Berberine inhibits cell growth and mediates caspase-independent cell death in human pancreatic cancer cells.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive human malignancies with an increasing incidence worldwide. In addition to the poor survival rates, combinations using gemcitabine as a backbone have failed to show any benefit beyond monotherapy. These facts underscore an urgent need for novel therapeutic options and motivated us to study the effect of berberine on pancreatic cancer cells. Here, we undertook an mRNA-based gene expression profiling study in order to get deeper insight into the molecular targets mediating the growth inhibitory effects of berberine on pancreatic cancer cells compared to normal ones. Twenty-four hours after treatment, berberine showed preferential selectivity towa…
Therapeutic and diagnostic applications of nanoparticles.
Nanoparticles are sphere-like biocompatible materials made of inert silica, metal or crystals of a few nanometers in size. They are emerging as a novel class of therapeutics for cancer treatment. Being more selective and specific toward their targets, nanoparticles have the ability to enhance the anticancer effects and to simultaneously reduce systemic toxicity compared with conventional therapeutics. Furthermore, they offer the potential to overcome drug resistance leading to higher intracellular drug accumulation. Nowadays, nanotechnologies are applied to molecular diagnostics and incorporated in cutting-edge molecular diagnostic methods, such as DNA and protein microarray biochips. Nanot…
Transcript profiling identifies novel key players mediating the growth inhibitory effect of NS-398 on human pancreatic cancer cells
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive human malignancies with an increasing incidence worldwide. Despite an increase in the number of systemic treatments available for pancreatic cancer, the impact of therapy on the clinical course of the disease has been modest, underscoring an urgent need for new therapeutic options. Although selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors have been demonstrated to have cancer-preventive effects, the mechanism of their effects is not clearly known. Moreover, there have been no unbiased studies to identify novel molecular targets of NS-398 regarding pancreatic cancer. Here we undertook a gene expression profiling study to identify novel molecular targets m…
Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) for molecular targeted therapies of tumours.
Scientific progress in genetics, cell and molecular biology has greatly ameliorated our comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms of neoplastic transformation and progression. The rapidly advancing identification of molecular targets in human cancers during the last decade has provided an excellent starting point for the development of novel therapeutics. A huge variety of potential molecular targets have been identified, many of which are already in the market for therapeutic purposes. It is now becoming possible to target pathways and/or molecules that are crucial in maintaining the malignant phenotype. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is often considered as alternative or…
Cytotoxicity of some Cameroonian spices and selected medicinal plant extracts
Abstract Ethnopharmacological relevance Several medicinal plants and spices are used traditionally to treat cancers in Cameroon. Aim Methanol extracts from thirty-four spices and plants, with related ethnobotanical use were investigated for their in vitro cytotoxicity on the human pancreatic cancer cell line MiaPaCa-2, leukemia CCRF-CEM cells and their multidrug resistant (MDR) subline CEM/ADR5000, and the normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In addition the anti-angiogenic properties of the most active extracts were investigated. Material and methods The MTS [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium] assay was used for cyto…
Differentially Tolerized Mouse Antigen Presenting Cells Share a Common miRNA Signature Including Enhanced mmu-miR-223-3p Expression Which Is Sufficient to Imprint a Protolerogenic State
Dendritic cells (DCs) are pivotal for the induction and maintenance of antigen-specific tolerance and immunity. miRNAs mediate post-transcriptional gene regulation and control in part the differentiation and stimulation-induced immunogenic function of DCs. However, the relevance of miRNAs for the induction and maintenance of a tolerogenic state of DCs has scarcely been highlighted yet. We differentiated mouse bone marrow cells to conventional/myeloid DCs or to tolerogenic antigen presenting cells (APCs) by using a glucocorticoid (dexamethasone) or interleukin-10, and assessed the miRNA expression patterns of unstimulated and LPS-stimulated cell populations by array analysis and QPCR. Differ…
Toxicogenomics for the prediction of toxicity related to herbs from traditional Chinese medicine.
Toxicogenomics represents the integration of genomics and toxicology to investigate the interaction between genes and environmental stress in human health. It is a scientific field that studies how the genome is involved in responses to environmental stressors and toxicants. The patterns of altered gene expression that are caused by specific exposures or disease outcomes reveal how toxicants may act and cause disease. Nowadays, toxicogenomics faces great challenges in discriminating the molecular basis of toxicity. We do believe that advances in this field will eventually allow us to describe all the toxicological interactions that occur within a living system. Toxicogenomic responses of a …