Novel Marine Compounds: Anticancer or Genotoxic?

In the past several decades, marine organisms have generously gifted to the pharmaceutical industries numerous naturally bioactive compounds with antiviral, antibacterial, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer potentials. But till date only few anticancer drugs (cytarabine, vidarabine) have been commercially developed from marine compounds while several others are currently in different clinical trials. Majority of these compounds were tested in the tumor xenograft models, however, lack of anticancer potential data in the chemical- and/or oncogene-induced pre-initiation animal carcinogenesis models might have cost some of the marine anticancer compounds an early exit from the clinical trials. This review critically discusses importance of preclinical evaluation, failure of human clinical trials with certain potential anticancer agents, the screening tests used, and choice of biomarkers

Differential Expression Profile and Genetic Variants of MicroRNAs Sequences in Breast Cancer Patients

The technology available for cancer diagnosis and prognosis is not yet satisfactory at the molecular level, and requires further improvements. Micro RNAs (miRNAs) have been recently reported as useful biomarkers in diseases including cancer. We performed a miRNA expression profiling study using peripheral blood from breast cancer patients to detect and identify characteristic patterns. A total of 100 breast cancer patients and 89 healthy patients were recruited for miRNA genotyping and expression profiling. We found that hs-miR-196a2 in premenopausal patients, and hs-miR-499, hs-miR-146a and hs-miR-196a2 in postmenopausal patients, may discriminate breast cancer patients from healthy individuals. In addition, we found a significant association between two microRNA polymorphisms (hs-miR-196a2 and hs-miR-499) and breast cancer risk. However, no significant association between the hs-miR-146a gene and breast cancer risk was found. In summary, the study demonstrates that peripheral blood miRNAs and their expression and genotypic profiles can be developed as biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer

Epidemiological characterization of serotype group B Streptococci neonatal infections associated with interleukin-6 level as a sensitive parameter for the early diagnosis

Group B streptococcal infection (Streptococcus agalactiae) is one of the leading causes of life-threatening disease in the early neonatal period, resulting in sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis. During invasive infections, an excessive release of pro-inflammatory cytokine, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), thus IL-6 gene is significant, as a diagnostic marker of systemic infection of the newborns. The present study aimed to describe the epidemiology diagnostic of GBS disease in neonatal by phenotypic and genotypic methods. Nine hundred and ninety-six samples were taken at Maternity and Children Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for a period of one year (2011–2012). Results indicated that out of 217 infected samples, twenty (9.23.0%) were positive for group B Streptococci bacteria. This study also shows that female infants are more susceptible than males. The level of IL-6 was higher in mothers above 30 years. Twenty positive Streptococci group B isolates showed bands with the cylE gene primers in the border between 228 bp, 267 bp and 50 bp. Molecular detection by Real time polymerase chain reaction was also done to detect the target (Sip gene) encoding the Sip surface immunogenic protein. Specific primers and TaqMan probe were chosen for this purpose. A Real-time PCR method targeting the sip gene of GBS in neonates after delivery has been evaluated. Keywords: Group B Streptococcus (GBS), Interlukin-6 (IL-6) neonatology, Meningitis, cylE, Sip gen

Bacterial quality control of domestic and imported brands of bottled water in Saudi Arabia

Water is one of the most abundant and essential commodities of man occupying about 70% of the earth's surface and 60% of the human body therefore it should be continuously protected against microbial infections. Also, the mineral content in drinking water should be maintained within the acceptable range. Quality control of drinking water emerged with the invention of bottled drinking water. In this study, samples of bottled drinking water from Saudi markets were compared with tap water samples collected from different areas in Riyadh; both samples were tested for the presence of pathogenic bacteria. The bacterial isolates identified by the Biolog system (Hayward, CA, USA) include Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus sp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in bottled drinking water, whereas tap water was mainly contaminated by P. aeruginosa. Bacterial contamination was highly observed in tap water samples and higher mineral content, determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was also observed in tap water. Bacterial cell count determined as CFU/ml was observed in bottled drinking water. Decreased water bacterial number was achieved with the solar disinfection system (SODIS) for one day with direct exposure to sunlight in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottles. Thus water considered to be consumed by humans must maintain good microbial and mineral qualities within the acceptable ranges and must undergo effective treatment in order to reduce bacterial count and infection

Biosorption of copper ions from aqueous solutions by Spirulina platensis biomass

AbstractIn this study, the economically important micro-alga (cyanobacterium) Spirulina platensis was used as biosorbent for the removal of copper from aqueous solutions. The cyanobacterium was exposed to various concentrations of copper and adsorption of copper by the biomass was evaluated under different conditions that included pH, contact time, temperature, concentration of adsorbate and the concentration of dry biomass. Increased adsorption of copper by the non-living biomass was recorded with gradually increasing pH, and a maximal uptake by the biomass was observed at pH 7. The adsorption of copper was found to increase gradually along with decrease in biomass concentration. Biosorption was found to be at a maximum (90.6%), in a solution containing 100mg copper/L, at pH 7, with 0.050g dry biomass and at 37°C with 90min of contact time. Analysis of the spectrum obtained with atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS), indicated that the adsorbent has a great potential to remove copper from aqueous media contributing to an eco-friendly technology for efficient bioremediation in the natural environment

A single-nucleotide polymorphism in the TP53 and MDM-2 gene modifies breast cancer risk in an ethnic Arab population.

Breast cancer is the most common oncological disease in women worldwide. Genetic predisposition to breast cancer can be associated with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which are observed in many women. Such gene polymorphisms, in combination with nutritional and environmental factors, can affect breast cancer development. The tumor suppressor TP53 and its negative regulator MDM2 play crucial roles in carcinogenesis. Previous case–control studies have revealed that TP53 72Arg > Pro and MDM2 309T > G polymorphisms contribute to the risk of common cancers. However, the relationship between these two functional polymorphisms and breast cancer susceptibility in the Saudi population has not been explored. In this study, we performed a case–control study of patients with breast cancer and healthy controls in a Saudi population using TaqMan-based real-time PCR. We found an increased breast cancer risk associated with the MDM2 GG [odds ratio (OR) = 2.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.04–3.92] and TG [OR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.12–2.02] genotypes. An increased risk was also associated with the TP53 Pro/Pro genotype (OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.54–3.06) compared with the Arg/Arg genotype. The gene–gene interaction of MDM2 and TP53 polymorphisms increased breast cancer risk in a multiplicative manner (OR for the presence of both MDM2 GG and TP53 Pro/Pro genotypes = 7.71, 95% CI = 3.49–17.54). These findings suggest that polymorphisms of MDM2 and TP53 genes may be a genetic modifier for developing breast cancer in this ethnic population in the Arab world

Arabia

Postharvest fruit spoilage bacteria and fungi associated with date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L) from Saud