Chlorogenic acid complex (CGA7), standardized extract from green coffee beans exerts anticancer effects against cultured human colon cancer HCT-116 cells

Coffee is commonly consumed beverage in the world and it has been suggested to have beneficial effect. Chlorogenic acids (CGAs) are main ingredient of coffee beans which has been extensively used in nutraceuticals and medicine. Recently, various therapeutic effects of chlorogenic acids have been investigated. However, there are limited studies to investigate its anticancer properties. In the present study, we have used chlorogenic acid complex (CGA7) a decaffeinated water soluble green coffee bean extract to evaluate its cytotoxic effect on human and mouse cancer cell lines by using different approaches. From our results we found CGA7 treatment induces cell death in a dose and time dependent manner in different cancer cell lines. Further, CGA7 induced apoptosis was characterized by DNA fragmentation, PARP-1 cleavage, caspase-9 activation, and down regulation of Bcl-2, an anti-apoptotic protein and up regulation of pro-apoptotic protein BAX. Overall findings indicated that CGA7 complex a potent anticancer molecule found in green coffee beans could be a safe bioactive ingredient for prevention of cancer

Chlorogenic acid complex (CGA7), standardized extract from green coffee beans exerts anticancer effects against cultured human colon cancer HCT-116 cells

Coffee is commonly consumed beverage in the world and it has been suggested to have beneficial effect. Chlorogenic acids (CGAs) are main ingredient of coffee beans which has been extensively used in nutraceuticals and medicine. Recently, various therapeutic effects of chlorogenic acids have been investigated. However, there are limited studies to investigate its anticancer properties. In the present study, we have used chlorogenic acid complex (CGA7) a decaffeinated water soluble green coffee bean extract to evaluate its cytotoxic effect on human and mouse cancer cell lines by using different approaches. From our results we found CGA7 treatment induces cell death in a dose and time dependent manner in different cancer cell lines. Further, CGA7 induced apoptosis was characterized by DNA fragmentation, PARP-1 cleavage, caspase-9 activation, and down regulation of Bcl-2, an anti-apoptotic protein and up regulation of pro-apoptotic protein BAX. Overall findings indicated that CGA7 complex a potent anticancer molecule found in green coffee beans could be a safe bioactive ingredient for prevention of cancer

Circulating miRNA profile in HCV infected serum: novel insight into pathogenesis

Changes in circulating miRNA profiles have been associated with different diseases. Here we demonstrate the circulating miRNA profile in serum of HCV infected individuals using a microRNA array that profiles the expression of 940 miRNAs. Serum samples from two HCV genotype -1 and two HCV genotype -3 infected individuals were compared with healthy controls. Expression levels of miR-134, miR-198, miR-320c and miR-483-5p that were commonly upregulated in case of both genotypes were validated in 36 individual patient serum samples. Serum miR-134, miR-320c and miR-483-5p were significantly upregulated during HCV infection. miR-320c and miR-483-5p were also upregulated in HCV-JFH1 infected cells and cell culture supernatant. Pathway analysis of putative target genes of these miRNAs indicated involvement of PI3K-Akt, NFKB and MAPK signaling pathways. Results revealed novel insights on the role of circulating miRNAs in mediating pathogenesis in HCV-infected cells

Serum proteomics of hepatitis C virus infection reveals retinol-binding protein 4 as a novel regulator

Persistent infection of hepatitis C virus (HCV) can lead to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, which are currently diagnosed by invasive liver biopsy. Approximately 15-20% of cases of chronic liver diseases in India are caused by HCV infection. In North India, genotype 3 is predominant, whereas genotype 1 is predominant in southern parts of India. The aim of this study was to identify differentially regulated serum proteins in HCV-infected Indian patients (genotypes 1 and 3) using a two-dimensional electrophoresis approach. We identified eight differentially expressed proteins by MS. Expression levels of one of the highly upregulated proteins, retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4), was validated by ELISA and Western blotting in two independent cohorts. We also confirmed our observation in the JFH1 infectious cell culture system. Interestingly, the HCV core protein enhanced RBP4 levels and partial knockdown of RBP4 had a positive impact on HCV replication, suggesting a possible role for this cellular protein in regulating HCV infection. Analysis of RBP4-interacting partners using a bioinformatic approach revealed novel insights into the possible involvement of RBP4 in HCV-induced pathogenesis. Taken together, this study provided information on the proteome profile of the HCV-infected Indian population, and revealed a link between HCV infection, RBP4 and insulin resistance

Identification of a novel epitope in the C terminus of hepatitis C virus-E2 protein that induces potent and cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of chronic viral hepatitis, but an effective vaccine is still not available to prevent infection. Use of neutralizing antibodies could be a potential therapeutic option. In this study, the presence of anti-HCV antibodies in HCV-infected patients was assessed from 50 patients and the presence of neutralizing antibodies was examined using `hepatitis C virus-like particles'. Antibodies from two samples exhibited significant inhibitory activity, suggesting that these may neutralize viral infection. Antigenic determinants generating the neutralizing antibodies from these two samples were delineated by epitope mapping using the core, E1 and E2 regions and a stretch of 45 amino acid peptide (E2C45) derived from the C-terminal region of HCV-E2 protein (aa 634-679) was designed. Results suggest that this hitherto uncharacterized region has the potential to generate neutralizing antibodies against HCV and thus be effective in preventing virus entry into liver cells. Computational analysis of the structure of the modelled peptide (E2C45) suggested high conformational entropy for this region. Furthermore, E2C45 peptide-generated antibodies could block virus entry and monoclonal antibodies generated against this peptide could also significantly reduce virus replication in a cell culture system. It is possible that the inhibition could be partly due to a conformational alteration of the CD81-binding region, preventing virus attachment to liver cells. In conclusion, this work focused on the discovery of a novel epitope at the C terminus of E2 that induces potent neutralizing antibodies in HCV-infected patients