Assessment of Farnesyl Transferase Inhibitory Effect of Crocin in MCF-7 Cell Line

Introduction: Farnesyl transferase inhibitors (FTIs) are a new class of drugs which are under clinical trial examinations for cancer treatment. Saffron extracted components have been reported to be of pharmaceutical properties when are applied in vivo/ in vitro against variety of diseases including cancer. Crocin is one the main chemicals in saffron which is suggested to be of cytotoxic effects against cancer cell lines. However, the exact mechanism of function of crocin against cancer cell lines is still remained to be illustrated by more research. In the present study the effect of crocin in inhibition of lamin B farnesylation was examined. Methods and Results: Crocin was extracted from saffron and purified by column chromatography as described by bathaie et.al. MCF-7 was cultured on DMEM media containing 10% FBS. Using 96-well-plates, cells treated with an increasing concentration range of 10-5000 ug/ml of crocin. After 24h, MTT assay was carried out to determine the IC50. Cells were treated with crocin (IC50) for 24h to induce cell death, and expression of Lamin B, as well as pernylated/ unprenylated Lamin B was assessed by western blotting, using primary antibody against lamin B (Santacruz, USA) and secondary HRP-tagged anti-rabbit (Sigma, Germany). Our results indicated that 3500ug/ml of crocin induced cell death in half of cell population upon 24h. We also observed that treatment of MCF-7 cells with 3500ug/ml for 24h results in an obviously significant decrease in lamin B protein expression. Data from gel shift assay analysis also showed that crocin induces prenyl-transferase- inhibitory mechanism in cells which is seen as a two separated bands of lamin B (including prenylated and unprenylated forms) compared to single band pattern in control. Conclusions: In conclusion, our results proposed that crocin induces prenyl transferase inhibition in MCF-7 cell line of breast cancer and therefore, it could be suggested as a potent phyto-compound for research and developing FTIs

DNA as an enzyme: The effect of imidazole derivatives as cofactors and metal ions as activators or inhibitors

Objective: a highly sensitive spectrofluorometric method using dichlorofluorescin (LDCF) was employed to study the rate of electron transfer reaction in presence of DNA and some imidazole derivatives. Results: in our experiments, DNA possessed a unique enzyme like catalytic function in oxidative conversion of nonfluorescent LDCF to fluorescent dichlorofluorescein (DCF). The rate enhancement was associated with the turn over constant: kp � 10 s1 for DNA and cinnamoyl imidazole as a cofactor. A biphasic saturation curve was observed when the reaction velocities were measured at fixed concentrations of DNA and variable amounts of carnosine. Each of the biphasic trends gave the Scatchard values of Vm1/Km1 � 3.1 105 and Vm2/Km2 � 5.1 106 with Km1 � 2.7 105 M and Km2 � 4.2 104 M for carnosine. Although Ni (II) and Pb (II) induced inhibition in the rate of electron transfer reaction in presence of DNA and cinnamoyl imidazole or carnosine, metal ions such as Mg (II), Cd (II), Zn (II) and Fe (II) caused activation of DNA. The rates of the reactions showed strong dependency on electronegativity and conductivity of metal ions, namely the increase in activity of DNA in presence of each metal ion correlated inversely with the electronegativities of the metal and was also related directly to the conductivities of individual metal. These effects were observed both in activation and also inhibition of DNA reaction. Imidazole compounds, e.g., Histidine, N-trans cinnamoyl imidazole and imidazole along with Cd (II) produced further rate enhancement. The increase was several times greater with N-trans cinnamoyl imidazole. Conclusions: this effect could provide additional evidence for the importance of an intermediary cofactor that could facilitate the transfer of the electron from the reaction site to the DNA conductive chord. This was most guaranteed by the conjugated system provided by a compound such as N-trans cinnamoyl imidazole. © 2003 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. All rights reserved. Keywor

