The effect of Cressa Cretica hydroalcoholic extract on apoptosis and the expression of Bcl2, Bax and P53 genes in hepatoma cell line HepG2

Objective: Liver cancer is common worldwide and its occurrence is increasing globally; the most prevalent type is hepatocellular carcinoma. Cressa cretica is a halophyte plant that contains flavonoids, which are antibacterial, antioxidant agents. We investigated the effects of C. cretica extract on apoptosis and expression of Bcl2, Bax and P53 genes in the hepatoma cell line, HepG2. Methods: HepG2 cells were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium, then incubated in various concentrations of hydroalcoholic extract of C. cretica. Cell proliferation was investigated using MTT assay and apoptosis was measured using flow cytometry. The expression of apoptosis- related genes were determined by real-time PCR. Results: Proliferation of HepG2 cells treated with different concentrations of C. cretica were diminished significantly in a dose-dependent pattern. The concentration of C. cretica required for 50 cell viability was 2300 μg/ml. Expression of P53 increased significantly in the treatment groups compared to control group. Bcl2 gene expression was decreased significantly compared to the control group, while the Bax gene was overexpressed in the extract treated groups. Conclusion: C. cretica is able to effect on the expression of apoptosis-related genes; therefore, it could play a role in treatment of cancer. © 2020 Elsevier Inc

Enhancement of Purkinje Neuronal Excitability by the Inhibition of Fast Voltage Gated K+ Channel Function in Ataxic Rats

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of fast inactivating (IA) voltage dependent potassium channels in shaping the discharge activity of cerebellarPurkinje cells (PCs) in ataxic rats.Materials and Methods: Male Sprauge-Dawley rats (40-60 g) were used in this study. Ataxia was induced via single i.p. injection of 3-acethylpyridine (65 mg/kg). Four days following induction of ataxia, the rats were decapitated after being anesthetizedusing ether. 300 μm thick parasagittal slices were prepared from the vermis of the cerebellum. Sharp intracellular recording was achieved from Purkinje cells under continuous superfusion of ACSF containing synaptic blockers.Results: Intracellular recording of 21 Purkinje neurons in cerebellar slice preparationshowed that Purkinje cells of ataxic rats fire in three modes of tonic (23.81%), burst (19.05%) and silence (57.14%). Following the application of 4-AP, 83.33% of the silent PCs were spontaneously fired and the burst activity was robustly enhancedin bursting PCs. In addition, 4-AP significantly increased the duration of burst and active periods but decreased the duration of inactive period. It also increased the number of sodium spikes within each burst.Conclusion: 4-AP sensitive current in Purkinje cell of ataxic rat involves in three modes of firing pattern. In addition, the inhibition of fast inactivating potassium channels(IA) with 4-AP enhances the spontaneous discharge activity of Purkinje cells

Comparing three adjuvant chemotherapy regimes after modified radical mastectomy in breast cancer patients using log-logistic model

Introduction: Chemotherapy after surgery is one of the adjuvant therapy components in breast cancer patients. In the current study, Taxane-based and Anthracycline-based regimes were compared to Cyclophosphamide, Methotrexate and 5-Fluorouracil (CMF) chemotherapy after modified radical mastectomy (MRM) surgery in terms of disease-free survival (DFS). Materials and Methods: Sixty-two patients with confirmed breast cancer that underwent MRM surgery at no metastasis stage (M0) enrolled. These patients were received one of the three types of adjuvant chemotherapies that mentioned above and the relapse/metastasis in 8-year follow-up was recorded. In addition, some paraclinical and demographical factors were recorded and the efficacy of the different chemotherapy regimes was compared using log-logistic survival model. Results: The mean age (SD) of patients was 49 (1.31). More than 40 of patients had tumors with grade 3. The median time of follow-up was 20.0 months and the rate of 5-year DFS was 48. Survival analysis indicated that type of chemotherapy (OR(Taxane/CMF) =3.676; OR (Anthracycline/CMF) =3.185), histological grade (OR=2.528), tumor size (OR=5.598) and number of lymph nodes (OR=1.112) affect the DFS. Conclusion: The results of the current study indicated that the efficacy of Taxane-based and Anthracycline-based is more than CMF. This study also showed that early detection of tumor was an important factor for a successful treatment in terms of DFS, and so, it declares the roll of screening and public education

The effect of Curcuma longa extract and its active component (curcumin) on gene expression profiles of lipid metabolism pathway in liver cancer cell line (HepG2)

Objective: Dyslipidemia is a disorder in lipoprotein metabolism. This disorder could lead to atherosclerosis and it promotes the coronary artery disease and stroke. Turmeric and its active compound, curcumin, modulate the lipid metabolism and also have been used to treat the fatty liver. The present study evaluated the effect of Curcuma longa extract and curcumin on gene expression profiles of lipid metabolism pathway in human HepG2. Methods: HepG2 cell line was cultured in RpMI-1640 media. The cells in each well were incubated in various concentration of curcumin and hydro-alcoholic extract of Turmeric (15, 30, 60, 125, 250, 1000, 2000 μg/ml). The cell viability was investigated by MTT assay and the expression of lipid metabolism genes was determined using real-time PCR in IC20 concentration. Results: The proliferation of HepG2 cells significantly reduced in curcumin-treated and hydro-alcoholic extract of Turmeric-treated groups with increasing the concentrations. The expression of lipogenesis-related genes such as PGC1A, CPT1A and ACOX1 significantly increase in both treatment groups as compared with the control group. Curcumin and hydro-alcoholic extract of Turmeric significantly diminished the expression of lipid synthesis genes such as SCD1, SREBF2, and DGAT1. Conclusion: According to our study, Turmeric and curcumin reduce the viability of HepG2 cells in a concentration-dependent manner; in addition, these ingredients decrease the lipogenesis genes while they increase the lipid synthesis genes. This report suggests that Turmeric could remove the lipid and fatty acids. This herbal substance could be a helpful treatment for obesity and fatty liver. © 2019 Elsevier Inc

Effect of citrullus colocynthis extract on glycated hemoglobin formation (In vitro)

Objective: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is typically a disorder of carbohydrate, fat, and protein metabolism. It develops due to a lack of or loss associated with insulin and/or resistance to insulin. Regarding complications of chemical substance use, drugs with few complications and high-reliability tannins are needed. This study aimed to determine the effect and mechanism of action of Citrullus colocynthis extract on the formation of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Materials and Methods: A solution containing hemoglobin and glucose was incubated for 1, 2, 3, 4, 30, and 60 days by adding Citrullus colocynthis extract or glutathione. Quantitative measurement of HbA1c was performed using ion-exchange chromatography. Data were analyzed using ANOVA and two-way repeated measures test. A p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The Citrullus colocynthis extract in hyperglycemic conditions and with increasing time reduced the formation of HbA1c and thus inhibited the production of glycated proteins. By increasing the time and after initiation of reaction of extract concentrations (0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, and 1 g/dL), presently, there was a significant decrease in the formation of HbA1C compared to those in the control group (p<0.05). The decrease in glycation has been dose dependent. Conclusion: Therefore, Citrullus colocynthis could directly reduce the formation of HbA1c. © 2020, AVES. All rights reserved