Current status of organoid culture in urological malignancy.

Urological cancers are common malignancies worldwide. Several conventional models, for example, two-dimensional cell culture and animal models have been used for decades to study tumor genetics. Nonetheless, these methods have limitations in reflecting the real tumor microenvironment in vivo, thereby hindering the development of anti-cancer therapeutic agents. Recently, three-dimensional culture models have gained attention because they can overcome the drawbacks of traditional methods. Above all, three-dimensional organoid models are able to mimic the tumor microenvironment in human bodies more closely as they are able to demonstrate the interactions between cells and extracellular matrix. This type of model has therefore extended our understanding of urological cancers. Tumor cells in organoid models can also be co-cultured with other cellular components, such as peripheral blood lymphocytes, and allow further understanding of the effect of tumor microenvironments on tumor growth. Furthermore, organoid models allow a prolonged culturing period, therefore, tumor evolution, progression and maintenance can also be assessed. Organoid models can be derived from each specific patient, and this facilitates investigation of individual cancer-specific mutations and their subtypes. As a result, the development of personalized medication targeting the signaling pathways or biomolecules of interest will be possible. In the present review, we summarize the development and applications of three-dimensional organoid cultures in urological cancers, mainly focusing on prostate, urinary bladder and kidney cancers, and assess the future prospects of this model.

The Potential Role of Spermine and Its Acetylated Derivative in Human Malignancies.

Polyamines are essential biomolecules for normal cellular metabolism in humans. The roles of polyamines in cancer development have been widely discussed in recent years. Among all, spermine alongside with its acetylated derivative, N1, N12-Diacetylspermine, demonstrate a relationship with the diagnosis and staging of various cancers, including lung, breast, liver, colorectal and urogenital. Numerous studies have reported the level of spermine in different body fluids and organ tissues in patients with different types of cancers. Currently, the role and the underlying mechanisms of spermine in cancer development and progression are still under investigation. This review summarized the roles of spermine in cancer development and as a diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic tool in various cancers.

The Association between Spermidine/Spermine N1-Acetyltransferase (SSAT) and Human Malignancies.

Spermidine/spermine N1-acetyltransferase (SSAT) functions as a critical enzyme in maintaining the homeostasis of polyamines, including spermine, spermidine, and putrescine, in mammalian cells. SSAT is a catalytic enzyme that indirectly regulates cellular physiologies and pathways through interaction with endogenous and exogenous polyamines. Normally, SSAT exhibits only at a low cellular level, but upon tumorigenesis, the expression, protein level, and activities of SSAT are altered. The alterations induce cellular damages, including oxidative stress, cell cycle arrest, DNA dynamics, and proliferation by influencing cellular mechanisms and signaling pathways. The expression of SSAT has been reported in various studies to be altered in different cancers, and it has been correlated with tumor development and progression. Tumor grades and stages are associated with the expression levels of SSAT. SSAT can be utilized as a target for substrate binding, and excreted metabolites may be used as a novel cancer biomarker. There is also potential for SSAT to be developed as a therapeutic target. Polyamine analogs could increase SSAT expression and increase the cytotoxicity of chemotherapy to tumor cells. Drugs targeting polyamines and SSAT expression have the potential to be developed into new cancer treatments in the future.

Quantitative comparison of the renal pelvic urine and bladder urine to examine modifications of the urine proteome by the lower urinary tract.

PURPOSE: Urine proteome is a valuable reservoir of biomarkers for disease diagnosis and monitoring. Following formation as the plasma filtrate in the kidney, urine is progressively modified by the active reabsorption and secretion of the urinary tract. However, little is known about how the urine proteome changes as it passes along the urinary tract. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: To investigate this, we compared the proteome composition of the renal pelvis urine (RPU) and individually self-voided bladder urine (BU) collected from seven unilateral urinary tract obstruction male patients by LC-MS/MS screening. To our knowledge, this is the first proteomic comparison of RPU and BU samples from the same individual. RESULTS: Overall, RPU and BU proteomes did not exhibit proteins that were exclusively present in all samples of one urine type while in none of the other type. Nonetheless, BU had more overrepresented proteins that were observed at a higher frequency than RPU. Label-free quantitative analyses revealed BU-RPU differential proteins that are enriched in exosomes and extracellular proteins. However, the differences were not significant after corrections for multiple testing. Interestingly, we observed a significant increase of collagen peptides with hydroxyproline modifications in the BU samples, suggesting differences in protein modifications. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Our study revealed no substantial differences at the protein level between the BU and RPU samples. Future investigations with expanded cohorts would provide more insights about the urothelial-urinary interactions.

