2,397 research outputs found
Bright spots in the darkness of cancer: A review of starfishes-derived compounds and their anti-tumor action
The fight against cancer represents a great challenge for researchers and, for this reason, the search for new promising drugs to improve cancer treatments has become inevitable. Oceans, due to their wide diversity of marine species and environmental conditions have proven to be precious sources of potential natural drugs with active properties. As an example, in this context several studies performed on sponges, tunicates, mollusks, and soft corals have brought evidence of the interesting biological activities of the molecules derived from these species. Also, echinoderms constitute an important phylum, whose members produce a huge number of compounds with diverse biological activities. In particular, this review is the first attempt to summarize the knowledge about starfishes and their secondary metabolites that exhibited a significant anticancer effect against different human tumor cell lines. For each species of starfish, the extracted molecules, their effects, and mechanisms of action are described
JAHA, a novel histone deacetylase inhibitor: cytotoxic effect on triple-negative breast cancer cells
An alternative approach of TUNEL assay to specifically characterize DNA fragmentation in cell model systems
DNA damage is one of the most important effects induced by chemical agents. We report a comparative analysis of DNA fragmentation on three different cell lines using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, generally applied to detect apoptosis. Our approach combines cytogenetic techniques and investigation in detached cellular structures, recovered from the culture medium with the aim to compare the DNA fragmentation of three different cell line even beyond the cells adherent to substrate. Consequently, we detect any fragmentation points on single chromosomes, whole nuclei and other cellular structures. Cells were exposed to resveratrol (RSV) and doxorubicin (Doxo), in single and combined treatments. Control and treated astrocytes showed DNA damage in condensed nuclei and detached structures. Caco-2 cells showed fragmented DNA only after Doxo-treatment, while controls showed fragmented chromosomes, indicating DNA damage in replicating cells. MDA-MB-231 cells showed nuclear condensation and DNA fragmentation above all after RSV-treatment and related to detached structures. This model proved to perform a grading of genomic instability (GI). Astrocytes show a hybrid level of GI. Caco-2 cells showed fragmented metaphase chromosomes, proving that the DNA damage was transmitted to the daughter cells probably due to an absence of DNA repair mechanisms. Instead, MDA-MB-231 cells showed few or no fragmented metaphase, suggesting a probable activation of DNA repair mechanisms. By applying this alternative approach of TUNEL test, we obtained data that can more specifically characterize DNA fragmentation for a suitable application in various fields
In Vitro Cytotoxic Effect of Aqueous Extracts from Leaves and Rhizomes of the Seagrass Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile on HepG2 Liver Cancer Cells: Focus on Autophagy and Apoptosis
Aqueous extracts from Posidonia oceanica’s green and brown (beached) leaves and rhizomes
were prepared, submitted to phenolic compound and proteomic analysis, and examined for their
potential cytotoxic effect on HepG2 liver cancer cells in culture. The chosen endpoints related to
survival and death were cell viability and locomotory behavior, cell-cycle analysis, apoptosis and
autophagy, mitochondrial membrane polarization, and cell redox state. Here, we show that 24 h
exposure to both green-leaf- and rhizome-derived extracts decreased tumor cell number in a dose–
response manner, with a mean half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) estimated at 83 and
11.5 µg of dry extract/mL, respectively. Exposure to the IC50 of the extracts appeared to inhibit cell
motility and long-term cell replicating capacity, with a more pronounced effect exerted by the rhizomederived preparation. The underlying death-promoting mechanisms identified involved the downregulation of autophagy, the onset of apoptosis, the decrease in the generation of reactive oxygen
species, and the dissipation of mitochondrial transmembrane potential, although, at the molecular
level, the two extracts appeared to elicit partially differentiating effects, conceivably due to their
diverse composition. In conclusion, P. oceanica extracts merit further investigation to develop novel
promising prevention and/or treatment agents, as well as beneficial supplements for the formulation
of functional foods and food-packaging material with antioxidant and anticancer propertie
Measurement of pion, kaon and proton production in proton-proton collisions at TeV
The measurement of primary , K, p and
production at mid-rapidity ( 0.5) in proton-proton collisions at
TeV performed with ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) at
the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is reported. Particle identification is
performed using the specific ionization energy loss and time-of-flight
information, the ring-imaging Cherenkov technique and the kink-topology
identification of weak decays of charged kaons. Transverse momentum spectra are
measured from 0.1 up to 3 GeV/ for pions, from 0.2 up to 6 GeV/ for kaons
and from 0.3 up to 6 GeV/ for protons. The measured spectra and particle
ratios are compared with QCD-inspired models, tuned to reproduce also the
earlier measurements performed at the LHC. Furthermore, the integrated particle
yields and ratios as well as the average transverse momenta are compared with
results at lower collision energies.Comment: 33 pages, 19 captioned figures, 3 tables, authors from page 28,
published version, figures at
http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/156
INFN What Next: Ultra-relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions
This document was prepared by the community that is active in Italy, within
INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), in the field of
ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The experimental study of the phase
diagram of strongly-interacting matter and of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP)
deconfined state will proceed, in the next 10-15 years, along two directions:
the high-energy regime at RHIC and at the LHC, and the low-energy regime at
FAIR, NICA, SPS and RHIC. The Italian community is strongly involved in the
present and future programme of the ALICE experiment, the upgrade of which will
open, in the 2020s, a new phase of high-precision characterisation of the QGP
properties at the LHC. As a complement of this main activity, there is a
growing interest in a possible future experiment at the SPS, which would target
the search for the onset of deconfinement using dimuon measurements. On a
longer timescale, the community looks with interest at the ongoing studies and
discussions on a possible fixed-target programme using the LHC ion beams and on
the Future Circular Collider.Comment: 99 pages, 56 figure
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