l. on cultured human tumour cell lines.

The antiproliferative activities of n-hexane, chloroform, aqueous-methanol and aqueous extracts of the aerial parts of the Achillea millefolium aggregate on three human tumour cell lines were investigated by means of MTT assays. The chloroform-soluble extract exerted high tumour cell proliferation inhibitory activities on HeLa and MCF-7 cells, and a moderate effect on A431 cells; accordingly, it was subjected to detailed bioactivity-guided fractionation. As a result of the multistep chromatographic purifications (VLC, CPC, PLC, gel filtration), five flavonoids (apigenin, luteolin, centaureidin, casticin and artemetin) and five sesquiterpenoids (paulitin, isopaulitin, psilostachyin C, desacetylmatricarin and sintenin) were isolated and identified by spectroscopic methods.

Antitumour properties of acridone alkaloids on a murine lymphoma cell line.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the anticancer properties of a set of furanoacridone alkaloids, arborinine and evoxanthine, including the inhibitory effect of P-glycoprotein (Pgp) and the apoptosis-inducing capacity. The tested alkaloids were evaluated for multidrug resistance (MDR)-reversing activity on human Pgp-transfected L5178 mouse lymphoma cells, using the rhodamine-123 (Rh-123) assay. The antiproliferative effects of natural compounds and their interactions with doxorubicin were determined in MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assays.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of aconitine-type and lipo-alkaloids of Aconitum carmichaelii roots.

By optimizing the extraction and analytical conditions, a reliable and precise HPLC method coupled with photodiode array detection (HPLC-DAD) has been developed for the identification and quantification of three major aconitine-type alkaloids (aconitine, mesaconitine, hypaconitine) in the roots of Aconitum carmichaelii Debeaux. The qualitative analysis of the plant material was carried out by LC-APCI-MS(n). By means of this method, 26 lipo-alkaloids were also identified from the roots of A.

Bisnorditerpene, norditerpene, and lipo-alkaloids from Aconitum toxicum.

From the roots of Aconitum toxicum, acotoxicine (1), a new bisnorditerpene alkaloid, was isolated together with the structurally related delavaconitine, delavaconine, dolaconine, aconosine, and the norditerpene alkaloid neolinine. The structure of compound 1 was elucidated by spectroscopic data interpretation. Further, eight lipo-alkaloids (2-9) were detected in the plant material by LC-APCI-MSn analysis.

Assessment of a biliary hamartoma with contrast-enhanced sonography using two different contrast agents.

A 49 year old male with carcinoma of the esophagus was staged using conventional US of the abdomen. US revealed signs of cirrhosis and a hyporeflexive focal liver lesion of about 5 mm in diameter was found. Low-MI contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) with SonoVue (Bracco, Milano, Italy) showed an enhancement pattern which was typical for benign liver lesions while high-MI CEUS with Levovist (Schering, Berlin, Germany) revealed a contrast defect in the liver late phase (4:30 min p.

Chemoprevention and inhibition of P-glycoprotein in cancer cells by Chinese medicinal herbs.

Many of the herbal extracts used in the Chinese clinical medical routine inhibit the growth of tumor cells. In the present work, extracts of 12 selected herbs were prepared with methanol, chloroform, ethyl acetate and water, and the effects of these on the multidrug resistance (MDR) and P-glycoprotein of mouse lymphoma cells transfected with the human mdr1 gene and on a human lung alveolar epithelial cell line were investigated. The extracts were tested for antiproliferative effects, and the reversal of MDR in mouse lymphoma cells.