Fault Detection and Isolation of Jet Engines Using Neural Networks

The main objective of this thesis is to design a fault detection and isolation (FDI) scheme for the aircraft jet engine using dynamic neural networks. Toward this end two different types of dynamic neural networks are used to learn the engine dynamics. Specially, dynamic neural model (DNM) and time delay neural network (TDNN) are utilized. The DNM is constructed by using dynamic neurons which utilize infinite impulse response (IIR) filters to generate dynamical behaviour between the input and output of the network. On the other hand, TDNN uses several delays associated with the inputs of the neurons to achieve a dynamic input-output map. We have investigated the fault detection performance of each structure. A bank of neural networks consisting of a set of 12 networks that are trained separately to capture the dynamic relations of all the 12 engine parameters are considered in this study. The results show that certain engine parameters have better detection capabilities as compared to the others. Moreover, the fault detection performance was improved by introduction of the concept of "enhanced fault diagnosis scheme" which employs several networks and monitors several engine parameters simultaneously to enhance and improve the accuracy and performance of the diagnostic system. The fault isolation task is accomplished by using a multilayer perception (MLP) network as a classifier. The concept behind the isolation is motivated by the fact that there is a specific map between the residuals of different networks and a particular fault scenario. We show that the MLP has good capability in learning this map and isolates the faults that are occurring in the jet engine. To demonstrate our diagnostic scheme capabilities, 8 different fault scenarios are simulated and according to the simulation results, our proposed FDI scheme represents a promising tool for fault detection as well as fault isolation requirements. ii

Interaction of cationic surfactants with DNA: a single-molecule study

The interaction of cationic surfactants with single dsDNA molecules has been studied using force-measuring optical tweezers. For hydrophobic chains of length 12 and greater, pulling experiments show characteristic features (e.g. hysteresis between the pulling and relaxation curves, force-plateau along the force curves), typical of a condensed phase (compaction of a long DNA into a micron-sized particle). Depending on the length of the hydrophobic chain of the surfactant, we observe different mechanical behaviours of the complex (DNA-surfactants), which provide evidence for different binding modes. Taken together, our measurements suggest that short-chain surfactants, which do not induce any condensation, could lie down on the DNA surface and directly interact with the DNA grooves through hydrophobic–hydrophobic interactions. In contrast, long-chain surfactants could have their aliphatic tails pointing away from the DNA surface, which could promote inter-molecular interactions between hydrophobic chains and subsequently favour DNA condensation

Streptozotocin-Induced Cytotoxicity, Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Human Hepatoma HepG2 Cells

Streptozotocin (STZ) is an antibiotic often used in the treatment of different types of cancers. It is also highly cytotoxic to the pancreatic beta-cells and therefore is commonly used to induce experimental type 1 diabetes in rodents. Resistance towards STZ-induced cytotoxicity in cancer cells has also been reported. Our previous studies have reported organ-specific toxicity and metabolic alterations in STZ-induced diabetic rats. STZ induces oxidative stress and metabolic complications. The precise molecular mechanism of STZ-induced toxicity in different tissues and carcinomas is, however, unclear. We have, therefore, investigated the mechanism of cytotoxicity of STZ in HepG2 hepatoma cells in culture. Cells were treated with different doses of STZ for various time intervals and the cytotoxicity was studied by observing the alterations in oxidative stress, mitochondrial redox and metabolic functions. STZ induced ROS and RNS formation and oxidative stress as measured by an increase in the lipid peroxidation as well as alterations in the GSH-dependent antioxidant metabolism. The mitochondria appear to be a highly sensitive target for STZ toxicity. The mitochondrial membrane potential and enzyme activities were altered in STZ treated cells resulting in the inhibition of ATP synthesis. ROS-sensitive mitochondrial aconitase activity was markedly inhibited suggesting increased oxidative stress in STZ-induced mitochondrial toxicity. These results suggest that STZ-induced cytotoxicity in HepG2 cells is mediated, at least in part, by the increase in ROS/RNS production, oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Our study may be significant for better understanding the mechanisms of STZ action in chemotherapy and drug induced toxicity

Provision of Healthcare Services for Children in Iran: Common Ethical Principles and Obstacles to Successful Implementation

Ethics is an essential element in the provision of healthcare services. Fundamental ethical values determine the manner in which the professional behavior is implemented in the healthcare area. These ethical principles find meaning in time and place and in the social context of ethical values and among children as vulnerable groups. So, this study examined the ethical principles of providing health care services for children and barriers to their application in Iran from key informants’ perspective. Therefore, qualitative content analysis method was used by means of semi-structured questionnaire to theoretical saturation scale with the participation of 20 key informants. Each interview underwent the process of implementation, evaluation, coding, and analysis, and then its findings were presented in two dimensions: desirable principles and barriers for its application, including 15 classes. Desirable principles include autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, confidentiality, accent, consent, and participation. Obstacles to their compliance also included weakness of the policy landscape, weakness of the judicial system, cultural conservatism, socio-economic inequality, services commodification with unequal distribution, resource mismanagement (limitation), weakness of the professional education system, and the emergence of complex situations. From the key informants’ point of view, codes of ethics do not differ significantly from international principles, but their application is faced with difficulties, and they are likely to be improved through evidence-based policies according to the results of scientific studies

The importance of the cellular stress response in the pathogenesis and treatment of type 2 diabetes

