The therapeutic aspects of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) for cancer and their development: from nature to laboratory

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a group of neuromodulatory lipids and their receptors, which are widely distributed in mammalian tissues. ECS regulates various cardiovascular, nervous, and immune system functions inside cells. In recent years, there has been a growing body of evidence for the use of synthetic and natural cannabinoids as potential anticancer agents. For instance, the CB1 and CB2 receptors are assumed to play an important role inside the endocannabinoid system. These receptors are abundantly expressed in the brain and fatty tissue of the human body. Despite recent developments in molecular biology, there is still a lack of knowledge about the distribution of CB1 and CB2 receptors in the human kidney and their role in kidney cancer. To address this gap, we explore and demonstrate the role of the endocannabinoid system in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In this brief overview, we elucidate the therapeutic aspects of the endocannabinoid system for various cancers and explain how this system can be used for treating kidney cancer. Overall, this review provides new insights into cannabinoids' mechanisms of action in both in vivo and in vitro models, and focuses on recent discoveries in the field

THE CC1 PROJECT – SYSTEM FOR PRIVATE CLOUD COMPUTING

The main features of the Cloud Computing system developed at IFJ PAN are described. The project is financed from the structural resources provided by the European Commission and the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education (Innovative Economy, National Cohesion Strategy). The system delivers a solution for carrying out computer calculations on a Private Cloud computing infrastructure. It consists of an intuitive Web based user interface, a module for the users and resources administration and the standard EC2 interface implementation. Thanks to the distributed character of the system it allows for the integration of a geographically distant federation of computer clusters within a uniform user environment

Analysis of the physical hazards of food based on The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed reports from the years 2008 – 2012

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie wyników z analizy raportów RASFF z lat 2008 – 2012 w aspekcie zagrożeń fizycznych występujących w żywności. Zanieczyszczenia fizyczne stanowiły ok. 4% wszystkich zgłoszeń dotyczących niebezpiecznej żywności. Zanieczyszczenia fizyczne najczęściej odnotowywano w grupie owoców i warzyw, grupie orzechów, produktów orzechowych i nasion oraz grupie zbóż i produktów piekarskich. Najwięcej powiadomień dotyczyło obecności owadów, szkła oraz metali w produktach spożywczych.The aim of this article is the presentation of results from analysis of RASFF reports from the years 2008 – 2012 in terms of physical hazards in food. Physical contaminants constitute about 4% of all notifications of hazardous foodstuffs. Physical hazards were stated the most frequently in the group of fruits and vegetables, nuts, nut products and seeds as well as cereals and bakery products. Majority of notifications was related to the presence of insects, glass and metal

Potential application enkephalns in diagnostics and treatment of various diseases

For the past few years enkephalins have been a center of appreciation and interest. Enkephalins were discovered in 1975 by Hughes, Kosterlitz and coworkers [1]. They can be described as short sequences of amino acids that are naturally produced in the central nervous system (CNS) in various glands throughout the body, such as the pituitary and adrenal glands [7, 9]. There were revealed two forms of enkephalins, one containing leucine, and the other containing methionine. Enkephalins are produced by the cleavage of a precursor protein called proenkephalin. From proenkephalin originate Met- and Leu-enkephalin, Met-enkephalin-Arg6-Gly7- -Leu8, Met-enkephalin-Arg6-Phe7 [1–3]. Enkephalins are involved in phenomena associated with modulated pain perception [13], regulation of memory and emotional conditions [21] and regulation of immunological system [29]. They also have an impact on the cardiovascular system [17], motility of the digestive system and metabolism of carbohydrates [8]. This article is a review of the current knowledge about enkephalins and their usage in the diagnostics and treatment of a variety of diseases: diseases/disorders of the central nervous system [21, 22], Parkinson’s disease [27], disease of the immune system [29], chronic pain [12], tumor diseases/cancer [33], heart and cardiovascular diseases [19] and inflammatory bowel disease [23]

Characteristic of the endogenous enkephalin degrading enzymes inhibitors

Management of acute and chronic pain has always been a key area of clinical research. Pain and stress stimulation may cause an increase in the level of endogenous opioids in the body. Endogenous enkephalins activate opioid receptors in the brain, leading to the analgesic effect. Enkephalinases inactivate endogenous opioids, abolishing their activity. Enkephalin degrading enzyme inhibitors (EIs) in turn inhibit these enzymes, preventing them from degrading endogenous enkephalins what leads to analgesia. The enkephalin degrading enzyme inhibitors seem to be promising analgesic agents [2]. Analgesic effect of EIs has been discovered recently and their therapeutic potential has not been effectively investigated yet. The main advantage of enkephalinase inhibitors is that they do not show adverse effects characteristic for opioids. EIs play an important role in modulating nociception, so they are potential agents for the treatment of acute and chronic pain. They often possess also additional antidiarrheal, antidepressant and anticancer properties [3]. The potential EIs targets appear to be aminopeptidase N (APN), dipeptidyl peptidase III (DPP III), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and neutral endopeptidase (NEP) [4]. EIs may be broadly classified as endogenous and those that are obtained synthetically [4]. The purpose of this work is to present a review of endogenous enkephalinase inhibitors: sialorphin, opiorphin, and spinorphin. Sialorphin (Gln-His-Asn-Pro-Arg) is synthesized predominantly in the submandibular gland and prostate of adult rats in response to androgen steroids and is released locally and systemically in response to stress. Sialorphin protects endogenous enkephalins released after nociceptive stimuli by inhibiting NEP in vivo. Sialorphin prevents spinal and renal NEP from breaking down substance P and Met-enkephalin in vitro. Sialorphin suppressed pain sensation for both chemical- -induced inflammation and acute physical pain [8, 9, 12]. Opiorphin (Gln-Arg-Phe-Ser-Arg) is an endogenous chemical compound first isolated from human saliva. Opiorphin is a natural analgesic. Opiorphin protects enkephalins from degradation by human neutral endopeptidase and aminopeptidase N. Opiorphin is closely related to the rat sialorphin peptide [12, 13, 19]. Spinorphin (Leu-Val-Val-Tyr-Pro-Trp-Thr) has been isolated from the bovine spinal cord as an endogenous inhibitor of enkephalin - degrading enzymes. Spinorphin is an antagonist of the P2X3 receptor and a weak partial agonist/antagonist of the FP1 receptor [24, 25, 26]

Progress in the development of vaccines against helminths

Helminth infections are an important health problem for both humans and animals worldwide. The most sought for prophylactic strategy is vaccination due to the increasing incidence of anthelminthic resistance with little progress towards the discovery of novel drugs. However, the development of efficient anti-parasitic vaccines was proven to be a far greater challenge than in the case of bacteria or viruses. This is partly a result of the complex immunological interactions occurring during helminth infections, which are not yet fully understood, especially regarding the immune mechanisms conveying protection. Another problem is progressing from the research phase of vaccine development to commercial production and marketing. The advances made so far in developing efficient vaccines against helminth vary among the different classes, with a wide spectrum of both native and recombinant vaccine candidates. This review aims at presenting the current status and most important achievements in the field of helminth vaccine development, as well as the main obstacles and difficulties standing in the way of progress and practical applications