Inhibitory Effect of L. Extracts on SARS-COV-2 Spike Protein-ACE2 Interaction.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: A catastrophic outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2; Coronavirus disease-19; COVID-19) was first detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. Many experimental and clinical studies have focused on the effectiveness of medicinal plants such as (NS) in combating SARS-CoV-2. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effect of NS seed extract on SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S1)-angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (S-ACE2) interaction.

Pharmacodynamics and safety in relation to dose and response of plant flavonoids in treatment of cancers.

Despite the recent advancements in developing bioactive nutraceuticals as anticancer modalities, their pharmacodynamics, safety profiles, and tolerability remain elusive, limiting their success in clinical trials. The failure of anticancer drugs in clinical trials can be attributed to the changes in drug clearance, absorption, and cellular responses, which alter the dose-response efficacy, causing adverse health effects. Flavonoids demonstrate a biphasic dose-response phenomenon exerting a stimulatory or inhibitory effect and often follow a U-shaped curve in different preclinical cancer models.

Nigella sativa and its chemical constituents: pre-clinical and clinical evidence for their potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 effects.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused over 500 million reported cases of COVID-19 worldwide with relatively high morbidity and mortality. Although global vaccination drive has helped control the pandemic, the newer variant of the virus still holds the world in ransom. Several medicinal herbs with antiviral properties have been reported, and one such promising herb is Nigella sativa (NS).

Differential dose-response effect of cyclosporine A in regulating apoptosis and autophagy markers in MCF-7 cells.

Cyclosporine A (CsA) is an immunosuppressant primarily used at a higher dosage in transplant medicine and autoimmune diseases with a higher success rate. At lower doses, CsA exhibits immunomodulatory properties. CsA has also been reported to inhibit breast cancer cell growth by downregulating the expression of pyruvate kinase.

Adenosine Triphosphate Protects from Elevated Extracellular Calcium-Induced Damage in Human Proximal Kidney Cells: Using Deep Learning to Predict Cytotoxicity.

Background/aims: In kidney, extracellular [Ca] can modulate intracellular [Ca] to control key cellular processes. Hence, extracellular [Ca] is normally maintained within narrow range. We tested effect of extracellular ATP on viability of human proximal (HK-2) cells at high calcium.

Chromone, A Privileged Scaffold in Drug Discovery: Developments in the Synthesis and Bioactivity.

Chromones are the class of secondary metabolites that broadly occur in the plant kingdom in a noticeable quantity. This rigid bicyclic system has been categorized "as privileged scaffolds in compounds" in medicinal chemistry. Their wide biological responses have made them an important moiety in a drug discovery program.

A Novel Approach of Transducing Recombinant Baculovirus into Primary Lymphoid Cells of Penaeus monodon for Developing Continuous Cell Line.

Cell line development from shrimp is not a novel venture as researchers across the globe have been trying to have crustacean cell lines over 30 years. The reason for not attaining a crustacean or precisely a shrimp cell line is believed to be the replicative senescence and the inability to maintain telomere length in vitro. Moreover, spontaneous in vitro transformations do not happen in shrimp cells.

Immortalization of shrimp lymphoid cells by hybridizing with the continuous cell line Sf9 leading to the development of 'PmLyO-Sf9 '.

Shrimp progressively gets more attention among marine invertebrates from researchers all over the world due to it being a healthy food as well as having economic importance. There were a lot of attempts to develop a continuous cell line from shrimp but none successful. In this context a novel hybrid cell line named 'PmLyO-Sf9' could be developed by fusing shrimp lymphoid organ cells with Sf9 cells after to metabolic blocking of Sf9 cells using puromycin and actinomycin D and effecting the fusion by way of PEG application.

Health benefits of cyanidin-3-glucoside as a potent modulator of Nrf2-mediated oxidative stress.

Berries are natural sources of anthocyanins, especially cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G), and exhibit significant antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and cytoprotective effects against various oxidative stress-induced disorders. C3G and its metabolites possess higher absorption and bioavailability, and interaction with gut microbiota may enhance their health benefits. Various in vitro studies have shown the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mitigating potential of C3G.

Current methodologies to refine bioavailability, delivery, and therapeutic efficacy of plant flavonoids in cancer treatment.

Over the last two decades, several advancements have been made to improve the therapeutic efficacy of plant flavonoids, especially in cancer treatment. Factors such as low bioavailability, poor flavonoid stability and solubility, ineffective targeted delivery, and chemo-resistance hinder the application of flavonoids in anti-cancer therapy. Many anti-cancer compounds failed in the clinical trials because of unexpected altered clearance of flavonoids, poor absorption after administration, low efficacy, and/or adverse effects.

