Boron Compounds Exhibit Protective Effects against Aluminum-Induced Neurotoxicity and Genotoxicity: In Vitro and In Vivo Study.

Genetic, neuropathological and biochemical investigations have revealed meaningful relationships between aluminum (Al) exposure and neurotoxic and hematotoxic damage. Hence, intensive efforts are being made to minimize the harmful effects of Al. Moreover, boron compounds are used in a broad mix of industries, from cosmetics and pharmaceuticals to agriculture. They affect critical biological functions in cellular events and enzymatic reactions, as well as endocrinal and mineral metabolisms. There are limited dose-related data about boric acid (BA) and other boron compounds, including colemanite (Col), ulexite (UX) and borax (BX), which have commercial prominence. In this study, we evaluate boron compounds' genetic, cytological, biochemical and pathological effects against aluminum chloride (AlCl3)-induced hematotoxicity and neurotoxicity on different cell and animal model systems. First, we perform genotoxicity studies on in vivo rat bone marrow cells and peripheric human blood cultures. To analyze DNA and chromosome damage, we use single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE or comet assay) and micronucleus (MN) and chromosome aberration (CA) assays. The nuclear division index (NDI) is used to monitor cytostasis. Second, we examine the biochemical parameters (superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), malondialdehyde (MDA), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidative status (TOS)) to determine oxidative changes in blood and brain. Next, we assess the histopathological alterations by using light and electron microscopes. Our results show that Al increases oxidative stress and genetic damage in blood and brain in vivo and in vitro studies. Al also led to severe histopathological and ultrastructural alterations in the brain. However, the boron compounds alone did not cause adverse changes based on the above-studied parameters. Moreover, these compounds exhibit different levels of beneficial effects by removing the harmful impact of Al. The antioxidant, antigenotoxic and cytoprotective effects of boron compounds against Al-induced damage indicate that boron may have a high potential for use in medical purposes in humans. In conclusion, our analysis suggests that boron compounds (especially BA, BX and UX) can be administered to subjects to prevent neurodegenerative and hematological disorders at determined doses.

Anticancer effects of novel NSAIDs derivatives on cultured human glioblastoma cells.

Several epidemiologic, clinical and experimental reports indicate that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) could have a potential as anticancer agents. The aim of this study was the evaluation of cytotoxic potential in human glioblastoma cells of novel synthesized NSAID derivatives, obtained by linking, through a spacer, α-lipoic acid (ALA) to anti-inflammatory drugs, such as naproxen (AL-3, 11 and 17), flurbiprofen (AL-6, 13 and 19) and ibuprofen (AL-9, 15 and 21). The effects on the level of gene expression were also determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis. According to our results, NSAID derivatives exhibited concentration dependent cytotoxic effects on U87-MG cell line when compared with the control group. Moreover, treatment of the most active compounds (AL-3, AL-6 and AL-9) caused upregulation of tumor suppressor gene PTEN and downregulation of some oncogenes such as AKT1, RAF1 and EGFR. In conclusion, our results revealed that AL-3, AL-6 and AL-9 could be suitable candidates for further investigation to develop new pharmacological strategies for the prevention of cancer.

Potential Anticancer Effect of Carvacrol Codrugs on Human Glioblastoma Cells.

BACKGROUND: Essential oils are considered as promising sources of novel anticancer compounds. Carvacrol (CVC), the major constituent of many aromatic plants including oregano and thymus, is endowed with curative properties on different cancers, including liver, colon, and lung. Little information is available regarding the potential of CVC for the treatment of brain cancers, notably Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). OBJECTIVE: In this work, we investigated the in vitro effect of CVC codrugs (CVC1-8), synthesized by direct-coupled co-drug strategies, on human glioblastoma cell line (U87-MG) for the first time. METHODS: Cell viability was detected by MTT and LDH assays while expression levels of important genes (such as EGFR, NFKB1A, AKT1, AKT2, and others) associated with GBM and inflammatory pathways were detected by PCR array. RESULTS: Results showed that CVC1-8 codrugs induced cytotoxicity and positive alterations in molecular responses on U87MG cells. Particularly, important pathways (such as PI3K/PTEN/AKT) involved in the onset and progression of GBM resulted in modulation by CVC3 and CVC8. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that CVC3 and CVC8 could be suitable candidates for further investigation to develop new strategies for the prevention and/or treatment of GBM.

