Evaluation of Anti-tumor and Chemoresistance-lowering Effects of Pectolinarigenin from Cirsium japonicum Fisch ex DC in Breast Cancer

Purpose: To investigate the antitumor and chemoresistance-lowering effects of pectolinarigenin on breast cancer cells.Methods: Pectolinarigenin was purified by a combination of silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography from ethanol extracts of the aerial parts of C. japonicum DC. Breast cancer selfrenewal properties were tested by colony formation and tumor sphere formation assays. Thereafter, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect breast cancer stem cell markers. Furthermore, the effect of pectolinarigenin on breast cancer cell was evaluated by chemoresistance using 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2 thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2-H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Finally, tumor formation in nude mice was used to test the effect of pectolinarigenin on tumorigenicity of breast cancer cells in vivo.Results: The results showed that pectolinarigenin, extracted from Cirsium japonicum Fisch. ex DC., inhibited tumor cell self-renewal in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Pectolinarigenin (25 μM) caused significant inhibition of colony formation (61.23 %, p < 0.001) and tumor sphere formation (59.49 %, p < 0.01) in MCF-7. The inhibitory effects were associated with changes in breast cancer stem cell markers. Treatment of breast cancer cells with pectolinarigenin reduced the chemoresistance of the cells to doxorubicin. At the same time, mRNA expression of chemoresistance genes (ATP binding cassette subfamily G member 2, ABCG2 and ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 1, MDR1) was repressed by pectolinarigenin. The inhibition efficiency of MDR1 and ABCG2 by 10 μM pectolinarigenin treatment was about 59.29 (p < 0.01) and 46.48 % (p < 0.01), respectively. Furthermore, pectolinarigenin reduced tumor mass in nude mice xenograft model.Conclusion: Pectolinarigenin inhibits breast cancer stem cell-like properties and lowers the chemoresistance of the cancer cells to chemotherapy. The results provide an insight into the mechanism of the anti-breast tumor effects and an experimental basis for the use of pectolinarigenin to enhance treatment of patients with breast cancer.Keywords: Pectolinarigenin, Cancer stem cells, Breast cancer, Chemoresistance, Cirsium japonicum Fisch. ex D

Fluorescent Nanoparticles from Several Commercial Beverages: Their Properties and Potential Application for Bioimaging

The presence of nanoparticles in beverages has raised great concern in terms of potential impacts to consumer health. Herein, carbon dots in beverages kvass, pony malta, pilsner beer, Vivant Storm, and Profit were identified. They were shown to have a strong fluorescence under the excitation of ultraviolet light. The emission peaks shift to longer wavelengths accompanied by a remarkable fluorescence intensity decrease. The carbon dots are in the nanosized range and roughly spherical in appearance. Elemental analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated the composition of Kvass carbon dots to be C 83.17%, O 13.83%, and N 3.00%. No cytotoxicity was found at concentrations up to 20 mg/mL for human tongue squamous carcinoma cells, and they can be directly applied in both carcinoma and onion epidermal cell imaging. This work represents the first report of the carbon dots present in beverages, providing valuable insights into these nanoparticles for future biological imaging

Integrin Targeted MR Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a powerful medical diagnostic imaging modality for integrin targeted imaging, which uses the magnetic resonance of tissue water protons to display tissue anatomic structures with high spatial resolution. Contrast agents are often used in MRI to highlight specific regions of the body and make them easier to visualize. There are four main classes of MRI contrast agents based on their different contrast mechanisms, including T1, T2, chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) agents, and heteronuclear contrast agents. Integrins are an important family of heterodimeric transmembrane glycoproteins that function as mediators of cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions. The overexpressed integrins can be used as the molecular targets for designing suitable integrin targeted contrast agents for MR molecular imaging. Integrin targeted contrast agent includes a targeting agent specific to a target integrin, a paramagnetic agent and a linker connecting the targeting agent with the paramagnetic agent. Proper selection of targeting agents is critical for targeted MRI contrast agents to effectively bind to integrins for in vivo imaging. An ideal integrin targeted MR contrast agent should be non-toxic, provide strong contrast enhancement at the target sites and can be completely excreted from the body after MR imaging. An overview of integrin targeted MR contrast agents based on small molecular and macromolecular Gd(III) complexes, lipid nanoparticles and superparamagnetic nanoparticles is provided for MR molecular imaging. By using proper delivery systems for loading sufficient Gd(III) chelates or superparamagnetic nanoparticles, effective molecular imaging of integrins with MRI has been demonstrated in animal models.</p

Lipid-Lowering and Antioxidant Effects of Self-Assembled Astaxanthin–Anthocyanin Nanoparticles on High-Fat <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>

Obesity has become a serious global public health risk threatening millions of people. In this study, the astaxanthin–anthocyanin nanoparticles (AXT-ACN NPs) were used to investigate their effects on the lipid accumulation and antioxidative capacity of the high-sugar-diet-induced high-fat Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). It can be found that the lifespan, motility, and reproductive capacity of the high-fat C. elegans were significantly decreased compared to the normal nematodes in the control group. However, treatment of high-fat C. elegans with AXT-ACN NPs resulted in a prolonged lifespan of 35 days, improved motility, and a 22.06% increase in total spawn production of the nematodes. Furthermore, AXT-ACN NPs were found to effectively extend the lifespan of high-fat C. elegans under heat and oxidative stress conditions. Oil-red O staining results also demonstrated that AXT-ACN NPs have a remarkable effect on reducing the fat accumulation in nematodes, compared with pure astaxanthin and anthocyanin nanoparticles. Additionally, AXT-ACN NPs can significantly decrease the accumulation of lipofuscin and the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The activities of antioxidant-related enzymes in nematodes were further measured, which revealed that the AXT-ACN NPs could increase the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxidase dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and decrease the malondialdehyde (MDA) content. The astaxanthin and anthocyanin in AXT-ACN NPs showed sound synergistic antioxidation and lipid-lowering effects, making them potential components in functional foods

Assessment of Potential Toxicity of Onion-like Carbon Nanoparticles from Grilled Turbot <i>Scophthalmus maximus</i> L.

Although the presence of foodborne nanoparticles was confirmed in grilled fish in a previous study, the evaluation of potential health risks of these NPs was insufficient. In the present study, the potential toxicity of onion-like carbon nanoparticles (OCNPs) separated from grilled turbot Scophthalmus maximus L. was evaluated using mouse osteoblasts cells model and zebrafish (Danio rerio) model. Cytotoxicity evaluation revealed that the OCNPs penetrated into the MC3T3-E1 cells without arousing cell morphology changes. No evident apoptosis or damage of cells was observed with increasing OCNPs’ concentration to 20 mg/mL. In the hemolysis test, OCNPs did not show an obvious hemolysis effect on red blood cells. In the acute toxicity test, the LC50 value (212.431 mg/L) of OCNPs to zebrafish showed a weak acute toxicity. In subacute toxicity test, after exposure to OCNPs (30 mg/L, 40 mg/L) for 10 days, a significant increase of reactive oxygen species level of zebrafish was observed. Meanwhile, redundant ROS content caused inhibition to several antioxidant enzymes and induced lipid and protein peroxidation damages according to the upregulation of malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl levels. The chronic toxicity test results indicated that oxidative stress was only observed in the high concentration group of OCNPs-treated zebrafish