The establishment of kidney cancer organoid line in drug testing.

INTRODUCTION: Kidney cancer is a common urological malignancy worldwide with an increasing incidence in recent years. Among all subtypes, renal cell carcinoma (RCC) represents the most predominant malignancy in kidney. Clinicians faced a major challenge to select the most effective and suitable treatment regime for patients from a wide range of modalities, despite improved understanding and diagnosis of RCC. OBJECTIVE: Recently, organoid culture gained more interest as the 3D model is shown to be highly patient specific which is hypothetically beneficial to the investigation of precision medicine. Nonetheless, the development and application of organotypic culture in RCC is still immature, therefore, the primary objective of this study was to establish an organoid model for RCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients diagnosed with renal tumor and underwent surgical intervention were recruited. RCC specimen was collected and derived into organoids. Derived organoids were validated by histological examminations, sequencing and xenograft. Drug response of organoids were compared with resistance cell line and patients' clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that organoids could be successfully derived from renal tumor and they exhibited high concordance in terms of immunoexpressional patterns. Sequencing results also depicted concordant mutations of driver genes in both organoids and parental tumor tissues. Critical and novel growth factors were discovered during the establishment of organoid model. Besides, organoids derived from renal tumor exhibited tumorigenic properties in vivo. In addition, organoids recapitulated patient's in vivo drug resistance and served as a platform to predict responsiveness of other therapeutic agents. CONCLUSION: Our RCC organoid model recaptiluated histological and genetic features observed in primary tumors. It also served as a potential platform in drug screening for RCC patients, though future studies are necessary before translating the outcomes into clinical practices.

In vitro assessment of intra-operative and post-operative environment in reducing bladder cancer recurrence.

Urinary bladder cancer is a common cancer worldwide. Currently, the modality of treating and monitoring bladder cancer is wide. Nonetheless, the high recurrence rate of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer after surgical resection is still unsatisfactory. Hereby, our study demonstrated whether the intra-operative and post-operative environments will affect bladder cancer recurrence utilizing in vitro cell line model. Bladder cancer cell lines were submerged in four different irrigating fluids for assessing their tumorigenic properties. Our results showed that sterile water performed the best in terms of the magnitude of cytotoxicity to cell lines. Besides, we also investigated cytotoxic effects of the four irrigating agents as well as mitomycin C (MMC) in normothermic and hyperthermic conditions. We observed that sterile water and MMC had an increased cytotoxic effect to bladder cancer cell lines in hyperthermic conditions. Altogether, our results could be translated into clinical practice in the future by manipulating the intra-operative and post-operative conditions in order to lower the chance of residual cancer cells reimplant onto the bladder, which in turns, reducing the recurrence rate of bladder cancers.

In vitro cytotoxicity of human urine and its potential toxic parameters towards bladder cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: Bladder cancer (CaB) has a high recurrence rate despite surgery. As bladder is constantly filled with urine, it is worthwhile to investigate whether it could have any detrimental effects on bladder cancer cells. METHODS: We investigated the cytotoxicity of urine samples from CaB patients and normal controls on four CaB cell lines and tested the percentage of cell death, proliferation, adhesion, invasion and colonies formation ability. In order to identify the potential components involving in urine cytotoxicity, we evaluated some basic physiochemical parameters of urines, such as pH, osmolarity, creatinine (Cr), sodium (Na), potassium (K), chloride (Cl), calcium (Ca) and phosphate (PO4). We further compared the pH values of urine samples between CaB who developed recurrence versus those who did not. A more in-depth analysis on inflammatory markers was performed for two representative urine samples which demonstrated opposite cytoxic effects. RESULTS: 23 CaB patients and 20 normal controls were recruited into this study. According to in vitro experiments, both CaB and non-CaB urines had comparable effect on cell toxicity, proliferation, adhesion, invasion and colonies formation ability in four cell lines, HTB9, RT4, T24 and UMUC3, while RT4 was the most sensitive to urine toxicity. After evaluating the relationship between basic physiochemical parameters and cytotoxicity, we found out that there were strong negative correlations between pH value and 24 hours death rate for the 4 CaB cell lines (HTB9 r = -0.6651, p<0.001; RT4 r = -0.8335, p<0.001; T24 r = -0.4924, p<0.001; UMUC3 r = -0.7066, p<0.001). Osmolarity, urine Cr and PO4 all had weakly or moderately positive correlations with CaB cells on 24 hours death rate. CaB patients who developed recurrence had more alkaline urine than those who did not develop recurrence. In the urine sample with the highest cytoxicity, high concentrations of IL-6 and IFN-gamma were found. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirmed that there was not statistically significant difference in cytotoxicity between CaB and non-CaB urines. However, we identified some parameters that could have an impact on cytotoxicity towards CaB cells. Modifying certain urine characteristics peri-operatively may induce cytotoxicity, avoid tumour re-implantation, and reduce the chance of cancer recurrence.

