Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs4291 of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene is associated with the response to losartan treatment in hypertensive patients.

Arterial hypertension is characterized by systolic pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic pressure ≥ 90 mmHg and its treatment consists of the use of antihypertensive drugs, as losartan and hydrochlorothiazide. Blood pressure is regulated by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and polymorphisms in the ACE gene are associated to a greater predisposition to hypertension and response to treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of genetic polymorphisms of ACE rs4363, rs4291 and rs4335 and the response to antihypertensive drugs in hypertensive patients from Ouro Preto/MG, Brazil. A case-control study was carried out with 87 hypertensive patients being treated with losartan and 75 with hydrochlorothiazide, who answered a questionnaire and had blood samples collected. Biochemical analyzes were performed on serum using UV/Vis spectrophotometry and identification of ACE variants rs4363, rs4291 and rs4335 was performed by real-time PCR using the TaqMan® system. Univariate logistic regression test was performed to compare categorical data in STATA 13.0 software. The results showed that there was an influence of ACE polymorphisms on the response to losartan, demonstrating that AT or TT genotypes of rs4291 were more frequent in the group of controlled AH (54.9%), indicating that these individuals are 2.8 times more likely to of being controlled AH (95% CI 1.12-6.80, p. =0.026) compared to those with AA genotype. In contrast, no influence of ACE polymorphisms on the response to hydrochlorothiazide was observed. In conclusion, the presence of the T allele of the rs4291 variant was associated to controled blood pressure when losartan was used as an antihypertensive agent. These results show the importance of pharmacogenetic studies to detect genetic characteristics, enabling therapeutic individuality and reducing costs for the healthcare system.

The impact of genetic polymorphisms on genotoxicity in workers occupationally exposed to pesticides: a systematic review.

In a world with a rising use of pesticides, these chemicals, although designed to effectively control pests, pose potential threats to the environment and non-target organisms, including humans. Thus, this systematic review aims to investigate a possible association between genetic polymorphisms and susceptibility and genotoxicity in individuals occupationally exposed to pesticides. This review was conducted following the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) criteria. A total of 14 carefully selected studies were thoroughly analyzed by two reviewers, who assigned scores based on previously set evaluation criteria. This study classified over half of the chosen studies as having moderate or strong quality, observing a correlation between certain genetic polymorphisms involved in xenobiotic metabolism and genotoxicity in workers exposed to pesticides. Results suggest that the genes associated with xenobiotic metabolism play a substantial role in determining individuals' susceptibility to genomic damage due to pesticide exposure, affecting both their peripheral blood and oral mucosa. This implies that individuals with specific genotypes may experience increased or decreased levels of DNA damage when exposed to these chemicals.

Long Non-Coding RNA and Chemoresistance in Bladder Cancer - A Mini Review.

Bladder cancer is the 10th most common cancer worldwide. It is a heterogeneous disease, comprising several tumor subtypes with differences in histology, genomic aberrations, prognosis and sensitivity to anti-cancer treatments. Although the treatment of bladder cancer is based tumor classifications and gradings, patients have different clinical response. In recent years, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were associated with bladder cancer chemoresistance. Thus, lncRNAs seem to be promising targets in treatment of bladder cancer. This review highlights the recent findings concerning lncRNAs and their relevance to the chemoresistance of bladder cancer. This may provide a basis for exploiting more robust therapeutic approaches in the future.

Comet assay as a suitable biomarker for in vivo oral carcinogenesis: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In order to detect genetic damage, different methods have been developed, such as micronuclei and comet assay. The comet assay presents some advantages when compared to the other aforementioned methods, including wide versatility, as any eukaryotic cell can be evaluated at an individual cellular level. In this context, the aim of this systematic review was designed to help further elucidate the following question: is the comet assay a suitable biomarker of in vivo oral carcinogenesis? MATERIAL AND METHODS: The present systematic review was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Full manuscripts from 18 studies were carefully selected in this setting. RESULTS: A total of 15 studies demonstrated positive findings for genotoxicity in peripheral blood or oral cells in patients with pre-malignant lesions or oral cancer. In the quality assessment of studies, 1 was classified as Strong, 5 were considered as Moderate, and 12 were classified as Weak. CONCLUSION: In summary, the comet assay can be a useful biomarker for oral carcinogenesis. However, further studies with more strict parameters are suggested (with less uncontrolled confounders) in order to increase findings reliability for diagnosis of oral potentially malignant lesions.

Discovery of a new dihydroeugenol-chalcone hybrid with cytotoxic and anti-migratory potential: A dual-action hit for cancer therapeutics.