Inhibition of growth of U87MG human glioblastoma cells by Usnea longissima Ach.

Herbal medicines are efficient to reduce side effects in the fight against glioblastoma, which plays a critical role within brain cancer species. The recent studies designated for testing the effects of lichens that have shown numerous anticancer activities on glioblastoma so far. In the present study, different concentrations of water extract obtained from Usnea longissima Ach. were used in order to determine cytotoxic (via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and lactate dehydrogenase tests), antioxidant (via total antioxidant capacity test), pro-oxidant (via total oxidant status test) and genotoxic (via 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine test) effects of them on human U87MG-glioblastoma cancer cell lines. Primary mixed glial-neuronal non-cancerous cells from Sprague-Dawley rats were also utilized to measure the effects of treatments on non-cancerous cells. Based on median inhibitory concentration values, the data belonged to non-cancerous cells (2486.71 mg/L) showed distinct towering compared to U87MG (80.93 mg/L) cells. The viability of non-cancerous and U87MG cells exposed to extract is decreased in a dose dependent manner. It was also showed that low concentrations of extract notably increased total antioxidant capacity on non-cancerous cells. In addition, various phenolic compounds in extract were detected through high-performance liquid chromatography. The recent results encourage that extract will be able to have therapeutic potential against glioblastoma.

The anti-cancer efficacies of diffractaic, lobaric, and usnic acid: In vitro inhibition of glioma.

Aims: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) shows the most aggressive invasion among primary brain tumors. In spite of the standard therapy methods such as surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, the mortalities are high in GBM patients owing to side effects. Some lichen secondary metabolites that have many bioactive functions exhibited anti-cancer efficacy toward many cancer types. The present study was undertaken to investigate proliferation change, oxidative status and DNA damage potentials of human U87MG-GBM, and primary rat cerebral cortex (PRCC) cells exposed to three lichen secondary metabolites. Materials and Methods: Different concentrations of lichen secondary metabolites including diffractaic acid (DA), lobaric acid (LA), and (+)-usnic acid (UA) were used for the treatments. PRCC cells were obtained from Sprague Dawley® rats. U87MG cell line was preferred as GBM cells. Results: The results showed that lactate dehydrogenase and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine levels increased in PRCC and U87MG cells in a clear dose-dependent manner. Inhibitory concentration 50% (IC50) values of LA, DA, and UA were calculated as 9.08, 122.26, 132.69 mg/L for PRCC cells and 5.77, 35.67, 41.55 mg/L for U87MG cells, respectively. Concentration of 10 mg/L of DA and UA demonstrated high anti-oxidant capacity on healthy PRCC cells. Conclusions: Overall, obtained data indicated that LA was highly toxic on GBM and PRCC cells. However, DA and then UA had high anti-oxidant capacity on PRCC cells. These results suggest that further studies that will be held on LA may play a critical role in GBM treatment.

Wild Edible Mushrooms from Turkey as Possible Anticancer Agents on HepG2 Cells Together with Their Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties.

This study was designed to reveal cell growth inhibitory potential of six different edible mushrooms: Ramaria flava, Agrocybe molesta, Volvopluteus gloiocephalus, Lactarius deliciosus, Bovista plumbea, and Tricholoma terreum on HepG2 cells together with their antioxidant and antibacterial power. Methanolic extracts of V gloiocephalus and aqueous extracts of R. flava had the most potential cytotoxic effects over HepG2 cells. The best results for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activities were obtained from both aqueous and methanolic extracts of R. flava. Methanolic extracts of T. terreum (IC50 = 1.62 mg/mL) and aqueous extracts of B. plumbea (IC50 = 0.49 mg/mL) showed maximum metal chelating activity. The highest reducing capacities were observed among the methanolic extracts of R. flava (EC50 = 1.65 mg/mL) and aqueous extracts of B. plumbea (EC50 = 1.71 mg/ mL). High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed the presence of many phenolic compounds in macrofungi; gallic acid and p-coumaric acid were the two main phenolics identified in all extracts. Antibacterial studies indicated that all six tested mushrooms showed antibacterial activity on at least three microorganisms. These results indicate that different extracts of the investigated mushrooms have considerable cytotoxic, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties and may be utilized as a promising source of therapeutics.