Oral antibiotics perturbation on gut microbiota after prostate biopsy.

Introduction: The use of antibiotics may induce the changes in gut microbiota. Previous studies have shown conflicting results on whether the changed gut microbiota by antibiotics can be recovered. Our study aims to investigate whether the gut microbiota could be recovered after a single dose of oral co-amoxiclav before transrectal ultrasound-guided transperineal prostate biopsy (TPPBx) in 5 weeks' time. Methods: Fifteen patients with elevated serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were recruited to provide pre-antibiotic and post-antibiotic fecal samples. The V4 region of 16S rRNA was sequenced. Analysis was performed by QIIME2. Alpha- and beta-diversities were analyzed, as well as the differential enrichment by Linear discriminant analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) analysis. Results: Both the alpha- and beta-diversities of the pre- and post-antibiotic fecal samples were significantly different. Genera that are associated with alleviation of inflammation were enriched in the pre-antibiotic fecal samples, while the inflammation-associated genera were more enriched in the post-antibiotic fecal samples. Conclusion: A single dose of oral co-amoxiclav before TPPBx could have led to a change of gut microbiota that cannot be recovered in 5 weeks' time. Microbiome studies on prostate cancer patients should be cautioned on the use of post-prostate biopsy fecal sampling. Further studies should be conducted for the impact on gut microbiome for TPPBx alone.

Facial Analysis for the Digital Planning of a Full-Mouth Implant Restoration.

As dental implant treatment has evolved over the years, greater emphasis has been placed on the dentofacial aspect of restorations, with strong consideration given to incisal edge position and preoperative lip dynamics. In this case report, a male patient desired a fixed implant prosthesis to replace his failing dentition and tooth-supported fixed and removable appliances. Utilizing a dentofacial analyzer, facial reference glasses, intraoral scans, and CBCT scans, the clinician was able to plan and complete the implant case in a digital workflow. The case illustrates a method of systematically diagnosing, planning, and staging treatment for a full-mouth implant rehabilitation with immediate function and dramatically improved esthetics.

Facial Analysis for the Digital Planning of a Full-Mouth Implant Rehabilitation.

As dental implant treatment has evolved over the years, greater emphasis has been placed on the dentofacial aspect of restorations, with strong consideration given to incisal edge position and preoperative lip dynamics. In this case report, a male patient desired a fixed implant prosthesis to replace his failing dentition and tooth-supported fixed and removable appliances. Utilizing a dentofacial analyzer, facial reference glasses, intraoral scans, and CBCT scans, the clinician was able to plan and complete the implant case in a digital workflow. The case illustrates a method of systematically diagnosing, planning, and staging treatment for a full-mouth implant rehabilitation with immediate function and dramatically improved esthetics.

Medical Therapy Following Urgent/Emergent Revascularization in Peripheral Artery Disease Patients (Canadian Acute Limb Ischemia Registry [CANALISE I]).

