Overexpression of Prolidase Induces Autophagic Death in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells.

Background/aims: Proline availability for proline dehydrogenase/proline oxidase (PRODH/POX) may represent switching mechanism between PRODH/POX-dependent apoptosis and autophagy. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of overexpression of prolidase (proline releasing enzyme) on apoptosis/autophagy in breast cancer MCF-7 cells.

Methods: The model of MCF-7 cells with prolidase overexpression (MCF-7) was obtained.

LC-QTOF-MS and H NMR Metabolomics Verifies Potential Use of Greater Omentum for Biofilm Eradication in Rats.

Bacterial wound infections are a common problem associated with surgical interventions. In particular, biofilm-forming bacteria are hard to eradicate, and alternative methods of treatment based on covering wounds with vascularized flaps of tissue are being developed. The greater omentum is a complex organ covering the intestines in the abdomen, which support wound recovery following surgical procedures and exhibit natural antimicrobial activity that could improve biofilm eradication.

Constituents of Propolis: Chrysin, Caffeic Acid, -Coumaric Acid, and Ferulic Acid Induce PRODH/POX-Dependent Apoptosis in Human Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cell (CAL-27).

Propolis evokes several therapeutic properties, including anticancer activity. These activities are attributed to the action of polyphenols. Previously it has been demonstrated, that one of the most abundant polyphenolic compounds in ethanolic extracts of propolis are chrysin, caffeic acid, -coumaric acid, and ferulic acid.

New potential biomarkers of acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity.

Acetaminophen (APAP) is one of the most common antipyretic and analgesic drugs. Despite various precautions patients use APAP in amounts exceeding acceptable daily doses. APAP overdosing contributes to APAP intoxication, which leads to acute liver injury or necessity of exigent liver transplantation.

Verification of chemical composition of commercially available propolis extracts by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis.

Propolis is a resin that is collected by honeybees from various plant sources. Due to its pharmacological properties, it is used in commercial production of nutritional supplements in pharmaceutical industry. In this study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was applied for quality control analysis of the three commercial specimens containing aqueous-alcoholic extracts of bee propolis.

Metabolomic study of plasma of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is an important health problem, both because of AAA rupture and death and because of increased cardiovascular mortality. Identification of new biomarkers of AAA may suggest novel pathological mechanisms and targets for new medical treatments to slow AAA progression. Metabolic changes in AAA patients were mainly related to carbohydrate and lipid metabolism and many of these changes can be associated with a situation of insulin resistance (which can be related to metabolic syndrome) together with altered amino acid metabolism.

Metabolomics with LC-QTOF-MS permits the prediction of disease stage in aortic abdominal aneurysm based on plasma metabolic fingerprint.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a permanent and localized aortic dilation, defined as aortic diameter ≥3 cm. It is an asymptomatic but potentially fatal condition because progressive enlargement of the abdominal aorta is spontaneously evolving towards rupture.Biomarkers may help to explain pathological processes of AAA expansion, and allow us to find novel therapeutic strategies or to determine the efficiency of current therapies.

Targeted and non-targeted metabolic time trajectory in plasma of patients after acute coronary syndrome.

Metabolite fingerprinting (metabolomics/metabonomics) is perfectly suited for assessing the biological response following acute coronary syndrome (ACS) as relevant information can be identified in both the change and the absence of change in metabolite concentrations as time progresses post syndrome. During this study the metabolic pattern of plasma from patients at time points 0, four days, two months and six months after the onset of ACS were compared to controls using a non-targeted approach with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Fatty acid profiles of the sample set were also analysed in a targeted way.

Improving metabolite knowledge in stable atherosclerosis patients by association and correlation of GC-MS and 1H NMR fingerprints.

The plasma of patients with stable carotid atherosclerosis (n = 9), and healthy subjects (n = 10) have been fingerprinted with both GC-MS and (1)H NMR. Principal component analysis (PCA), partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and orthogonal partial least-squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) have been applied to the profiles from each technique both separately and in combination. These techniques complement each other and enable a clearer picture of the biological samples to be interpreted not only for classification purposes, but also more importantly to define the metabolic state of patients with carotid atherosclerosis.