β-Bisabolene, a Sesquiterpene from the Essential Oil Extract of Opoponax (Commiphora guidottii), Exhibits Cytotoxicity in Breast Cancer Cell Lines.

The essential oils from Commiphora species have for centuries been recognized to possess medicinal properties. Here, we performed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry on the essential oil from opoponax (Commiphora guidotti) and identified bisabolene isomers as the main constituents of this essential oil. Opoponax essential oil, a chemical component; β-bisabolene and an alcoholic analogue, α-bisabolol, were tested for their ability to selectively kill breast cancer cells.

Regulation of early cartilage destruction in inflammatory arthritis by death receptor 3.

Objective: To investigate the role of death receptor 3 (DR-3) and its ligand tumor necrosis factor-like molecule 1A (TL1A) in the early stages of inflammatory arthritis.

Methods: Antigen-induced arthritis (AIA) was generated in C57BL/6 mice deficient in the DR-3 gene (DR3(-/-) ) and their DR3(+/+) (wild-type) littermates by priming and intraarticular injection of methylated bovine serum albumin. The joints were sectioned and analyzed histochemically for damage to cartilage and expression of DR3, TL1A, Ly-6G (a marker for neutrophils), the gelatinase matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), the aggrecanase ADAMTS-5, and the neutrophil chemoattractant CXCL1.