Role of Nitric Oxide and Metallothionein in Cytotoxic Activity of Cadmium in Caco-2 Cells

Cadmium (Cd) induces carcinogenicity and cytotoxicity through a variety of mechanisms. Metallothioneins (MTs) play critical roles in metal detoxification and radical scavenging. Here we evaluated the possible involvement of NO and MT in Cd-induced toxicity and resistance development. By utilizing Cd-resistant Caco-2 cells as a model of chronic exposure to Cadmium, we observed that Cd decreased Caco-2 cell proliferation, whereas Cd-resistant cells showed a lower sensitivity to Cd cytotoxicity. L-NAME as an iNOS inhibitor and cPTIO as an NO scavenger induced a significant reduction in Cd-mediated toxicity of parent Caco-2 in spite of resistant cells. In resistant cells, iNOS mRNA expression was declined; however, MT protein synthesis was increased following acute and chronic Cd exposure. It seems that NO synthesis involves in Cd-induced cytotoxicity, while elevated MT expression is associated with Cd detoxification and resistance

Evaluation of the Cytotoxicity of Satureja spicigera and Its Main Compounds

Satureja spicigera (Lamiaceae) grows wildly in Northwest of Iran. In this study, bioassay-guided isolation and identification of the main compounds has been reported using various chromatographic methods and comparison of their spectral data with those reported in the literature. Brine shrimp lethality and four cancerous cell lines HT29/219, Caco2, NIH-3T3, and T47D were used for cytotoxicity evaluations. From the aerial parts of S. spicigera, nine known compounds including two flavanones, 5,7,3,5-tetrahydroxy flavanone (8) and 5,4-dihydroxy-3-methoxyflavanone-7-(6-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside (9), one dihydrochalcone, nubigenol (7), together with thymoquinone (1), thymol (2), carvacrol (3), β-sitosterol (4), ursolic acid (5) and oleanolic acid (6) were identified. Among the isolated chalcone and flavanones, compound 8 was effective against Artemia salina larva (LC50= 2 μg/mL) and only the compound 9 demonstrated IC50 value of 98.7 μg/mL on the T47D (human, breast, ductal carcinoma). Other compounds did not show significant inhibition of the cell growth

Pomegranate juice (punica granatum): a new storage medium for avulsed teeth.

There is evidence indicating that pomegranate juice contains many of the essential properties necessary to retain cell viability and cell proliferation. These properties indicate that pomegranate juice is a suitable storage medium for avulsed teeth. However, this idea has not yet been tested. In this study, the capacity of pomegranate juice (PJ) as a storage medium for retaining avulsed teeth was evaluated.PDL fibroblasts were obtained from healthy human premolars and cultured in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM). Cultured cells were subjected to different concentrations of pomegranate juice (PJ), 1% Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS) and tap water for 1, 3, 6 and 24 hours. PDL cell viability was assessed by the neutral red uptake assay.The results indicated that 7.5% PJ was the most effective solution for maintaining PDL cell viability amongst all the experimental solution's and time intervals (