Anti-proliferative effect of the extracts and essential oil of Pimpinella anisum on gastric cancer cells

Introduction: One of the most important fields to find the new drugs for combating cancers is herbal medicine and in this regard, attention to plant components against cancer has been increased nowadays. In the present study, we investigated the cytotoxic effect of alcoholic extracts and essential oil of Pimpinella anisum on viability of gastric cancer cell line (AGS) and angiogenesis of HUVEC cells . Methods: The alcoholic extracts and essential oil were obtained by soxhlet and Clevenger set, respectively. The viability of cells which treated with the extracts and the essential oil were assessed by MTT assay. In vitro tube formation assay was performed to assess the effect of the extracts and essential oil on angiogenesis potential of HUVEC cells. Results: The growth of AGS cells was inhibited by extracts and essential oil of Pimpinella anisum. Furthermore, the extracts and essential oil had inhibitory effects on the angiogenesis in HUVEC cells. The ethanolic extract inhibited cell proliferation of the AGS cells in 30 µg/mL at 48 hours after treatment but it had no significant effect on fibroblast cells. The inhibitory effect of methanolic extract was much better than the ethanolic extract at the same concentrations. The essential oil of the plant had the highest inhibitory effect on cancer cells compared with the alcoholic extracts. Conclusion: Therefore, our results showed that the alcoholic extracts and essential oil of Pimpinella anisum have antiprolifertion properties on gastric cancer cells and could be used as plant-based cures for gastric cancer

LncRNA PNKY Is Upregulated in Breast Cancer and Promotes Cell Proliferation and EMT in Breast Cancer Cells

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are known to be important regulators in different cellular processes and are implicated in various human diseases. Recently, lncRNA PNKY has been found to be involved in pluripotency and differentiation of embryonic and postnatal neural stem cells (NSCs); however, its expression and function in cancer cells is still unclear. In the present study, we observed the expression of PNKY in various cancer tissues, including brain, breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers. In particular, we demonstrated that lncRNA PNKY was significantly upregulated in breast tumors, especially high-grade tumors. Knock down experiments indicated that the suppression of PNKY in breast cancer cells could restrict their proliferation by promoting apoptosis, senescence, and cell cycle disruption. Moreover, the results demonstrated that PNKY may play a crucial role in the cell migration of breast cancer cells. We further found that PNKY may trigger EMT in breast cancer cells by upregulating miR-150 and restricting the expression of Zeb1 and Snail. This study is the first to provide new evidence on the expression and biological function of PNKY in cancer cells and its potential contribution to tumor growth and metastasis

Anti-carcinogenic and anti-angiogenic properties of the extracts of Acorus calamus on gastric cancer cells

Objective: Acorus calamus (A. calamus) has been used as a medicinal plant in Asia for its effects on digestive system for the last 2000 years. To investigate the anti-cancer activity of rhizome of A. calamus, the ethanolic and methanolic extracts and essential oil of the rhizome were prepared and their effects were assessed on human gastric cancer cell line (AGS). Materials and Methods: The viability of cells which were treated with the extracts and the essential oil was assessed by MTT assay. To evaluate the anti-angiogenic property of the extracts, in vitro tube formation assay was done. Cell cycle distribution and the expression of Oct4 and Nucleostemin, after treatments, were checked by flowcytometry and quantitative RT-PCR, respectively. Furthermore, analysis of essential oil from A.calamus was done by GC-MS. Results: Our results showed that the growth of AGS cells was inhibited by the extracts and essential oil and the extracts inhibited the angiogenesis in HUVEC cells. Our data revealed that the extracts and essential oil of A. calamus caused G1 arrest in AGS cells and downregulation of Oct4 and NS after treatment. By GC-MS analysis, we found new compoundssuch as epiprezizaene, valencene and isocyclocitral in essential oil of A. Conclusions: All together, our results showed that the extracts of A. calamus have anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic effects on cancer cells

Altered Expression of High Molecular Weight Heat Shock Proteins after OCT4B1 Suppression in Human Tumor Cell Lines

