Synthesis, anticancer evaluation of novel hybrid pyrazole-based chalcones, molecular docking, DNA fragmentation, and gene expression: in vitro studies.

A unique series of pyrazolyl-chalcone derivatives was synthesized via the method of Claisen-Schmidt condensation. The desired chalcone derivatives 7a-d and 9a-f were obtained in good yields by reacting the 4-acetyl-5-thiophene-pyrazole with the appropriate heteroaryl aldehyde derivatives. The novel chalcones have undergone complete elemental analysis, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, mass spectrometry, and IR characterization. The three human cancer cell lines MCF7 (human Caucasian breast adenocarcinoma), PC3 (prostatic cancer) and PACA2 (pancreatic carcinoma) as well as the normal cell line BJ1 (normal skin fibroblasts) were tested in vitro for the anti-cancer properties of the newly synthesized chalcone derivatives. When compared to the reference medicine doxorubicin (IC50 = 52.1 µM), compound 9e showed the most promise derivative (IC50 = 27.6 µM) against PACA2 cells, while compound 7d demonstrated anticancer efficacy (IC50 = 42.6 µM against MCF7 cells compared to the reference drug doxorubicin (IC50 = 48 µM). Using breast and pancreatic cell lines, the gene expression, DNA damage, and DNA fragmentation percentages for compounds 7d and 9e were evaluated. Moreover, the molecular docking study of compounds 7d and 9e was assessed. The binding affinities of compound 9e toward P53 mutant Y220C was -22 kcal per mole, while those of compound 7d towards Bcl2 and CDK4 were -27.81 and -26.9 kcal per mole, respectively, compared to the standard values (-15.82, -33.96 and -29.9 kcal per mole).

DNA methylation of GDF-9 and GHR genes as epigenetic regulator of milk production in Egyptian Zaraibi goat.

BACKGROUND: DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism that takes place at gene promoters and a potent epigenetic marker to regulate gene expression. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to improve the milk production of Zaraibi goats by addressing the methylation pattern of two milk production-related genes: the growth hormone receptor (GHR) and the growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF-9). METHODS: 54 and 46 samples of low and high milk yield groups, respectively, were collected. Detection of methylation was assessed in two CpG islands in the GDF-9 promoter via methylation-specific primer assay (MSP) and in one CpG island across the GHR promoter using combined bisulfite restriction analysis (COBRA). RESULTS: A positive correlation between the methylation pattern of GDF-9 and GHR and their expression levels was reported. Breeding season was significantly effective on both peak milk yield (PMY) and total milk yield (TMY), where March reported a higher significant difference in PMY than November. Whereas single birth was highly significant on TMY than multiple births. The 3rd and 4th parities reported the highest significant difference in PMY, while the 4th parity was the most effective one on TMY. CONCLUSION: These results may help improve the farm animals' milk productive efficiency and develop prospective epigenetic markers to improve milk yield by epigenetic marker-assisted selection (eMAS) in goat breeding programs.

Chalcones: Promising therapeutic agents targeting key players and signaling pathways regulating the hallmarks of cancer.

The need for innovative anticancer treatments with high effectiveness and low toxicity is urgent due to the development of malignancies that are resistant to chemotherapeutic agents and the poor specificity of existing anticancer treatments. Chalcones are 1,3-diaryl-2-propen-1-ones, which are the precursors for flavonoids and isoflavonoids. Chalcones are readily available from a wide range of natural resources and consist of very basic chemical scaffolds. Because the ease with which the synthesis it allows for the production of several chalcone derivatives. Various in-vitro and in-vivo studies indicate that naturally occurring and synthetic chalcone derivatives exhibit promising biological activities against cancer hallmarks such as proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion, metastasis, inflammation, stemness, and regulation of cancer epigenetics. According to their structure and functional groups, chalcones derivatives and their hybrid compounds exert a broad range of biological activities through targeting key elements and signaling molecules relevant to cancer progression. This review will provide valuable insights into the latest updates of chalcone groups as anticancer agents and extensively discuss their underlying molecular mechanisms of action.

Association of PRLR, IGF1, and LEP genes polymorphism with milk production and litter size in Egyptian Zaraibi goat.