Cancer still represents a serious public health problem and one of the main problems related to the worsening of this disease is the ability of some tumors to develop metastasis. In this work, we synthesized a new series of chalcones and isoxazoles derived from eugenol and analogues as molecular hybrids and these compounds were evaluated against different tumor cell lines. This structural pattern was designed considering the cytotoxic potential already known for eugenol, chalcones and isoxazoles. Notably, chalcones 7, 9, 10, and 11 displayed significant activity (4.2-14.5 µM) against two cancer cell lines, surpassing the potency of the control drug doxorubicin. The reaction of chalcones with hydroxylamine hydrochloride provided the corresponding isoxazoles that were inactive against these cancer cells. The dihydroeugenol chalcone 7 showed the most promising results, demonstrating higher potency against HepG2 (CC50: 4.2 µM) and TOV-21G (CC50: 7.2 µM). Chalcone 7 was also three times less toxic than doxorubicin considering HepG2 cells, with a selectivity index greater than 11. Further investigations including clonogenic survival, cell cycle progression and cell migration assays confirmed the compelling antitumoral potential of chalcone 7, as it reduced long-term survival due to DNA fragmentation, inducing cell death and inhibiting HepG2 cells migration. Moreover, in silico studies involving docking and molecular dynamics revealed a consistent binding mode of chalcone 7 with metalloproteinases, particularly MMP-9, shedding light on its potential mechanism of action related to anti-migratory effects. These significant findings suggest the inclusion of compound 7 as a promising candidate for future studies in the field of cancer therapeutics.

ANRIL, H19 and TUG1: a review about critical long non-coding RNAs in cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. They are non-transmissible diseases that affect the cardiovascular system and have different etiologies such as smoking, lipid disorders, diabetes, stress, sedentary lifestyle and genetic factors. To date, lncRNAs have been associated with increased susceptibility to the development of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, angina and heart failure. In this way, lncRNAs are becoming a very promising point for the prevention and diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, this review highlights the most important and recent discoveries about the mechanisms of action of the lncRNAs ANRIL, H19 and TUG1 and their clinical relevance in these pathologies. This may contribute to early detection of cardiovascular diseases in order to prevent the pathological phenotype from becoming established.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene (ACE) polymorphisms are associated with dysregulation of biochemical parameters in hypertensive patients.

INTRODUCTION: The genetic component, including genes and their variants, plays a significant role in the pathophysiology of arterial hypertension (AH). Thus, clinical, epidemiological and genetic studies have been carried out to improve the understanding of disease mechanisms, improve diagnostic quality and contribute to prevention. OBJECTIVE: To determine the association of risk factors, biochemical parameters and different ACE gene polymorphisms with AH. METHOD: The case-control study was carried out in the population of Ouro Preto, Brazil. The subjects answered a questionnaire containing clinical and sociodemographic data. The ACE gene polymorphisms rs4291, rs4363 and rs4335 were evaluated by real time-polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR) in 310 people (155 hypertensive and 155 normotensive patients), in addition to biochemical parameters. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with AH. Analysis of continuous variables was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test to assess significance between groups and Dunn's post-test for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: The results showed that AH was associated with age, education, smoking, obesity and high levels of triglycerides, sodium, glucose and uric acid. Regarding the biochemical parameters, in hypertensive patients, the rs4363 and rs4335 polymorphisms were associated with high levels of triglycerides, urea and glucose; the rs4291 polymorphism was associated with elevated urea and glucose levels. No association was detected between SNPs and HA. CONCLUSION: AH was associated with socioeconomic status, lifestyle habits and biochemical parameters. ACE polymorphisms may have influenced the levels of triglycerides, urea and glucose in hypertensive patients.

Examining the mental health of the academic community at an institution for higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Higher Education Institutions had to suspend their on-site activities and adapt to the new scenario. Therefore, the objective of the research was to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the academic community of a Brazilian public university. This is a cross-sectional study, at a Brazilian public university, that used the baseline data from a longitudinal study carried out with employees and students. Participants answered a self-administered and confidential questionnaire in online platform, composed of sociodemographic, economic, lifestyles and mental health issues. 1,353 students and 372 employees participated. The prevalence of anxiety disorder symptoms among students and employees was 46.12% and 17.47%, depression 54.62% and 22.85% and stress 47.45% and 22.58%, respectively. The co-occurrence of symptoms was 33.56% among university students and 10.75% among employees. Falling family income, having stopped smoking and negative self-rated health, during the COVID-19 pandemic, may be the reasons for the high prevalence of co-occurrence of anxiety, depression and stress disorders among the academic community.

LncRNA JHDM1D-AS1 Is a Key Biomarker for Progression and Modulation of Gemcitabine Sensitivity in Bladder Cancer Cells.

