In Silico Identification of Potential Quadruplex Forming Sequences in LncRNAs of Cervical Cancer.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as auxiliary regulators of gene expression influencing tumor microenvironment, metastasis and radio-resistance in cancer. The presence of lncRNA in extracellular fluids makes them promising diagnostic markers. LncRNAs deploy higher-order structures to facilitate a complex range of functions.

Chimeric nanoparticles for targeting mitochondria in cancer cells.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in myriad diseases, including cancer. Subsequently, targeting mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA) in cancer cells has emerged as an unorthodox strategy for anti-cancer therapy. However, approaches targeting only one component of the mitochondrial "central dogma" can be evaded by cancer cells through various mechanisms.

Nanoparticle-Mediated Routing of Antibiotics into Mitochondria in Cancer Cells.

In recent years, antibiotics have emerged as alternative medicines in cancer therapy due to their capability of mitochondrial dysfunction in cancer cells. However, antibiotics render collateral damage in noncancerous cells by targeting mitochondrial transcription and translational machinery. To address this, herein, we have engineered three different mitochondria-targeted cationic antibiotic (tigecycline)-loaded nanoparticles from cholesterol conjugates.

Assessing G4-Binding Ligands In Vitro and in Cellulo Using Dimeric Carbocyanine Dye Displacement Assay.

G-quadruplexes (G4) are the most actively studied non-canonical secondary structures formed by contiguous repeats of guanines in DNA or RNA strands. Small molecule mediated targeting of G-quadruplexes has emerged as an attractive tool for visualization and stabilization of these structures inside the cell. Limited number of DNA and RNA G4-selective assays have been reported for primary ligand screening.

Small Molecule Fluorescent Probes for G- Quadruplex Visualization as Potential Cancer Theranostic Agents.

G-quadruplexes have gained prominence over the past two decades for their role in gene regulation, control of anti-tumour activity and ageing. The physiological relevance and significance of these non-canonical structures in the context of cancer has been reviewed several times. Putative roles of G-quadruplexes in cancer prognosis and pathogenesis have spurred the search for small molecule ligands that are capable of binding and modulating the effect of such structures.

Interaction of a dimeric carbocyanine dye aggregate with bovine serum albumin in non-aggregated and aggregated forms.

The interaction of fluorescent dyes with serum proteins has garnered significant interest owing to potential for non-covalent labeling and imaging applications. In this work, dimeric benzothiazole-based trimethine cyanine dyes are synthesized and their interaction with bovine serum albumin studied. The dimeric cyanine dyes mainly exist as H-dimers and H-aggregates in aqueous solution.