Studying variation in genes responsible for physiological characters is important to enhance goat productive and reproductive efficiency. This study aimed to detect specific nucleotide polymorphisms in prolactin receptor (PRLR), insulin-like growth factor (IGF1), and leptin (LEP) genes and their correlation with milk production (MP) and litter size (LS) traits in Zaraibi goat. PCR-SSCP products of different patterns of each gene were sequenced and aligned to reveal two mutations (T > C) and (G > A) in 3'UTR of PRLR gene and registered on NCBI with accession numbers OM418863 for TT and OM418864 for CT, while (G > A) variation was registered as OM418861 for GG and OM418862 for AG in exon 10. TT, CT, AG, and GG genotypes were distributed in the studied animals with frequencies 0.43, 0.57, 0.65, and 0.35, respectively. While alleles C, T, A, and G frequencies were 0.28, 0.72, 0.32, and 0.68, respectively. CT and AG genotypes associated significantly (P < 0.05) with higher MP and LS, respectively. By studying the haplotypes of PRLR, C-A and T-A were associated with the highest and the lowest level of MP, respectively. For LS, T-A and C-G showed significant correlation with the highest and the lowest rate, respectively. Regarding IGF1 gene, two polymorphisms were detected; T74C at exon 4 which registered on NCBI as OM418860, and combined mutations as ins. G470, A531G, and T534C (PP genotype) at 5' flanking region that registered as OM418859. For LEP, only one polymorphism was found in intron 2 (G281A) which submitted to NCBI as OM418855. All detected polymorphisms have shown to be involved in regulating the MP or LS as reproductive traits in goat.

[1,2,4] Triazolo [3,4-a]isoquinoline chalcone derivative exhibits anticancer activity via induction of oxidative stress, DNA damage, and apoptosis in Ehrlich solid carcinoma-bearing mice.

Despite the advances made in cancer therapeutics, their adverse effects remain a major concern, putting safer therapeutic options in high demand. Since chalcones, a group of flavonoids and isoflavonoids, act as promising anticancer agents, we aimed to evaluate the in vivo anticancer activity of a synthetic isoquinoline chalcone (CHE) in a mice model with Ehrlich solid carcinoma. Our in vivo pilot experiments revealed that the maximum tolerated body weight-adjusted CHE dose was 428 mg/kg. Female BALB/c mice were inoculated with Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells and randomly assigned to three different CHE doses administered intraperitoneally (IP; 107, 214, and 321 mg/kg) twice a week for two consecutive weeks. A group injected with doxorubicin (DOX; 4 mg/kg IP) was used as a positive control. We found that in CHE-treated groups: (1) tumor weight was significantly decreased; (2) the total antioxidant concentration was substantially depleted in tumor tissues, resulting in elevated oxidative stress and DNA damage evidenced through DNA fragmentation and comet assays; (3) pro-apoptotic genes p53 and Bax, assessed via qPCR, were significantly upregulated. Interestingly, CHE treatment reduced immunohistochemical staining of the proliferative marker ki67, whereas BAX was increased. Notably, histopathological examination indicated that unlike DOX, CHE treatment had minimal toxicity on the liver and kidney. In conclusion, CHE exerts antitumor activity via induction of oxidative stress and DNA damage that lead to apoptosis, making CHE a promising candidate for solid tumor therapy.

Silica-coated graphene compared to Si-CdSe/ZnS quantum dots: Toxicity, emission stability, and role of silica in the uptake process for imaging purposes.

Quantum dots (QDs) present a special type of nanocrystals (NCs) due to their unique optical and chemical properties. While cadmium-based QDs (Cd-QDs) have the most favorable physicochemical properties, their toxicity, instability in the aqueous phase, and loss of brightness at high temperature are some of the obstacles that prevent the wide use of Cd-QDs. Carbon-based QDs as graphene quantum dots (GQDs) represent a very promising biocompatible replacement. In the present work, we mainly focus on comparing the efficiency and uptake of GQDs and Cd-QDs for fluorescent imaging purposes and studying the effect of growing silica shell on the emission and the uptake of QDs inside living human and bacterial cells. Graphene and CdSe/ZnS QDs were prepared and encapsulated in silica to increase their emission and uptake by living cells. Moreover, we studied their photostability and cytotoxicity. The Prepared G-Si QDs showed good emission inside the cytoplasmic portion of the liver hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2) and Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis), but they revealed lower photoluminescence (PL) intensity compared to Si-CdSe/ZnS NCs although G-Si QDs are advantageous in other aspects, i.e. possess lower toxicity and higher stability with temperature variations.

Chitosan protects liver against ischemia-reperfusion injury via regulating Bcl-2/Bax, TNF-α and TGF-ß expression.

