The development of folate-functionalised palladium nanoparticles for folate receptor targeting in breast cancer cells.

Folate receptor-targeted therapy has excellent prospects for the treatment of breast cancer. A non-toxic concentration of folate-conjugated palladium-based nanoparticles was used to target the overexpressed folate receptor on breast cancer cells. The folate-conjugated nanoparticles were tailored to accumulate selectively in cancer cells relative to normal cells via the folate receptor.

Cannabis with breast cancer treatment: propitious or pernicious?

Unlabelled: Cannabis has been used for various medicinal applications including, but not limited to, cancer: most commonly to treat chemotherapy-associated side effects. Cannabis is often used for its palliative effects in the form of purified cannabinoids, or as extracts. This study was conducted using two breast cancer cell lines and aimed to evaluate potential anti-proliferative "intra-entourage effects" between purified phytocannabinoids resembling the THC and CBD ratios of medicinal and recreational cannabis strains, as well as to investigate potential "inter-entourage effects" between the different ratios and the phytochemicals found in a extract.

CBD activation of TRPV1 induces oxidative signaling and subsequent ER stress in breast cancer cell lines.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is an imbalance between the protein-folding load and capacity of ER. It can be induced by various physiological conditions, activating the unfolded protein response (UPR) to re-establish homeostasis, promoting cell survival. Under severe or chronic stress, apoptosis is induced.

Cannabinoid Combination Induces Cytoplasmic Vacuolation in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells.

This study evaluated the synergistic anti-cancer potential of cannabinoid combinations across the MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast cancer cell lines. Cannabinoids were combined and their synergistic interactions were evaluated using median effect analysis. The most promising cannabinoid combination (C6) consisted of tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabigerol (CBG), cannabinol (CBN), and cannabidiol (CBD), and displayed favorable dose reduction indices and limited cytotoxicity against the non-cancerous breast cell line, MCF-10A.

Comparative detection method of early onset cytokine-induced stress in β-cells (INS-1E).

β-Cells contain a prominent endoplasmic reticulum (ER), disrupting ER homeostasis and function, activating the unfolded protein response (UPR). Currently, no direct protocols measure the UPR initiation. Current methods to measure ER stress include the quantification of nitric oxide (NO) (indirect method), Western blotting, and qRT-PCR of downstream components.

Selected terpenoids from medicinal plants modulate endoplasmic reticulum stress in metabolic disorders.

Objectives: The majority of research performed on cellular stress and apoptosis focuses on mitochondrial dysfunction; however, the importance of the endoplasmic reticulum dysfunction and the link to metabolic diseases has gained a substantial interest. This review focuses on the potential of terpenoids to influence endoplasmic reticulum stress and the possible role terpenoids play as the treatment of metabolic diseases.

Key Findings: Metabolic diseases develop as a result of a cascade of cellular pathways.

Effect of alkaline pre-treatment on enzyme synergy for efficient hemicellulose hydrolysis in sugarcane bagasse.

This aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ammonium hydroxide (NH(4)OH) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) pre-treatment on the digestibility of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) by hemicellulase action. It was found that pre-treatment of SCB with NH(4)OH removed a larger percentage of the SCB lignin and effectively increased SCB digestibility 13.13 fold.

Effect of lime pre-treatment on the synergistic hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse by hemicellulases.

Agricultural crop wastes are typically lignocellulosic in composition and thus partially recalcitrant to enzymatic degradation. The recalcitrant nature of plant biomass and the inability to obtain complete enzymatic hydrolysis has led to the establishment of various pre-treatment strategies. Alkaline pre-treatments increase the accessibility of the exposed surface to enzymatic hydrolysis through the removal of acetyl and uronic acid substituents on hemicelluloses.

Effect of sulfur-containing compounds on Bacillus cellulosome-associated 'CMCase' and 'Avicelase' activities.

The isolation of cellulosomes from clostridial sources has been extensively studied; however, the isolation of cellulosomes from facultative soil anaerobes of the family Bacillaceae is not as well characterized. The Bacillus cellulosome (celluloxylanosome) essentially consists of two complex components: C-I and C-II. This multi-component complex enables Bacillus to degrade a variety of carbonaceous compounds as it is composed of several enzymes, such as cellulases, xylanases and other degradative enzymes.