In Vitro Evaluation of ALDH1A3-Affinic Compounds on Breast and Prostate Cancer Cell Lines as Single Treatments and in Combination with Doxorubicin.

Aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) enzymes are involved in the growth and development of several tissues, including cancer cells. It has been reported that targeting the ALDH family, including the ALDH1A subfamily, enhances cancer treatment outcomes. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the cytotoxicity of ALDH1A3-affinic compounds that have been recently discovered by our group, on breast (MCF7 and MDA-MB-231) and prostate (PC-3) cancer cell lines. These compounds were investigated on the selected cell lines as single treatments and in combination with doxorubicin (DOX). Results showed that the combination treatment experiments of the selective ALDH1A3 inhibitors (compounds 15 and 16) at variable concentrations with DOX resulted in significant increases in the cytotoxic effect on the MCF7 cell line for compound 15, and to a lesser extent for compound 16 on the PC-3 cell line, compared to DOX alone. The activity of compounds 15 and 16 as single treatments on all cell lines was found to be non-cytotoxic. Therefore, our findings showed that the investigated compounds have a promising potential to target cancer cells, possibly via an ALDH-related pathway, and sensitize them to DOX treatment.

Assessment of oxidant/antioxidant status in saliva of cell phone users.

Hazardous health effects resulting from exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) emitted from cell phones have been reported in the literature. However, the cellular and molecular targets of RF-EMR are still controversial. The aim of this study was to examine the oxidant/antioxidant status in saliva of cell phone users. Saliva samples collected before using a cell phone as well as at the end of 15 and 30 min calls were tested for two commonly used oxidative stress biomarkers: malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-Oxo-dG). The 8-oxo-dG levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) competitive assay, while the MDA levels were measured using the OxiSelect MDA adduct ELISA Kit. The antioxidant capacity of the saliva was evaluated using the oxygen radical absorption capacity (ORAC) and the hydroxyl radical averting capacity (HORAC) assays according to the manufacture instructions. The mean 8-oxo-dG and the Bradford protein concentrations (ng/ml and mg/ml, respectively) peaked at 15 min. The levels of HORAC, ORAC and MDA progressively increased with time and reached maximum at 30 min. However, there was no significant effect of talking time on the levels of 8-OxodG and MDA. Similarly, there was no statistically significant effect of talking time on the oxygen and hydroxyl radicals averting capacities, (ORAC) and (HORAC), respectively. These findings suggest that there is no relationship between exposure to radio frequency radiation (RFR) and changes in the salivary oxidant/antioxidant profile.

A synthetic Protein G adsorbent based on the multi-component Ugi reaction for the purification of mammalian immunoglobulins.

Numerous efforts have been devoted to develop synthetic affinity ligands mimicking natural immunoglobulin-binding proteins, such as Proteins A and L, in order to overcome intrinsic drawbacks involving their high cost and acidic pH elution. However, few reports have focused on a Protein G mimic. This work describes the use of the solid phase multi-component Ugi reaction to generate a low cost, rationally designed, affinity ligand to mimic Protein G for the purification of mammalian immunoglobulins, including the heavy-chain only camelid IgGs, with effective elution at neutral pH. An aldehyde-functionalised Sepharose™ resin constituted one component (aldehyde) of the four-component Ugi reaction, whilst the other three components (a primary or secondary amine, a carboxylic acid and an isonitrile) were varied to generate a tri-substituted Ugi scaffold, with a wide range of functionality, suitable for mimicking peptides for immunoglobulin purification. Ligand A2C11I1 was designed to mimic Asn35 and Trp43 of Protein G (PDB: 1FCC) and in silico docking into the Fc domain showed a key binding interface closely resembling native Protein G. This candidate ligand demonstrated affinity towards IgGs derived from human, cow, goat, mouse, sheep, pig, rabbit and rat serum, chicken IgY and recombinant camelid Fc domain, out of which cow and sheep IgG demonstrated 100% binding under the conditions selected. Preparative chromatography of IgG from human serum under a standardised buffer regime eluted IgG of ∼65% purity, compared to ∼62% with Protein G. This adsorbent achieved highest elution of IgG at neutral pH (0.1M sodium phosphate pH 7.0, 30%, v/v, ethylene glycol), an advantage for purifying antibodies sensitive to extremes of pH. The ligand demonstrated a static binding capacity of 24.6 mg Ig G ml⁻¹ resin and a dissociation constant (K(d)) of 4.78 × 10⁻6 M. The solid phase Ugi scaffold provides a strategy to develop pseudo-biospecific ligands to purify immunoglobulins and other potentially high-value biotherapeutic proteins.