The study aimed to investigate the potential attenuation effect of chitosan in liver ischemia/reperfusion injury (I/R), and its relevant protective mechanisms. Chitosan (200 mg/kg) has been administered orally for 30 days, later animals underwent liver 45 min ischemia and reperfusion for 60 min. Following treatment with chitosan, the levels of serum aminotransferases and lactate dehydrogenase were significantly reduced. Similarly, hepatic (GSH, SOD, CAT, GST and GPx) were enhanced, and the level of tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) was decreased. In addition, inflammatory cytokinesis (TNF-α and TGF-ß) have recorded a significant decrease in their mRNA expression and protein levels using qPCR and ELISA respectively. Marked reduction of apoptosis has been indicated by the elevation in BCL2, and decreasing in BAX, Caspace-3 and Cytochrome-c expression levels, which furthermore confirmed by DNA fragmentation assay. The enhancement of the previous parameters resulted in a marked improvement in the liver architectures after chitosan administration. In conclusion, chitosan has proved its efficiency as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent through its inhibitory effect of cytokines and reducing ROS respectively. In addition, chitosan could modulate the changes in histological structure and alleviate apoptosis induced by liver I/R, which recommend it as an efficient agent for protection against liver I/R injury.

Apoptosis and oxidative stress as relevant mechanisms of antitumor activity and genotoxicity of ZnO-NPs alone and in combination with N-acetyl cysteine in tumor-bearing mice.

Background: Several in vitro studies have revealed that zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) were able to target cancerous cells selectively with minimal damage to healthy cells. Purpose: In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the antitumor activity of ZnO-NPs in Ehrlich solid carcinoma (ESC) bearing mice by measuring their effect on the expression levels of P53, Bax and Bcl2 genes as indicators of apoptotic induction in tumor tissues. Also, we assessed the potential ameliorative or potentiation effect of 100 mg/kg N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) in combination with ZnO-NPs. Materials and methods: ESC bearing mice were gavaged with three different doses of ZnO-NPs (50, 300 and 500 mg/kg body weight) alone or in combination with NAC for seven consecutive days. In addition to measuring the tumor size, pathological changes, zinc content, oxidative stress biomarkers and DNA damage in ESC, normal muscle, liver and kidney tissues were assessed. Results: Data revealed a significant reduction in tumor size with a significant increase in p53 and Bax and decrease in Bcl2 expression levels in the tissues of ZnO-NPs treated ESC bearing mice. Moreover, a significant elevation of MDA accompanied with a significant reduction of CAT and GST. Also, a marked increase in all comet assay parameters was detected in ZnO-NPs treated groups. On the other hand, the combined treatment with ZnO-NPs and NAC significantly reduced reactive oxygen species production and DNA damage in liver and kidney tissues in all ZnO-NPs treated groups. Conclusion: ZnO-NPs exhibited a promising anticancer efficacy in ESC, this could serve as a foundation for developing new cancer therapeutics. Meanwhile, the combined treatment with ZnO-NPs and NAC could act as a protective method for the healthy normal tissue against ZnO-NPs toxicity, without affecting its antitumor activity.

Association of vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms with breast cancer risk in an Egyptian population.

This study aimed to explore whether genetic polymorphisms in vitamin D receptor are correlated to the breast cancer prevalence in an Egyptian population. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment polymorphism was used to genotype three frequently analyzed vitamin D receptor gene single-nucleotide polymorphisms (rs1544410, rs7975232, and rs731236) and were identified by sequencing analysis. This is the first study that recorded a new single-nucleotide polymorphism in ApaI genotype within an Egyptian population and was registered with the accession number KY859868. The authors found that TC in rs731236, and TG in KY859868 single-nucleotide polymorphism showed significant distribution differences with an increased risk of breast cancer ( p < 0.05, odds ratio = 3.71, 95% confidence interval: 1.04-13.28 and p < 0.001, odds ratio = 7.05, 95% confidence interval: 2.02-24, respectively) compared with the wild-type TT genotype carriers in both single-nucleotide polymorphisms. In addition, the distribution frequencies of haplotypes ACT, GTT, and ATT in the patients group were significant, where ATT haplotype was associated with the highest breast cancer risk among all other haplotypes in the patients group ( p = 0.0023, odds ratio = 1.72, 95% confidence interval: 1.24-2.437). In conclusion, vitamin D receptors ApaI and TaqI confer high breast cancer susceptibility, particularly in Egyptians females carrying haplotype ATT. However, further studies focusing on the vitamin D receptor variants and haplotypes effects on vitamin D and vitamin D receptor concentrations, activities, and functionalities are needed.

