The Interference of Selected Cytotoxic Alkaloids with the Cytoskeleton: An Insight into Their Modes of Action.

Alkaloids, the largest group among the nitrogen-containing secondary metabolites of plants, usually interact with several molecular targets. In this study, we provide evidence that six cytotoxic alkaloids (sanguinarine, chelerythrine, chelidonine, noscapine, protopine, homoharringtonine), which are known to affect neuroreceptors, protein biosynthesis and nucleic acids, also interact with the cellular cytoskeleton, such as microtubules and actin filaments, as well. Sanguinarine, chelerythrine and chelidonine depolymerized the microtubule network in living cancer cells (Hela cells and human osteosarcoma U2OS cells) and inhibited tubulin polymerization in vitro with IC50 values of 48.

A note on the biogeographical origin of the brine shrimp Artemia urmiana Günther, 1899 from Urmia Lake, Iran.

The brine shrimp Artemia urmiana, an abundant inhabitant of the hypersaline Urmia Lake in northwestern Iran, has recently been described from Lake Koyashskoe, also a shallow hypersaline lake that is located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimean Peninsula (Ukraine). This discovery has questioned the endemicity of A. urmiana in Urmia Lake and has also brought into question the biogeographical origin of this species.

Carlina acaulis Exhibits Antioxidant Activity and Counteracts Aβ Toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Carlina acaulis is a medicinal plant that has shown antioxidant activity in in vitro studies, but to date no corresponding in vivo data is available. Therefore, in the present study the antioxidant activity and its impact in counteracting Aβ toxicity were studied in the Caenorhabditis elegans model. A dichloromethane extract of the roots of C.

α-Hexylcinnamaldehyde Synergistically Increases Doxorubicin Cytotoxicity Towards Human Cancer Cell Lines.

Aim: α-Hexylcinnamaldehyde (HCA), a compound derived from cinnamaldehyde, was evaluated for its potential chemosensitizing properties.

Materials And Methods: The cytotoxicity of HCA was tested against Caco-2, CCRF/CEM and CEM/ADR5000 human cancer cells. Furthermore, its ability to increase doxorubicin cytotoxicity was evaluated in combination assays.

Polyphenols from Erythrina crista-galli: Structures, Molecular Docking and Phytoestrogenic Activity.

Objectives: The current study aimed at exploring the secondary metabolites content of Erythrina crista-galli aqueous methanol extract and assessing its phytoestrogenic and cytoprotective activities.

Methods: Isolation of the compounds was carried out using conventional chromatographic techniques. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated based on the UV, NMR spectral data along with their mass-spectrometric analyses.

Analysis of the safety of mesenchymal stromal cells secretome for glioblastoma treatment.

Background Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the secretome of human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSC) affects human glioblastoma (GBM) cancer stem cell (CSC) subpopulation or has any influence on drug resistance and cell migration, evaluating the safety of hADSCs for novel cancer therapies.

Methods: hADSCs were maintained in contact with fresh culture medium to produce hADSCs conditioned medium (CM). GBM U87 cells were cultured with CM and sphere formation, expression of genes related to resistance and CSCs-MGMT, OCT4, SOX2, NOTCH1, MSI1-and protein expression of OCT4 and Nanog were analyzed.

Mode of action and membrane specificity of the antimicrobial peptide snakin-2.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a diverse group of short, cationic peptides which are naturally occurring molecules in the first-line defense of most living organisms. They represent promising candidates for the treatment of pathogenic microorganisms. Snakin-2 (SN2) from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is stabilized through six intramolecular disulphide bridges; it shows broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi, and it agglomerates single cells prior to killing.

Chemical composition and biological activity of the essential oil from Thymus lanceolatus.

Thymus lanceolatus is a rare species, which grows wild in Algeria and Tunis. It is used traditionally as a drink and to flavor and preserve meat and poultry. The composition of the essential oil was determined by GLC/FID and GLC/MS.

Chlorophyll enhances oxidative stress tolerance in Caenorhabditis elegans and extends its lifespan.

Green vegetables are thought to be responsible for several beneficial properties such as antioxidant, anti-mutagenic, and detoxification activities. It is not known whether these effects are due to chlorophyll which exists in large amounts in many foods or result from other secondary metabolites. In this study, we used the model system Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate the anti-oxidative and anti-aging effects of chlorophyll in vivo.

New Isorhamnetin Derivatives from Salsola imbricata Forssk. Leaves with Distinct Anti-inflammatory Activity.

Background: Salsola imbricata Forssk. is a shrub widely growing in Egypt, used as a camel food, traditionally, used as anti-inflammatory agent. Literature survey showed no report about the anti-inflammatory activity of S.

L-Canavanine Potentiates Cytotoxicity of Chemotherapeutic Drugs in Human Breast Cancer Cells.

Background: Due to the high level of argininosuccinate synthase (ASS), a key enzyme for the formation of arginine from citrulline, human breast cancers are often resistant to arginine deprivation therapy. An antimetabolite, Lcanavanine (L-CAV), can be incorporated into proteins in the place of arginine, disturbing protein conformation and leading to cellular death.

Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the potential of L-CAV to enhance the toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs in the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7, and determine the most favorable drug combination to exert synergistic interaction in the presence or absence of arginine in the medium.

The Essential Oil Compositions of Ocimum basilicum from Three Different Regions: Nepal, Tajikistan, and Yemen.