BACKGROUND: Following severe limb ischemia requiring urgent/emergent revascularization, peripheral arterial disease patients suffer a high risk of recurrent atherothrombosis. METHODS: Patients discharged from Hamilton General Hospital (Hamilton, Ontario) between April 2016 and September 2017 following severe limb ischemia requiring urgent/emergent revascularization were identified via the Local Health Integration Network CorHealth database, with supplemental information from chart review. RESULTS: A total of 158 patients admitted for urgent/emergent revascularization were identified (148 alive at discharge). Among patients without a pre-existing indication for anticoagulation, 38.8% (n = 47) were discharged on single-antiplatelet therapy, 27.3% (n = 33) on dual-antiplatelet therapy, 19.8% (n = 24) on anticoagulants plus antiplatelet therapy, 6.6% (n = 8) on anticoagulants alone, and 2.6% (n = 3) on unknown therapy. Patients who received angioplasty with stenting were more likely be discharged on dual-antiplatelet therapy (hazard ratio [HR]: 7.14; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.87-17.76; P < 0.01); patients who received an embolectomy/thrombectomy were more likely be discharged on an anticoagulant alone (HR: 2.61; 95% CI: 1.00-6.81; P = 0.049); and patients who received peripheral bypass grafting were more likely be discharged on single-antiplatelet therapy (HR: 2.28; 95% CI: 1.11-4.69; P = 0.024). Neither statins (60.8% vs 56.3%; P = 0.23) nor renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors (48.7% vs 50.6%; P = 0.58) were prescribed at higher rates at discharge, compared with the rate at admission. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial heterogeneity exists in antithrombotic prescription following urgent/emergent revascularization. No intensification of non-antithrombotic vascular protective medications occurred during hospitalization. Clinical trials and health system interventions to optimize medical therapy in peripheral arterial disease patients are urgently needed.

INTRODUCTION: Après une ischémie grave d'un membre ayant nécessité une revascularisation urgente/nouvelle revascularisation, les patients atteints d'une maladie artérielle périphérique ont un risque élevé de récidive d'athérothrombose. MÉTHODES: Nous avons recensé les patients qui ont obtenu leur sortie de la Hamilton General Hospital (Hamilton, Ontario) entre avril 2016 et septembre 2017 à la suite d'une ischémie grave d'un membre ayant nécessité une revascularisation urgente/nouvelle revascularisation via la base de données Local Health Integration Network CorHealth et grâce aux renseignements complémentaires issus de la revue des dossiers. RÉSULTATS: Nous avons recensé un total de 158 patients admis pour une revascularisation urgente/nouvelle revascularisation (148 patients en vie à la sortie de l'hôpital). Parmi les patients chez lesquels l'anticoagulation n'avait pas antérieurement été indiquée, 38,8 % (n = 47) avaient reçu à leur sortie de l'hôpital un simple traitement antiplaquettaire; 27,3 % (n = 33), une bithérapie antiplaquettaire; 19,8 % (n = 24), des anticoagulants plus un traitement antiplaquettaire; 6,6 % (n = 8), des anticoagulants seuls; 2,6 % (n = 3), un traitement inconnu. Les patients qui avaient subi une angioplastie et une pose d'endoprothèse étaient plus susceptibles d'obtenir à leur sortie de l'hôpital une bithérapie antiplaquettaire (rapport de risque [RR] : 7,14; intervalle de confiance [IC] à 95 % : 2,87-17,76; P < 0,01); les patients qui avaient subi une embolectomie, ou thrombectomie, étaient plus susceptibles d'obtenir à leur sortie de l'hôpital un anticoagulant seul (RR : 2,61; IC à 95 % : 1,00-6,81; P = 0,049); les patients qui avaient subi un pontage périphérique étaient plus susceptibles d'obtenir à leur congé de l'hôpital un simple traitement antiplaquettaire (RR : 2,28; IC à 95 % : 1,11-4,69; P = 0,024). Comparativement à l'admission, ni les statines (60,8 % vs 56,3 %; P = 0,23) ni les inhibiteurs du système rénine­angiotensine­aldostérone (48,7 % vs 50,6 %; P = 0,58) n'avaient été prescrits à des taux plus élevés à la sortie de l'hôpital. CONCLUSIONS: Nous observons une hétérogénéité substantielle de l'ordonnance des antithrombotiques après la revascularisation urgente/nouvelle revascularisation. L'hospitalisation n'a donné lieu à aucune augmentation des médicaments de protection vasculaire non antithrombotiques. Des essais cliniques et des interventions du système de santé qui permettent d'optimiser le traitement médical des patients atteints d'une maladie artérielle sont d'une urgente nécessité.

Urinary Cell-Free DNA in Bladder Cancer Detection.