Modulation of calcium-binding proteins expression and cisplatin chemosensitivity by calcium chelation in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells.

Cisplatin (CDDP) is currently one of the most effective FDA-approved treatments for breast cancer. Previous studies have shown that CDDP-induced cell death in human breast cancer (MCF-7) cells is associated with disruption of calcium homeostasis. However, whether the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to cisplatin is associated with dysregulation of the expression of calcium-binding proteins (CaBPs) remains unknown.

Natural compound catechol induces DNA damage, apoptosis, and G1 cell cycle arrest in breast cancer cells.

Targeting cell cycle and inducing DNA damage by activating cell death pathways are considered as effective therapeutic strategy for combating breast cancer progression. Many of the naturally known small molecules target these signaling pathways and are effective against resistant and/or aggressive types of breast cancers. Here, we investigated the effect of catechol, a naturally occurring plant compound, for its specificity and chemotherapeutic efficacies in breast cancer (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) cells.

Induction of DNA damage, apoptosis and cell cycle perturbation mediate cytotoxic activity of new 5-aminosalicylate-4-thiazolinone hybrid derivatives.

Modulation of several targets in cancer cells enhances the effect of anti-cancer drugs. This can be achieved by using combinations of anti-cancer drugs or by designing new drugs with novel pharmacophore structures that target different molecules within cancer cells. We developed a panel of such compounds by accommodating two chemical entities (5-Aminoslicylic acid and thiazolin-4-one) known to have anti-cancer activities into a single framework structure.

Dietary Flavonoids in p53-Mediated Immune Dysfunctions Linking to Cancer Prevention.

The p53 protein plays a central role in mediating immune functioning and determines the fate of the cells. Its role as a tumor suppressor, and in transcriptional regulation and cytokine activity under stress conditions, is well defined. The wild type (WT) p53 functions as a guardian for the genome, while the mutant p53 has oncogenic roles.

Siglecs in Brain Function and Neurological Disorders.

Siglecs (Sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-type lectins) are a I-type lectin that typically binds sialic acid. Siglecs are predominantly expressed in immune cells and generate activating or inhibitory signals. They are also shown to be expressed on the surface of cells in the nervous system and have been shown to play central roles in neuroinflammation.

DNA-dependent protein kinase: Epigenetic alterations and the role in genomic stability of cancer.

DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), a member of phosphatidylinositol-kinase family, is a key protein in mammalian DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair that helps to maintain genomic integrity. DNA-PK also plays a central role in immune cell development and protects telomerase during cellular aging. Epigenetic deregulation due to endogenous and exogenous factors may affect the normal function of DNA-PK, which in turn could impair DNA repair and contribute to genomic instability.

Role of flavonoids in thrombotic, cardiovascular, and inflammatory diseases.

The failure of mechanisms of natural anti-coagulation either due to genetic impairment or due to severe external injuries may result in a condition called thrombosis. This is believed to be the primary cause for a variety of life-threatening conditions such as: heart attack, stroke, pulmonary embolism, thrombophlebitis, and deep venous thrombosis (DVT). The growing number of these incidents requires an alternative anti-coagulant or anti-thrombotic agent that has minimal side effects and improved efficiency.

Mitochondrial DNA, a Powerful Tool to Decipher Ancient Human Civilization from Domestication to Music, and to Uncover Historical Murder Cases.

Mitochondria are unique organelles carrying their own genetic material, independent from that in the nucleus. This review will discuss the nature of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and its levels in the cell, which are the key elements to consider when trying to achieve molecular identification in ancient and degraded samples. mtDNA sequence analysis has been appropriately validated and is a consistent molecular target for the examination of biological evidence encountered in forensic cases-and profiling, in certain conditions-especially for burnt bodies and degraded samples of all types.

Interplay between Epigenetics, Expression of Estrogen Receptor- α, HER2/ERBB2 and Sensitivity of Triple Negative Breast Cancer Cells to Hormonal Therapy.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells are resistant to hormonal/targeted therapies. This study aims to investigate epigenetic differences between TNBC and other types of breast cancer and the effect of epigenetic modulation on the response of TNBC cells to hormonal therapy. Thus, we investigated (i) the expression of different epigenetic markers, (ii) the effect of epigenetic modifying agents on the expression of ERα and HER2/ERBB2 and (iii) the effect on the response to tamoxifen in four breast cancer cell lines with different hormonal receptor status.

Inhibition of SHP2 by new compounds induces differential effects on RAS/RAF/ERK and PI3K/AKT pathways in different cancer cell types.

Kinases and phosphatases are important players in growth signaling and are involved in cancer development. For development of targeted cancer therapy, attention is given to kinases rather than phosphatases inhibitors. Src homology region 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase2 (SHP2) is overexpressed in different types of cancers.