Antibody response to enterotoxigenic of Filipino colorectal cancer patients.

Background: Several species of the gut microbiota have been implicated in colorectal cancer (CRC) development. The anaerobic bacterium enterotoxigenic (ETBF), has been identified to produce fragilysin, a toxin known to cleave E-cadherin, thereby leading to carcinogenesis.

Objective: To determine the antibody response of CRC patients against ETBF to ascertain whether significant difference exists or whether antibody response is related to tumor grade and tumor stage.

Neuroactive venom compounds obtained from as potential leads for neurodegenerative diseases: insights on their acetylcholinesterase and beta-secretase inhibitory activities .

Background: Spider venom is a rich cocktail of neuroactive compounds designed to prey capture and defense against predators that act on neuronal membrane proteins, in particular, acetylcholinesterases (AChE) that regulate synaptic transmission through acetylcholine (ACh) hydrolysis - an excitatory neurotransmitter - and beta-secretases (BACE) that primarily cleave amyloid precursor proteins (APP), which are, in turn, relevant in the structural integrity of neurons. The present study provides preliminary evidence on the therapeutic potential of venom against neurodegenerative diseases.

Methods: Spider venom was extracted by electrostimulation and fractionated by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS).

Discrimination of malignant from benign thyroid lesions through neural networks using FTIR signals obtained from tissues.

The current gold standard in cancer diagnosis-the microscopic examination of hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained biopsies-is prone to bias since it greatly relies on visual examination. Hence, there is a need to develop a more sensitive and specific method for diagnosing cancer. Here, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of thyroid tumors (n = 164; 76 malignant, 88 benign) was performed and five (5) neural network (NN) models were designed to discriminate the obtained spectral data.

The Venom of Philippine Tarantula (Theraphosidae) Contains Peptides with Pro-Oxidative and Nitrosative-Dependent Cytotoxic Activities against Breast Cancer Cells (MCF-7) In Vitro.

Background: Breast cancer is a multifactorial disease that affects women worldwide. Its progression is likely to be executed by oxidative stress wherein elevated levels of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species drive several breast cancer pathologies. Spider venom contains various pharmacological peptides which exhibit selective activity to abnormal expression of ion channels on cancer cell surface which can confer potent anti-cancer activities against this disease.

spider venom: cytotoxic fractions against human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells.

Background: Spider venom is a potential source of pharmacologically important compounds. Previous studies on spider venoms reported the presence of bioactive molecules that possess cell-modulating activities. Despite these claims, sparse scientific evidence is available on the cytotoxic mechanisms in relation to the components of the spider venom.