In vitro antitumor activities of the lichen compounds olivetoric, physodic and psoromic acid in rat neuron and glioblastoma cells.

Context Since methods utilised in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are inadequate and have too many side effects, usage of herbal products in the treatment process comes into prominence. Lichens are symbiotic organisms used for medicinal purposes for many years. There are various anticancer treatments about components of two lichen species used in the present study. Objective Antitumor potential of three lichen secondary metabolites including olivetoric acid (OLA) and physodic acid (PHA) isolated from Pseudevernia furfuracea (L.) Zopf (Parmeliaceae) and psoromic acid (PSA) isolated from Rhizoplaca melanophthalma (DC.) Leuckert (Lecanoraceae) were investigated on human U87MG-GBM cell lines and primary rat cerebral cortex (PRCC) cells for the first time. Materials and methods PRCC cells used as healthy brain cells were obtained from Sprague-Dawley rats. The treatments were carried out on the cells cultured for 48 h. Cytotoxic effects of different concentrations (2.5, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg/L) of metabolites on the cells were determined via 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) analyses. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidant status (TOS) parameters were used for assessing oxidative alterations. Oxidative DNA damage potentials of metabolites were investigated via evaluating 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) levels. Results Median inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of OLA, PHA and PSA were 125.71, 698.19 and 79.40 mg/L for PRCC cells and 17.55, 410.72 and 56.22 mg/L for U87MG cells, respectively. It was revealed that cytotoxic effects of these metabolites showed positive correlation with concentration, LDH activity and oxidative DNA damage. Discussion and conclusion The present findings obtained in this study revealed that primarily OLA and then PSA had high potential for use in the treatment of GBM.

Cytotoxicity of some edible mushrooms extracts over liver hepatocellular carcinoma cells in conjunction with their antioxidant and antibacterial properties.

BACKGROUND: Mushrooms have been valued for their nutritive content and as traditional medicines; several important medicinal properties of mushrooms have been recognized worldwide. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to elucidate the cell growth inhibitory potential of four edible mushrooms; Coprinus comatus (O.F. Mull.) Pers. (Agaricaceae), Tricholoma fracticum (Britzelm.) Kreisel (Tricholomataceae), Rhizopogon luteolus Fr. and Nordholm (Rhizopogonaceae), Lentinus tigrinus (Bull.) Fr. (Polyporaceae) on hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells in conjunction with their antioxidant and antibacterial capacities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five different extracts of edible mushrooms were obtained using water, methanol, acetone, n-hexane and chloroform as solvent systems for cytotoxic, antioxidant and antibacterial properties. RESULTS: C. comatus showed substantial in vitro cytotoxic activity against HepG2 cell lines with all extracts especially with chloroform 50% inhibition (IC50 value of 0.086 mg/ml) and acetone (IC50 value of 0.420 mg/ml). Chloroform extract of C. comatus had maximum amount of ß-carotene (25.94 µg/mg), total phenolic content (76.32 µg/mg) and lycopene (12.00 µg/mg), and n-hexane extract of L. tigrinus had maximum amount of flavonoid (3.67 µg/mg). While chloroform extract of C. comatus showed the highest 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) capturing activity (1.579 mg/ml), the best result for metal chelating activity was obtained from methanolic extract (0.842 mg/ml). Moreover, all tested mushrooms demonstrated antibacterial activity and n-hexane extract of L. tigrinus and acetone extracts of T. fracticum were the most active against tested microorganism. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that different extracts of investigated mushroom have considerable cytotoxic, antioxidant and antibacterial properties and may be utilized as a promising source of therapeutics.