The role of DNA damage response in chemo- and radio-resistance of cancer cells: Can DDR inhibitors sole the problem?

Up to now, many improvements have been made in providing more therapeutic strategies for cancer patients. The lack of susceptibility to common therapies like chemo- and radio-therapy is one of the reasons why we need more methods in the field of cancer therapy. DNA damage response (DDR) is a set of mechanisms which identifies DNA lesions and triggers the repair process for restoring DNA after causing an arrest in the cell cycle. The ability of DDR in maintaining the genome stability and integrity can be favorable to cancerous cells which are exposed to radiation therapy or are treated with chemotherapeutic agents. When DDR mechanisms are error-free in cancer cells, they can escape the expected cellular death and display resistance to treatment. In this regard, targeting different components of DDR can help to increase the susceptibility of advanced tumors to chemo- and radio-therapy.

Fumigant toxicity and oviposition deterrency of the essential oil from cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum, against three stored­product insects.

Use of insecticides can have disruptive effects on the environment. Replacing the chemical compounds in these insecticides with plant materials, however, can be a safe method with low environmental risk. In the current study, chemical composition and insecticidal activities of the essential oil from cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum L. (Maton) (Zingiberales: Zingiberaceae) on the adults of three stored product pests was investigated. Results indicated that essential oil of E. cardamomum toxic to the bruchid beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus Fabricius (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum Herbst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), and the flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Adults of E. kuehniella were more sensitive than the Coleoptera. Also, the highest mortality of these insects was seen after 12 hours. Results of the LT50 tests showed that the lethal time of mortality occurred between 10-20 hours in various test concentrations. Essential oil of E. cardamomum had a good efficacy on oviposition deterrence of C. maculatus females, too. The chemical constituents of the essential oils were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The major constituents of cardamom were identified as 1,8-cineol, α-terpinyl acetate, terpinene and fenchyl alcohol. These results suggest that essential oil of E. cardamomum is a good choice for control of stored product pests.

Identification of a novel missense mutation in exon 4 of the human factor VIII gene associated with sever hemophilia A patient.

Hemophilia A is an X-linked congenital bleeding disorder caused by factor VIII deficiency. The factor VIII gene is on the long arm of the X chromosome at Xq28 spans 186 kb and consists of 26 exons. In this study to identify defects in the factor VIII gene, Single-Stranded Conformation Polymorphism (SSCP) analysis was used. A novel missense mutation due to T --> C transition at codon 153 (TGC) of the factor VIII gene which replace a cysteine with an arginine residue, was found in a patient of North-Western of Iran with sever hemophilia A. Direct sequencing of the amplified fragment was performed to confirm the mutation. This study shows that we can use of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and silver staining of SSCP methods for detecting most of the point mutations causative hemophilia A.