Anticancer Effects and uses of Melatonin A Review

Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine, MLT) is a naturally occurring hormone secreted by the pineal gland. Clinical evidence suggests that MLT may have a possible role in the treatment of cancer, where MLT presents many oncostatic properties in a wide variety of tumors, utilizing multiple and converging mechanisms. It is a potent anti-oxidative agent; its circadian rhythm-regulating properties are crucial for orchestrating patterns of hormone secretion, the imbalance of which is implicated in a wide range of hormonedependent cancers of the reproductive organs. Recent advances in cancer treatment can offer therapeutic alternatives that could reduce the severity of unwanted side effects. Several observational studies have demonstrated a relationship between long-term disruption of circadian rhythm with decreased MLT secretion and increased cancer risk, whilst clinical evidence supports the possible benefits from MLT on the survival in patients with a range of cancers. This review will address some of the multiple anticancer properties of MLT, with a particular focus on the mechanisms counteracting tumor occurrence, growth, and development. Recent research into the oncostatic effects of MLT and the mechanisms of action explaining its efficiency for tumor regulation are summarized in this review and suggestions for the therapeutic use of MLT will be presented

Disruption of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL by viral proteins as a possible cause of cancer

The Bcl proteins play a critical role in apoptosis, as mutations in family members interfere with normal programmed cell death. Such events can cause cell transformation, potentially leading to cancer. Recent discoveries indicate that some viral proteins interfere with Bcl proteins either directly or indirectly; however, these data have not been systematically described. Some viruses encode proteins that reprogramme host cellular signalling pathways controlling cell differentiation, proliferation, genomic integrity, cell death, and immune system recognition. This review analyses and summarises the existing data and discusses how viral proteins interfere with normal pro- and anti-apoptotic functions of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. Particularly, this article focuses on how viral proteins, such as Herpesviruses, HTLV-1, HPV and HCV, block apoptosis and how accumulation of such interference predisposes cancer development. Finally, we discuss possible ways to prevent and treat cancers using a combination of traditional therapies and antiviral preparations that are effective against these viruses

5 Patient specific in situ 3D printing

Abstract In this chapter, we will focus on how 3D printer technology is transforming traditional medicine into a personalized approach, giving an overview of the technology advancement and its clinical applications. First, we will discuss why personalization in medicine is required, its benefits for the patients and how 3D printing technology can address this need for the patient specific treatment solutions. Basic capabilities of 3D printers and the three most common 3D printing technologies used in medical applications will be covered as well. The second section focuses on current and potential medical applications of 3D printing. The main medical applications can be arranged into three categories: (1) 3D bioprinting of organs and tissues; (2) patient specific medical devices: prosthetics and implants; and (3) 3D models for surgical preparation. Here, we will discuss 3D printing of living cells, in situ 3D bioprinting directly to the defect site, some successful cases of the implantation of various 3D constructs and the production of precise anatomical models for surgical trainings. Lastly, we will highlight challenges and emerging technology developments for the printing of functional organ constructs and medical devices

The effects of antiviral treatment on breast cancer cell line

Background: Recent studies have revealed the positive antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects of antiviral agents in cancer treatment. The real effect of adjuvant antiviral therapy is still controversial due to the lack of studies in biochemical mechanisms. Here, we studied the effect of the antiviral agent acyclovir on morphometric and migratory features of the MCF7 breast cancer cell line. Molecular levels of various proteins have also been examined. Methods: To evaluate and assess the effect of antiviral treatment on morphometric, migratory and other cellular characteristics of MCF7 breast cancer cells, the following experiments were performed: (i) MTT assay to measure the viability of MCF7 cells; (ii) Colony formation ability by soft agar assay; (iii) Morphometric characterization by immunofluorescent analysis using confocal microscopy; (iv) wound healing and transwell membrane assays to evaluate migration and invasion capacity of the cells; (v) ELISA colorimetric assays to assess expression levels of caspase-3, E-cadherin and enzymatic activity of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). Results: We demonstrate the suppressive effect of acyclovir on breast cancer cells. Acyclovir treatment decreases the growth and the proliferation rate of cells and correlates with the upregulated levels of apoptosis associated cytokine Caspase-3. Moreover, acyclovir inhibits colony formation ability and cell invasion capacity of the cancer cells while enhancing the expression of E-cadherin protein in MCF7 cells. Breast cancer cells are characterized by high ALDH activity and associated with upregulated proliferation and invasion. According to this study, acyclovir downregulates ALDH activity in MCF7 cells. Conclusions: These results are encouraging and demonstrate the possibility of partial suppression of cancer cell proliferation using an antiviral agent. Acyclovir antiviral agents have a great potential as an adjuvant therapy in the cancer treatment. However, more research is necessary to identify relevant biochemical mechanisms by which acyclovir induces a potent anti-cancer effect

The Role of Summer Intensive Programmes on Improving Students’ Learning Outcomes in Rural Areas

Many countries face serious challenges with education in rural areas. Vast majority of education in rural areas are disadvantaged. In Kazakhstan, inef-fective outcomes of education in rural areas impact on most rural students are lack employability and entrepreneurial skills. This research investigates the role of intensive summer programmes on improving students’ learning outcomes aim to develop and Inspire employability and entrepreneurial skills and STEAM-education in rural schools of Kazakhstan. This research suggest that the summer program transferred practical skills and knowledge to stu-dents, while increasing their motivation to learn outside of the classroom in a way that traditional educational system has not. There are social and eco-nomic challenges in the rural areas: unemployment, the lack of highly skilled professionals, and low motivation. Summer programs appear to ad-dress all above issues by motivating youth to learn and providing them with practical skills that can be used in their private life and careers

Retinal Targets ALDH Positive Cancer Stem Cell and Alters the Phenotype of Highly Metastatic Osteosarcoma Cells

Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) is a cancer stem cell marker. Retinoic acid has antitumor properties, including the induction of apoptosis and inhibition of proliferation. Retinal, the precursor of retinoic acid, can be oxidized to retinoic acid by dehydrogenases, including ALDH. We hypothesized that retinal could potentially be transformed to retinoic acid with higher efficiency by cancer stem cells, due to the higher ALDH activity. We previously observed that ALDH activity is greater in highly metastatic K7M2 osteosarcoma (OS) cells than in nonmetastatic K12 OS cells. We also demonstrated that ALDH activity correlates with clinical metastases in bone sarcoma patients, suggesting that ALDH may be a therapeutic target specific to cells with high metastatic potential. Our current results demonstrated that retinal preferentially affected the phenotypes of ALDH-high K7M2 cells in contrast to ALDH-low K12 cells, which could be mediated by the more efficient transformation of retinal to retinoic acid by ALDH in K7M2 cells. Retinal treatment of highly metastatic K7M2 cells decreased their proliferation, invasion capacity, and resistance to oxidative stress. Retinal altered the expression of metastasis-related genes. These observations indicate that retinal may be used to specifically target metastatic cancer stem cells in OS