The aerial parts of Ocimum basilicum L. were collected from four different geographical locations, Sindhuli and Biratnagar (Nepal), Chormaghzak village (Tajikistan), and Sana'a (Yemen). The essential oils were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

L-Canavanine potentiates the cytotoxicity of doxorubicin and cisplatin in arginine deprived human cancer cells.

The non-protein amino acid L-canavanine (L-CAV), an antimetabolite of L-arginine (L-ARG), can alter the 3D conformation of proteins when incorporated into a protein instead of L-ARG. L-CAV inhibits the proliferation of some tumour cells. The deprivation of L-ARG in the culture medium enhances the response of cells to L-CAV.

Reconstruction of the Evolutionary History and Dispersal of Usutu Virus, a Neglected Emerging Arbovirus in Europe and Africa.

Unlabelled: Usutu virus (USUV), one of the most neglected Old World encephalitic flaviviruses, causes epizootics among wild and captive birds and sporadic infection in humans. The dynamics of USUV spread and evolution in its natural hosts are unknown. Here, we present the phylogeny and evolutionary history of all available USUV strains, including 77 newly sequenced complete genomes from a variety of host species at a temporal and spatial scaled resolution.

An Anthocyanin-Rich Extract of Acai (Euterpe precatoria Mart.) Increases Stress Resistance and Retards Aging-Related Markers in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Acai fruits (Euterpe precatoria) are rich in antioxidant anthocyanins. Acai consumption is believed to have many health benefits; however, relevant detailed scientific investigations are limited. The current study aimed to investigate an anthocyanin-rich extract from E.

Corynebacterium uropygiale sp. nov., isolated from the preen gland of Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo).

A novel species of fastidious, lipophilic, club-shaped, Gram-positive bacteria was recovered from the preen glands of healthy Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) from two different locations. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene showed highest similarity to Corynebacterium spheniscorum DSM 44757(T) (96.8%) with a 3.

Conditioned Medium from Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs) Promotes Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal-Like Transition (EMT-Like) in Glioma Cells In vitro.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have recently been described to home to brain tumors and to integrate into the tumor-associated stroma. Understanding the communication between cancer cells and MSCs has become fundamental to determine whether MSC-tumor interactions should be exploited as a vehicle for therapeutic agents or considered a target for intervention. Therefore, we investigated whether conditioned medium from adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs-CM) modulate glioma tumor cells by analyzing several cell biology processes in vitro.

Cytotoxic potentiation of vinblastine and paclitaxel by L-canavanine in human cervical cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Background: The non-protein amino acid L-canavanine (L-CAV), found in several plants of the family Fabaceae is an antimetabolite which shows anticancer activity due to its ability to be incorporated into protein in the place of its analogue, L-arginine (L-ARG), leading to the alteration of the 3D conformation of newly synthesised proteins and usually a loss of their function.

Purpose: In this study, the ability of L-CAV to potentiate the cytotoxicity of microtubule- targeting drugs used in the chemotherapy of cancer, vinblastine (VIN) and paclitaxel (PTX) was evaluated.

Material And Methods: The following cancer cells grown in arginine-rich and arginine-free media were employed: HeLa, Hep G2 and SK-HEP-1.

Reprising the taxonomy of Cyprus Scops Owl Otus (scops) cyprius, a neglected island endemic.

The endemic Cyprus Scops Owl Otus (scops) cyprius has been treated as a subspecies of the widespread Eurasian Scops Owl O. scops since at least the 1940s. However, its song is distinct from that of all other subspecies of O.

Membrane Disintegration Caused by the Steroid Saponin Digitonin Is Related to the Presence of Cholesterol.

In the present investigation we studied the molecular mechanisms of the monodesmosidic saponin digitonin on natural and artificial membranes. We measured the hemolytic activity of digitonin on red blood cells (RBCs). Also different lipid membrane models (large unilamellar vesicles, LUVs, and giant unilamellar vesicles, GUVs) in the presence and absence of cholesterol were employed.

Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Essential Oils of Selected Aromatic Plants from Tajikistan.

Antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory activities of the essential oils of 18 plant species from Tajikistan (Central Asia) were investigated. The essential oil of showed a strong antibacterial activity with both minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values of 312.5 µg/mL for , 625 µg/mL (MIC) and 1250 µg/mL (MBC) for MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), respectively.

Lupanine Improves Glucose Homeostasis by Influencing KATP Channels and Insulin Gene Expression.

The glucose-lowering effects of lupin seeds involve the combined action of several components. The present study investigates the influence of one of the main quinolizidine alkaloids, lupanine, on pancreatic beta cells and in an animal model of type-2 diabetes mellitus. In vitro studies were performed with insulin-secreting INS-1E cells or islets of C57BL/6 mice.

Identification of valid endogenous control genes for determining gene expression in C6 glioma cell line treated with conditioned medium from adipose-derived stem cell.

Introduction: There is growing evidence that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be important players in the tumor microenvironment. They can affect the glioma progression through the modulation of different genes. This modulation can be evaluated through a very useful model, treating the tumor cells with MSC-conditioned medium.

Volatile constituents of Dietes bicolor (Iridaceae) and their antimicrobial activity.

Volatile oils from the leaves, flowers and rhizomes of Dietes bicolor (Steud.) Sweet ex Klatt (Iridaceae) were analyzed using GLC/FID and GLC/MS. A total of 84 compounds were identified accounting for 94.