What is known about melatonin, chemotherapy and altered gene expression in breast cancer

Melatonin, synthesized in and released from the pineal gland, has been demonstrated by multiple in vivo and in vitro studies to have an oncostatic role in hormone?dependent tumors. Furthermore, several clinical trials point to melatonin as a promising adjuvant molecule to be considered for cancer treatment. In the past few years, evidence of a broader spectrum of action of melatonin as an antitumor agent has arisen; thus, melatonin appears to also have therapeutic effects in several types of hormone?independent cancer, including ovarian, leukemic, pancreatic, gastric and non?small cell lung carcinoma. In the present study, the latest findings regarding melatonin molecular actions when concomitantly administered with either radiotherapy or chemotherapy in cancer were reviewed, with a particular focus on hormone?dependent breast cancer. Finally, the present study discusses which direction should be followed in the next years to definitely clarify whether or not melatonin administration could protect against non?desirable effects (such as altered gene expression and post?translational protein modifications) caused by chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatments. As treatments move towards personalized medicine, comparative gene expression profiling with and without melatonin may be a powerful tool to better understand the antitumor effects of melatonin, the pineal gland hormone

Microbiological and Sensory Characteristics of Mould-Ripened Salami under Different Packaging Conditions

The preservation of mould-ripened salami was investigated during 48 days at 19-20 °C under different packaging conditions: (i) high barrier film filled with air, 100 % N2 or under vacuum, (ii) biaxially oriented polypropylene film, (iii) microperforated polyethylene film and (iv) unpackaged. Sensory, texture profile, physicochemical and microbiological analyses were performed. Fungal quantification revealed two data groups. In group 1 (consisting of salami in microperforated polyethylene film, biaxially oriented polypropylene film and unpackaged) the conidium viability was relatively constant. In group 2 (salami preserved in high barrier film filled with air, 100 % N2 or under vacuum) the conidium viability decreased due to the absence of oxygen and the high carbon dioxide volume fraction. SEM micrographs showed micromorphological changes in fungal structure; microperforated polyethylene film, biaxially oriented polypropylene film and unpackaged conditions preserved the conidial morphology, while high barrier film filled with air, 100 % N2 or vacuum conditions collapsed the hyphae and most of the conidia. Salami packed in microperforated polyethylene film and biaxially oriented polypropylene film showed the most acceptable organoleptic characteristics and lower hardness and chewiness values after packaging

Efecto de diferentes tipos de envasado sobre la conservabilidad de embutidos secos con moho en superficie

Se determinó la influencia de diferentes condiciones de envasado en la preservación de embutidos secos con desarrollo fúngico superficial. Se realizaron análisis microbiológicos, fisicoquímicos, perfil de textura y sen-sorial a las muestras conservadas durante 48 días a 20ºC. El recuento de hongos filamentosos evidenció que en las muestras envasadas con  material de alta barrrera(HB-Aire, HB-N2, HB-V), la disminución de oxígeno y la acumulación de dióxido de carbono disminuyeron signi-ficativamente la viabilidad de los conidios de Penicilliumnalgiovense. En estos sistemas, tanto las hifas como los conidios se encontraban colapsados en el tiempo de almacenamiento. En los embutidos envasados con polie-tileno microperforado (MP) y con polipropileno bi-orien-tado (BOPP), como así también en los embutidos sinenvasar (SE), se mantuvo constante la viabilidad de los conidios, sin evidenciarse cambios en la estructura fún-gica de los mismos. En estos sistemas (MP y BOPP), ladureza disminuyó significativamente respecto a los con-troles sin envasar (SE), mejorando las características organolépticas y de textura en general.Fil: Canel, Romina Soledad. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Guerrissi, Sofia. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes; ArgentinaFil: Sanchez, Mariana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Monaco, Gabriela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Laich, Federico. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes; ArgentinaFil: Wagner, Jorge Ricardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Área Ingeniería en Alimentos; ArgentinaFil: Renaud, Viviana Silvia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Ludemann, Vanesa. Universidad Nacional de Quilmes. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología. Área Ingeniería en Alimentos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

pH Sensitive surfactants from lysine: assessment of their cytotoxicity and environmental behavior

The toxicity and environmental behavior of new pH-sensitive surfactants from lysine are presented. Three different chemical structures are studied: surfactants with one amino acid and one alkyl chain, surfactants with two amino acids on the polar head and one alkyl chain, and gemini surfactants. The pH sensitivity of these compounds can be tuned by modifying their chemical structures. Cytotoxicity has been evaluated using erythrocytes and fibroblast cells. The toxic effects against these cells depend on the hydrophobicity of the molecules as well as their cationic charge density. The effect of hydrophobicity and cationic charge density on toxicity is different for each type of cells. For erythrocytes, the toxicity increases as hydrophobicity and charge density increases. Nevertheless, for fibroblasts cationic charge density affects cytotoxicity in the opposite way: the higher charge density, the lower the toxicity. The effect of the pH on hemolysis has been evaluated in detail. The aquatic toxicity was established using Daphnia magna. All surfactants yielded EC50 values considerably higher than that reported for cationic surfactants based on quaternary ammonium groups. Finally, their biodegradability was evaluated using the CO2 headspace test (ISO 14593). These lysine derivatives showed high levels of biodegradation under aerobic conditions and can be classified as"readily biodegradable compounds"