Objective: OCT4B1, a novel variant of OCT4, is expressed in cancer cell lines and tissues. Based on our previous reports, OCT4B1 appears to have a crucial role in regulating apoptosis as well as stress response [heat shock proteins (HSPs)] pathways. The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of OCT4B1 silencing on the expression of high molecular weight HSPs in three different human tumor cell lines. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, OCT4B1 expression was suppressed in AGS (gastric adenocarcinoma), 5637 (bladder tumor) and U-87MG (brain tumor) cell lines using RNAi strategy. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) array was employed for expression level analysis and the fold changes were calculated using RT2 Profiler PCR array data analysis software version 3.5. Results: Our data revealed up-regulation of HSPD1 (from HSP60 family) as well as HSPA14, HSPA1L, HSPA4, HSPA5 and HSPA8 (from HSP70 family) following OCT4B1 knock-down in all three cell lines. In contrast, the expression of HSP90AA1 and HSP- 90AB1 (from HSP90 family) as well as HSPA1B and HSPA6 (from HSP70 family) was down-regulated under similar conditions. Other stress-related genes showed varying expression pattern in the examined tumor cell lines. Conclusion: Our data suggest a direct or indirect correlation between the expression of OCT4B1 and HSP90 gene family. However, OCT4B1 expression was not strongly correlated with the expression of HSP70 and HSP60 gene families

Socioeconomic Status and Incidence of Traffic Accidents in Metropolitan Tehran: A Population-based Study

Background: Population-based estimates of traffic accidents (TAs) are not readily available for developing countries. This study examined the contribution of socioeconomic status (SES) to the risk of TA among Iranian adults. Methods: A total of 64,200people aged ≥18years were identified from 2008 Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool (Urban HEART) survey. 22,128 households were interviewed to estimate the overall annual incidence, severity and socioeconomic determinants of TAs for males and females in Iranian capital over the preceding year. Wealth index and house value index were constructed for economic measurement. Weighted estimates were computed adjusting for complex survey design. Logistic regression models were used to examine individual and SES measures as potential determinants of TAs in adults. Results: The overall incidence of traffic accident was 17.3(95% CI 16.0, 18.7) per 1000 per year. TA rate in men and women was 22.6(95% CI 20.6, 24.8) and 11.8(95% CI 10.4, 13.2), respectively. The overall TA mortality rate was 26.6(95% CI 13.4, 39.8) per 100,000 person-years, which was almost three times higher in men than that for women (40.4 vs. 12.1 per 100,000person-years). Lower economic level was associated with increased incidence and mortality of TA. Association between SES and incidence, and severity and mortality of TA were identified. Conclusion: TAs occur more in lower socioeconomic layers of the society. This should be taken seriously into consideration by policy makers, so that preventive programs aimed at behavioral modifications in the society are promoted to decrease the health and economic burden imposed by TAs

A Plausible Anti-Apoptotic Role of Up-Regulated OCT4B1 in Bladder Tumors

PURPOSE: To investigate and compare the expression of OCT4B1 between tumor and non-tumor bladder tissues. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated the expression of OCT4B1 in 30 tumor and non-tumor surgical specimens of the bladder, using the TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction approach and by carefully designing primers and probes specific for the amplification of the variant. RESULTS: Most tumor and non-tumor samples of the bladder showed OCT4B1 expression, but its expression level was significantly higher in the tumors (P < .002). Moreover, the up-regulation of OCT4B1 was more significant in high-grade tumors compared to the low-grade ones (P < .05). We have also employed the RNA interference strategy to evaluate the functional role of OCT4B1 in a bladder cancer cell line, 5637. Suppression of OCT4B1 caused some changes in cell cycle distribution, and significantly elevated the rate of apoptosis in the cells. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that OCT4B1 plays a potential role in tumor initiation and/or progression of the bladder cancer. Additionally, OCT4B1 can be regarded as a new tumor marker for detection, classification, and treatment of the bladder cancer. However, more experimental studies are needed to replicate our findings

The Application of Urban Health Equity Aassessment and Response Tool (Urban HEART) in Tehran; Concepts and Framework

Background:Inequalities in health are ever increasing among different communities of either affluent or disadvantaged especially in urban areas.To identify and address inequalities in health and its determinants among societies, urban health equity assessment and response tool (Urban HEART) in four 'policy domains' related to social determinants of health, has been developed by WHO Kobe Centre (WKC) and piloted in several countries. The tool was extended to six policy domains in Tehran and the number of indicators was doubled. This paper describes the concept of Urban HEART, its development, study protocol and pilot implementation in Tehran.   Methods/Design: Sixty five indicators in 6 domains related to inequalities in health and social determinants of health (SDH) namely 'physical and infrastructure','human and social', 'economic','governance', 'health',and'nutrition', were developed and approved in an international workshop held in Tehran in April 2008. Acomprehensive questionnaire with 12 sections was developed to be administered in a large population based survey in Tehran.Discussion: This is the first report of urban health equity assessment and response tool (Urban HEART) project which was conducted in Tehran. Year 2010 has been devoted to 'Urbanisation and Health' by the World Health Organisation, when 1000 cities are supposed to join a global plan to raise health in the urban areas. The Urban HEART project is supposed to play an important role henceforth