Targeting regulatory T cells by curcumin: A potential for cancer immunotherapy

Immune system has critical roles in fighting against several diseases like cancer. Cancer cells evolve several ways to escape from the immune system to remain alive and trigger new phases of cancer progression. Regulatory T cells are one of the key components in tumor immune tolerance and contribute to the evasion of cancer cells from the immune system. Targeting regulatory T cells could provide new horizons in designing and development of effective therapeutic platforms for the treatment of various malignancies. Curcumin is the bioactive pigment of turmeric and a well-known phytochemical with a wide range of pharmacological activities. A growing body of evidence has demonstrated that curcumin affects manifold molecular pathways that are implicated in tumorigenesis and cancer metastasis. In this regard, some studies have indicated that this phytochemical could target regulatory T cells and convert them into T helper 1 cells, which possess anti-tumor effects. On the contrary, curcumin is able to increase the number of regulatory T cells in other conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease. Herein, we describe the anti-cancer roles of curcumin via targeting regulatory T cells. Moreover, we summarize the effects of curcumin on regulatory T cell population in other diseases. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

Melatonin: An anti-tumor agent for osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is the most common bone tumors which consisted of malignant mesenchymal cells generating osteoid and immature bone. It has been showed that osteosarcoma is common in children and adolescents and shows high mortality rate. A variety of therapeutic approaches (i.e., resection surgery, combined with chemotherapy and radiotherapy) have been used as conventional treatments in patients with osteosarcoma. Despite several attempts to improve therapeutic response, the rate of survival for osteosarcoma has not changed during the past 3 decades. Therefore, the discovery and developing new effective therapeutic platforms are required. Along to the established anti-cancer agents, some physiological regulators such melatonin, have been emerged as new anti-cancer agents. Melatonin is an indolamine hormone which is secreted from the pineal glands during the night and acts as physiological regulator. Given that melatonin shows a wide spectrum anti-tumor impacts. Besides different biologic activities of melatonin (e.g., immunomodulation and antioxidant properties), melatonin has a crucial role in the formation of bones, and its deficiency could be directly related to bone cancers. Several in vitro and in vivo experiments evaluated the effects of melatonin on osteosarcoma and other types of bone cancer. Taken together, the results of these studies indicated that melatonin could be introduced as new therapeutic candidate or as adjuvant in combination with other anti-tumor agents in the treatment of osteosarcoma. Herein, we summarized the anti-tumor effects of melatonin for osteosarcoma cancer as well as its mechanism of action. © 2019 The Author(s)

Epidemiology and trends in incidence of kidney cancer in Iran

Background: Kidney cancer has shown an increasing trend in recent decades. This study aimed to determine change in the incidence rate between 2003 and 2009 in Iran. Materials and Methods: In this study, national cancer registry data were used. Crude incidence rates were calculated per 100,000 and age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) were computed using the direct standardization method and the world standard population. Significant trend of incidence rates was examined by the Cochran-Armitage test for linear trend. Results: A total of 6,944 cases of kidney cancer were reported. The incidence cases increased from 595 patients in 2003 to 1,387 patients in 2009. Sex ratio (male to female) was 1.67. ASR also increased from 1.18 in 2003 to 2.52 in 2009 per 100,000, but the increasing trend was not significant. Conclusions: A slow increasing trend of incidence rate was observed in the study population. This may be due to an increase of risk factors. It is suggested to perform a study on risk factors for the cancer

Human cytochrome b5 reductase: structure, function, and potential applications

Cytochrome b5 reductase is a flavoprotein that is produced as two different isoforms that have different localizations. The amphipathic microsomal isoform, found in all cell types with the exception of erythrocytes, consists of one hydrophobic membrane-anchoring domain and a larger hydrophilic flavin catalytic domain. The soluble cytochrome b5 reductase isoform, found in human erythrocytes, is a truncated protein that is encoded by an alternative transcript and consists of the larger domain only. Cytochrome b5 reductase is involved in the transfer of reducing equivalents from the physiological electron donor, NADH, via an FAD domain to the small molecules of cytochrome b5. This protein has received much attention from researchers due to its involvement in many oxidation and reduction reactions, such as the reduction of methemoglobin to hemoglobin. Autosomal cytochrome b5 reductase gene deficiency manifests with the accumulation of oxidized Fe+3 and recessive congenital methemoglobinemia in humans. In this article, we provide a comprehensive overview of the structure and function of cytochrome b5 reductase from different eukaryotic sources and its potential use in the food industry, biosensor, and diagnostic areas

Lithospheric structure beneath the Zagros collision zone resolved by non-linear teleseismic tomography

The upper-mantle structure across the Zagros collision zone, in southwest Iran, is investigated using a non-linear weighted damped least-squares teleseismic tomography approach. The resolution of the structures/transitions in the upper mantle is enhanced significantly by correcting the teleseismic relative arrival time residuals for an a priori crustal velocity model and then performing the inversion with fixed crustal blocks. To investigate whether or not the lithospheric blocks and major transitions in the resulting model are required by the data or are artefacts of the inversion, the data were inverted using two different inverse methods (singular value decomposition and a quadratic programming method). New high-quality seismic velocity models show apparent correlation between surface geological features and seismic velocity structures at lithospheric depth across the Zagros collision zone. The image shows a sharp lithospheric boundary at the Main Zagros Thrust between 100 km and 250 km depth with P-wave velocity about 3 per cent faster within the Arabian Shield to the south. A step-like increase in lithospheric thickness across the Zagros collision zone is assumed to separate two different mantle structures namely the Arabian (to the south) and the Eurasian (to the north) domains. The most striking feature resolved is a north-dipping slab-like positive velocity anomaly