Urinary bladder cancer is a common urological cancer. Although flexible cystoscopy is widely employed in bladder cancer detection, it is expensive, invasive, and uncomfortable to the patients. Recently, urinary cell-free DNA (ucfDNA) isolated from urine supernatant has been shown to have great potential in bladder cancer detection and surveillance. Molecular features, such as integrity and concentration of ucfDNA, have been shown to be useful for differentiating bladder cancer patients from healthy controls. Besides, bladder cancer also exhibits unique genetic features that can be identified from sequencing and expression of ucfDNA. Apart from bladder cancer detection, ucfDNA is also useful for molecular classification. For example, ucfDNA exhibits significant differences, both molecularly and genetically, in non-muscle-invasive and muscle-invasive bladder cancers. There is no doubt that ucfDNA is a very promising tool for future applications in the field of bladder cancer.

Urine spermine and multivariable Spermine Risk Score predict high-grade prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the role of urine spermine and Spermine Risk Score in prediction of high-grade prostate cancer (HGPCa, ISUP grade group ≥2). METHODS: Nine hundred and five consecutive men with elevated PSA were prospectively recruited from two hospitals. Core analyses focused on consecutive men with PSA 4-20 ng/mL (n = 600). Pre-biopsy urine without prior prostatic massage was analyzed for spermine level with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS). The proportions of PCa and HGPCa were compared across different spermine ranges. Logistic regressions were used to form different models, and their performances were compared using area under curve (AUC) and decision curve analysis (DCA). RESULTS: PCa and HGPCa were diagnosed in 30.8% (185/600) and 17.2% (103/600) men, respectively, and were significantly associated with lower urine spermine levels. Between the lowest and highest quartiles of spermine results, a threefold increase in PCa risk (49.3% vs. 16.7%) and 3.5-fold increase in ISUP grade group ≥2 PCa risk (31.3% vs. 8.7%) were observed. Multivariate analysis showed PSA, prostate volume (PV), digital rectal examination (DRE), and spermine, which were independent predictors for PCa and HGPCa, and a Spermine Risk Score with these factors achieved the highest AUC of 0.78 for PCa and 0.82 for HGPCa. At 90% sensitivity for HGPCa, 36.7% biopsies and 24.4% ISUP grade group 1 diagnoses could have been avoided, with a negative predictive value of 95.4%. DCA revealed net clinical benefit of the Spermine Risk Score. Internal validation with bootstrapping showed good discrimination and calibration. CONCLUSION: Urine spermine and Spermine Risk Score identified men at higher risk of HGPCa and reduced unnecessary biopsies.

Merging Clear Aligner Therapy With Digital Smile Design to Maximize Esthetics and Minimize Tooth Reduction.

Digital smile design (DSD) used in combination with an esthetic pre-evaluative temporary restoration is a reliable means of minimizing the removal of tooth structure when ceramic veneers are being placed. When patients present with poorly aligned teeth, the use of clear aligners may be considered to properly position the teeth based on the desired outcome. This article, which illustrates a method to systematically diagnose, plan, and stage treatment for a smile makeover, describes the merging of DSD with clear aligner therapy to enable clinicians to recognize digitally where to position the teeth using orthodontic movement. This approach allows the desired esthetic design to be attained while enabling minimal tooth reduction.

Comparison of Visual, Refractive and Ocular Surface Outcomes Between Small Incision Lenticule Extraction and Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis for Myopia and Myopic Astigmatism.

Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is the most commonly performed laser refractive surgical technique worldwide for the treatment of myopia and myopic astigmatism. In recent years, small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) has emerged as a promising alternative to LASIK, requiring only a single femtosecond laser to create an intrastromal lenticule, which is then removed via a small incision. The technique obviates the need for a corneal flap. A number of published studies have compared the two techniques in terms of visual, refractive and ocular surface outcomes. This review compares the clinical outcomes between LASIK and SMILE in treating myopia and myopic astigmatism based on studies published in the last 5 years. Twenty-two studies were included, all of which were observational in nature. Results suggest that the two techniques have comparable visual outcomes in terms of safety, efficacy and predictability, although recovery in visual acuity may be slower in SMILE-treated than LASIK-treated eyes. SMILE is found to result in less severe postoperative dry eye symptoms and faster recovery of corneal sensitivity than LASIK. It is important to note, however, that the SMILE technique is limited by the lack of a cyclotorsion-compensation system and option for customized treatment profile. The heterogeneity of results in this review may be attributable to the use of different LASIK platforms in different studies. Few studies compared the outcomes regarding severity of myopia. Future prospective randomized controlled trials with a larger sample size and longer follow-up period will be highly beneficial for progress in this field.