Organisms have evolved to survive rigorous environments and are not prepared to thrive in a world of caloric excess and sedentary behavior. A realization that physical exercise (or lack of it) plays a pivotal role in both the pathogenesis and therapy of type 2 diabetes mellitus (t2DM) has led to the provocative concept of therapeutic exercise mimetics. A decade ago, we attempted to simulate the beneficial effects of exercise by treating t2DM patients with 3 weeks of daily hyperthermia, induced by hot tub immersion. The short-term intervention had remarkable success, with a 1 % drop in HbA1, a trend toward weight loss, and improvement in diabetic neuropathic symptoms. An explanation for the beneficial effects of exercise and hyperthermia centers upon their ability to induce the cellular stress response (the heat shock response) and restore cellular homeostasis. Impaired stress response precedes major metabolic defects associated with t2DM and may be a near seminal event in the pathogenesis of the disease, tipping the balance from health into disease. Heat shock protein inducers share metabolic pathways associated with exercise with activation of AMPK, PGC1-a, and sirtuins. Diabetic therapies that induce the stress response, whether via heat, bioactive compounds, or genetic manipulation, improve or prevent all of the morbidities and comorbidities associated with the disease. The agents reduce insulin resistance, inflammatory cytokines, visceral adiposity, and body weight while increasing mitochondrial activity, normalizing membrane structure and lipid composition, and preserving organ function. Therapies restoring the stress response can re-tip the balance from disease into health and address the multifaceted defects associated with the disease

Therapeutic potential of active components of saffron in post-surgical adhesion band formation

Background Abdominal adhesions are common and often develop after abdominal surgery. There are currently no useful targeted pharmacotherapies for adhesive disease. Saffron and its active constituents, Crocin and Crocetin, are wildly used in traditional medicine for alleviating the severity of inflammatory or malignant disease. Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of the pharmacological active component of saffron in attenuating the formation of post-operative adhesion bands using different administration methods in a murine model. Material method saffron extract (100 mg/kg), Crocin (100 mg/kg), and Crocetin (100 mg/kg) were administered intraperitoneally and by gavage in various groups of male Wistar rat post-surgery. Also three groups were first treated intra-peritoneally by saffron extract, Crocin, and Crocetin (100 mg/kg) for 10 days and then had surgery. At the end of the experiments, animals sacrificed for biological assessment. Result A hydro-alcoholic extract of saffron and crocin but not crocetin potently reduced the adhesion band frequency in treatment and pre-treatment groups in the mice given intra-peritoneal (i.p) injections. Following the saffron or crocin administration, histological evaluation and quantitative analysis represented less inflammatory cell infiltration and less collagen composition, compared to control group. Moreover, the oxidative stress was significantly reduced in treatment groups. Conclusion These findings suggest that a hydro-alcoholic extract of saffron or its active compound, crocin, is a potentially novel therapeutic strategy for the prevention of adhesions formation and might be used as beneficial anti-inflammatory or anti-fibrosis agents in clinical trials. Taxonomy Abdominal surgeries/post-surgical adhesions

Crocins with high levels of sugar conjugation contribute to the yellow colours of early-spring flowering

Crocus sativus is the source of saffron spice, the processed stigma which accumulates glucosylated apocarotenoids known as crocins. Crocins are found in the stigmas of other Crocuses, determining the colourations observed from pale yellow to dark red. By contrast, tepals in Crocus species display a wider diversity of colours which range from purple, blue, yellow to white. In this study, we investigated whether the contribution of crocins to colour extends from stigmas to the tepals of yellow Crocus species. Tepals from seven species were analysed by UPLC-PDA and ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS revealing for the first time the presence of highly glucosylated crocins in this tissue. beta-carotene was found to be the precursor of these crocins and some of them were found to contain rhamnose, never before reported. When crocin profiles from tepals were compared with those from stigmas, clear differences were found, including the presence of new apocarotenoids in stigmas. Furthermore, each species showed a characteristic profile which was not correlated with the phylogenetic relationship among species. While gene expression analysis in tepals of genes involved in carotenoid metabolism showed that phytoene synthase was a key enzyme in apocarotenoid biosynthesis in tepals. Expression of a crocetin glucosyltransferase, previously identified in saffron, was detected in all the samples. The presence of crocins in tepals is compatible with the role of chromophores to attract pollinators. The identification of tepals as new sources of crocins is of special interest given their wide range of applications in medicine, cosmetics and colouring industries.The laboratory is supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion (BIO2009-07803) and participates in the IBERCAROT network (112RT0445). Dr. Ahrazem was funded by FPCYTA through the INCRECYT Programme. 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