Gelatin nanoparticles enhance delivery of hepatitis C virus recombinant NS2 gene.

BACKGROUND: Development of an effective non-viral vaccine against hepatitis C virus infection is of a great importance. Gelatin nanoparticles (Gel.NPs) have an attention and promising approach as a viable carrier for delivery of vaccine, gene, drug and other biomolecules in the body. AIM OF WORK: The present study aimed to develop stable Gel.NPs conjugated with nonstructural protein 2 (NS2) gene of Hepatitis C Virus genotype 4a (HCV4a) as a safe and an efficient vaccine delivery system. METHODS AND RESULTS: Gel.NPs were synthesized and characterized (size: 150±2 nm and zeta potential +17.6 mv). NS2 gene was successfully cloned and expressed into E. coli M15 using pQE-30 vector. Antigenicity of the recombinant NS2 protein was confirmed by Western blotting to verify the efficiency of NS2 as a possible vaccine. Then NS2 gene was conjugated to gelatin nanoparticles and a successful conjugation was confirmed by labeling and imaging using Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM). Interestingly, the transformation of the conjugated NS2/Gel.NPs complex into E. coli DH5-α was 50% more efficient than transformation with the gene alone. In addition, conjugated NS2/Gel.NPs with ratio 1:100 (w/w) showed higher transformation efficiency into E. coli DH5-α than the other ratios (1:50 and 2:50). CONCLUSION: Gel.NPs effectively enhanced the gene delivery in bacterial cells without affecting the structure of NS2 gene and could be used as a safe, easy, rapid, cost-effective and non-viral vaccine delivery system for HCV.

Mechanism underlying methyl eugenol attenuation of intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is associated with a high risk of mortality in the clinical situation. Many factors are involved in I/R, including reactive oxygen species, cytokine release, and apoptosis. We aimed to determine whether a pure methyl eugenol (ME) given before intestinal ischemia, protects against intestinal I/R injury and the possible mechanism involved in this protection. Rat received ME (100 mg/kg) for 30 days then underwent intestinal I/R with 30 min ischemia and 60 min reperfusion. Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level, tissue malondialdehyde (MDA), as well as some antioxidant biomarkers were assessed, while the serum level of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) was determined by ELISA. The change in TNF-α and interleukin 6 (IL-6) gene expressions were evaluated and confirmed by assessing protein level of TNF-α in the intestinal tissue by immunohistochemistry. Apoptosis was evaluated using DNA-laddering assay and by detecting caspase-3 immunohistochemically. Administration of ME prior to I/R injury resulted in a modulation of the production of MDA, LDH, and nitric oxide and restoration of the tested oxidative stress biomarkers. Pretreatment with ME downregulated messenger RNA of TNF-α and IL-6 inflammatory cytokines and their protein expressions in I/R rats. Marked inhibition of the apoptotic DNA and improvement of the architectures of small intestine were observed after pretreatment with ME. ME exhibits a protective effect against intestinal I/R via amelioration of the oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines gene expression. Therefore, the supplementation of ME prior to intestinal I/R might be helpful in the attenuation of I/R complications.

Potential anti-genotoxic effect of sodium butyrate to modulate induction of DNA damage by tamoxifen citrate in rat bone marrow cells.

Sodium butyrate (SB) is one of the histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi's) that is recently evidenced to have a prooxidant activity and an ability to reduce hydrogen peroxide-induced DNA damage. Since the majority of estrogen receptor positive breast cancer patients are treated with tamoxifen citrate (TC), which exerts well established oxidative and genotoxic effects, thus the basic objective of this study is to determine whether SB could ameliorate or curate tamoxifen citrate-induced oxidative DNA damage and genotoxic effect in vivo through up-regulation of some antioxidant enzymes. The individual and combined effects of SB and TC have been examined on rat bone marrow cells, using Micronucleus assays (MN), Comet assay, DNA fragmentation, expression of some antioxidant genes using Real time-PCR and finally, oxidative stress analysis. SB significantly increased the mitotic activity (P < 0.05), while TC induced marked micronuclei and oxidative DNA damage, in the SB post-treatment group, the combination of SB (300 mg/kg) and TC (40 mg/kg) was able to decrease the induction of MN and oxidative DNA damage through up-regulation of Cat, Sod and Gpx1 genes significantly at (P < 0.05) more efficiently than that in the SB pre-treatment one. Therefore, we postulate that SB can be used therapeutically in combination with TC treatment to modulate TC genotoxic effect by reducing its oxidative stress, and thus being an appropriate agonist agent to combine with TC than each compound alone.