Advances in Corneal Imaging: Current Applications and Beyond.

Recent advances in corneal imaging have allowed for more objective diagnosis and disease monitoring, as well as provided valuable guidance for treatment progress. However, there has been limited literature providing comprehensive insight into advances across different imaging modalities. The aim of this review was to provide a brief summary of significant advances in the field of corneal imaging over the past 5 years. A literature search in PubMed was performed on December 11, 2018, using the following key words in various and/or logic combinations: "cornea", "development", "advances", "topography", "Scheimpflug tomography", "ultra-high-speed Scheimpflug", "Corvis ST", "densitometry", "optical coherence tomography", "UHR-OCT", and "intraoperative OCT". The initial search showed a total of 2910 articles. Filters were then applied to select original research studies on humans published in the last 5 years which are available in full text and written in English. A final 55 studies were included for analysis. This review looks into 5 key imaging modalities: topography, tomography, confocal microscopy, densitometry, and angiography. For each imaging modality, the underlying scientific principles and current applications are outlined. Existing limitations and potential future applications for each of them are also discussed in this review. Recent advances in the imaging modalities show immense potential in providing objective, high-resolution, and comprehensive visualization of corneal structures and pathologies. Application to different fields in the future is highly probable but technical, economic, and skill-based limitations must first be overcome. Any attempt to replace traditional imaging techniques with these newer techniques must also be supported with evidence from robust clinical studies.

Time course of focused ultrasound effects on ß-amyloid plaque pathology in the TgCRND8 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Previous studies have demonstrated that temporarily increasing the permeability of the blood-brain barrier using focused ultrasound can reduce ß-amyloid plaque load and improve cognitive function in animal models of Alzheimer's disease. However, the underlying mechanism and duration for which the effects of one treatment persists for are unknown. Here, we used in vivo two-photon fluorescence microscopy to track changes in ß-amyloid plaque sizes in the TgCRND8 mouse model of Alzheimer's disease after one focused ultrasound treatment. We found that one treatment reduced plaques to 62 ± 16% (p ≤ 0.001) of their original volume two days post-sonication; this decrease in size persisted for two weeks. We then sought to evaluate the effectiveness of biweekly focused ultrasound treatments using magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused ultrasound treatments. Three to five biweekly treatments resulted in a 27 ± 7% (p ≤ 0.01) decrease in plaque number and 40 ± 10% (p ≤ 0.01) decrease in plaque surface area compared to untreated littermates. This study demonstrates that one focused ultrasound treatment reduces the size of existing ß-amyloid plaques for two weeks, and that repeated biweekly focused ultrasound treatments is an effective method of reducing ß-amyloid pathology in moderate-to-late stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Tuber Lectins with Potentially Exploitable Bioactivities.

Lectins are a group of proteins or glycoproteins with various potentially exploitable bioactivities and have been capturing more interest recently. They have been isolated and reported from various tissues of a diversity of plant species. Tubers are modified and enlarged plant structures derived from stems or roots that are used for nutrient storage and asexual reproduction. A number of plants such as yam, taro and potato are grown for their edible tubers, and lectins are found to be one of the major storage proteins. These lectins exhibit potent bioactivities encompassing mitogenic, antitumor, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, antioxidative, hypoglycemic, insecticidal and nematicidal activities. They are potential resources for development into functional or healthy foods and targets for food protein researchers.

Apoptosis and Anti-cancer Drug Discovery: The Power of Medicinal Fungi and Plants.

The purpose of this account is to review the compounds capable of eliciting mitochondria-mediated apoptosis in cancer cells produced by medicinal fungi and plants. The medicinal fungi discussed encompass Cordyceps, Ganoderma species, Coriolus versicolor and Hypsizygus marmoreus. The medicinal plants discussed comprise Astragalus complanatus, Dendrobium spp, Dioscorea spp, Glycyrrhiza spp, Panax notoginseng, Panax ginseng, and Momordica charantia. These compounds have the potential of development into anticancer drugs.