Worldwide prevalence of emerging parasite Blastocystis in immunocompromised patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Blastocystis is one of the most common pathogens of the human intestine, caused by an emerging parasite, which can lead to severe symptoms and even death in immunocompromised patients. We aimed to determine the global prevalence of Blastocystosis infection in people with immunodeficiency. A systematic literature search was conducted on Web of Science, Scopus, Google scholar, Science Direct and MEDLINE databases to select all observational studies reporting the prevalence of Blastocystosis infection in Worldwide, based on different diagnostic methods in immunocompromised patients of any age and published from inception to February 2019. Pooled estimates and 95 confidence intervals (95 CIs) were calculated using random effects models and in addition, the I(2) statistic was calculated. The geographic distribution of studies was evaluated and the diagnosis of Blastocystis was compared by various techniques. Electronic databases were reviewed for Blastocystosis infection in HIV/AIDS, cancer and other immunocompromised patients, and meta-analyses were conducted to calculate the overall estimated prevalence. Total68 eligible studies were included. The estimated pooled prevalence rate of Blastocystosis infection in immunocompromised patients was overall 10 (95 CI, 7-13; I(2) 96.04) (P < 0.001), of whom 21 18-25 were in Australia, 12% 4-24 in America, 11% 6-17 in Europe and 10% 5-15, 7% 3-13 in Asia and Africa, respectively. It was calculated that the estimated pooled prevalence rate of Blastocystosis infection in immunocompromised patients was overall 10% and the prevalence estimates ranged from 0.44 to 72.39. Also, overall the prevalence of parasites co-infection in immunocompromised patients was detected as 0.024%. Our finding showed that immunocompromised people show a high prevalence of Blastocystosis infection compared to the control population. Adequate information on the prevalence rate is still missing from many countries. However, current information underscore that Blastocystis should not be neglected

Resveratrol is a promising agent for colorectal cancer prevention and treatment: Focus on molecular mechanisms

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and one of the main causes of cancer death entire the world. Environmental, dietary, and lifestyle factors including red meat consumption, cigarette smoking, alcohol intake and family history are the most important risk factors of CRC. Multiple pathways including inflammation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis are involved in its incidence and progression. Resveratrol, a polyphenolic compound, has different pharmacologic functions including anti-inflammation, cancer prevention, lipid-lowering effect, and hypoglycemic effect. Many studies have proved that resveratrol might also represent a chemo preventive effect on CRC. Thus, the aim of the current review is to depict the role of resveratrol in treatment of CRC in a molecular manner. © 2019 The Author(s)

Curcumin: A new candidate for melanoma therapy?

Melanoma remains among the most lethal cancers and, in spite of great attempts that have been made to increase the life span of patients with metastatic disease, durable and complete remissions are rare. Plants and plant extracts have long been used to treat a variety of human conditions; however, in many cases, effective doses of herbal remedies are associated with serious adverse effects. Curcumin is a natural polyphenol that shows a variety of pharmacological activities including anti-cancer effects, and only minimal adverse effects have been reported for this phytochemical. The anti-cancer effects of curcumin are the result of its anti-angiogenic, pro-apoptotic and immunomodulatory properties. At the molecular and cellular level, curcumin can blunt epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and affect many targets that are involved in melanoma initiation and progression (e.g., BCl2, MAPKS, p21 and some microRNAs). However, curcumin has a low oral bioavailability that may limit its maximal benefits. The emergence of tailored formulations of curcumin and new delivery systems such as nanoparticles, liposomes, micelles and phospholipid complexes has led to the enhancement of curcumin bioavailability. Although in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that curcumin and its analogues can be used as novel therapeutic agents in melanoma, curcumin has not yet been tested against melanoma in clinical practice. In this review, we summarized reported anti-melanoma effects of curcumin as well as studies on new curcumin formulations and delivery systems that show increased bioavailability. Such tailored delivery systems could pave the way for enhancement of the anti-melanoma effects of curcumin. © 2016 UIC

Bis(9-amino­acridinium) bis­(pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl­ato)zincate(II) trihydrate

In the title compound, (C13H11N2)2[Zn(C7H3NO4)2]·3H2O, the ZnII ion is six-coordinated with the N4O2 donor set being a distorted octa­hedron through two almost perpendicular (r.m.s. deviation of ligand atoms from the mean plane is 0.057 Å) tridentate pyridine-2,6-dicarboxyl­ate ligands [dihedral angle between the ligands = 86.06 (4)°]. The charge is compensated by two 9-amino­acridinium cations protonated on the ring N atom. A variety of inter­molecular contacts, such as ion–ion, N—H⋯O and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, and π–π stacking [centroid–centroid distances = 3.4907 (9)–4.1128 (8) Å], between cations and between anions, play important roles in the formation of the three-dimensional network