Long non-coding RNAs are frequently found to be dysregulated and are linked to carcinogenesis, aggressiveness, and chemoresistance in a variety of tumors. As expression levels of the JHDM1D gene and lncRNA JHDM1D-AS1 are altered in bladder tumors, we sought to use their combined expression to distinguish between low-and high-grade bladder tumors by RTq-PCR. In addition, we evaluated the functional role of JHDM1D-AS1 and its association with the modulation of gemcitabine sensitivity in high-grade bladder-tumor cells. J82 and UM-UC-3 cells were treated with siRNA-JHDM1D-AS1 and/or three concentrations of gemcitabine (0.39, 0.78, and 1.56 µM), and then submitted to cytotoxicity testing (XTT), clonogenic survival, cell cycle progression, cell morphology, and cell migration assays. When JHDM1D and JHDM1D-AS1 expression levels were used in combination, our findings indicated favorable prognostic value. Furthermore, the combined treatment resulted in greater cytotoxicity, a decrease in clone formation, G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, morphological alterations, and a reduction in cell migration capacity in both lineages compared to the treatments alone. Thus, silencing of JHDM1D-AS1 reduced the growth and proliferation of high-grade bladder-tumor cells and increased their sensitivity to gemcitabine treatment. In addition, the expression of JHDM1D/JHDM1D-AS1 indicated potential prognostic value in the progression of bladder tumors.

Additive effects of resveratrol and doxorubicin on bladder cancer cells.

The treatment of bladder cancer remains a challenge in clinical practice. Different chemotherapeutic protocols can be used; however, it is common to observe tumor recurrence and secondary effects that result in toxicity. Doxorubicin (DOX), one of the most effective anticancer agents used to treat bladder cancer, can cause chronic cardiotoxicity, limiting its use in clinical practice. Resveratrol (RES), a natural product with potential antitumor activity against bladder cancer, is associated with rapid metabolism and low bioavailability and needs to be combined with chemotherapeutic drugs to improve its use. Our study aimed to assess the therapeutic effect of a low concentration of DOX (2 µM) in combination with RES (150, 200 and 250 µM) on two bladder cancer cell lines. We investigated the mechanism of interaction between the drugs by performing cytotoxicity, clonogenic, oxidative stress, cell migration, cell morphology and nuclear division index (NDI) assays. Cytotoxicity evaluation revealed an additive interaction between RES and DOX for both cell lines. Additionally, the results of cell colony formation, oxidative stress, cell migration, cell morphology and NDI assays showed that a combination of DOX and RES was more effective than RES or DOX alone. In conclusion, a low concentration of DOX combined with RES could potentiate the antitumor effects of the drugs on bladder cancer cells, thus overcoming the secondary effects caused by DOX and the low bioavailability of resveratrol.

Brazilian essential oils as source for the discovery of new anti-COVID-19 drug: a review guided by in silico study.

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China and its spread worldwide has become one of the biggest health problem due to the lack of knowledge about an effective chemotherapy. Based on the current reality of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, this study aimed to make a review literature about potential anti-coronavirus natural compounds guided by an in silico study. In the first step, essential oils from native species found in the Brazilian herbal medicine market and Brazilian species that have already shown antiviral potential were used as source for the literature search and compounds selection. Among these compounds, 184 showed high antiviral potential against rhinovirus or picornavirus by quantitative structure-activity relationship analysis. (E)-α-atlantone; 14-hydroxy-α-muurolene; allo-aromadendrene epoxide; amorpha-4,9-dien-2-ol; aristochene; azulenol; germacrene A; guaia-6,9-diene; hedycaryol; humulene epoxide II; α-amorphene; α-cadinene; α-calacorene and α-muurolene showed by a molecular docking study the best result for four target proteins that are essential for SARS-CoV-2 lifecycle. In addition, other parameters obtained for the selected compounds indicated low toxicity and showed good probability to achieve cell permeability and be used as a drug. These results guided the second literature search which included other species in addition to native Brazilian plants. The majority presence of any of these compounds was reported for essential oils from 45 species. In view of the few studies relating essential oils and antiviral activity, this review is important for future assays against the new coronavirus. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11101-021-09754-4.

Toxicogenetic and antiproliferative effects of chrysin in urinary bladder cancer cells.

The antitumour activity of chrysin have been studied in several types of cancer cells. In urinary bladder cancer, its cytotoxic effects have already demonstrated; however, its mechanism of action is not completely understood and the role of tumour protein p53 (TP53) gene in these effects is unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of chrysin (10, 20, 40, 60 80 and 100 µM) in progression of bladder tumour cells with different status of the TP53 gene and different degrees of tumour (RT4, grade 1, TP53 wild type; 5637, grade 2, TP53 mutated and T24, grade 3, TP53 mutated). Results demonstrated that chrysin inhibited cell proliferation by increasing reactive oxygen species and DNA damage and inhibited cell migration in all cell lines. In TP53 wild-type cells, a sub-G1 apoptotic population was present. In mutated TP53 cells, chrysin caused arrest at the G2/M phase and morphological changes accompanied by downregulation of PLK1, SRC and HOXB3 genes. In addition, in Grade 2 cells, chrysin induced global DNA hypermethylation and, in the highest-grade cells, downregulated c-MYC, FGFR3 and mTOR gene expression. In conclusion, chrysin has antiproliferative and toxicogenetic activity in bladder tumour cells independently of TP53 status; however, the mechanisms of action are dependent on TP53 status.

Evaluation of parasite and host genetics in two generations of a family with Chagas disease.

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is considered to be a multifactorial disease associated with host and parasite genetics, which influence clinical aspects of the disease and other host conditions. In order to understand better the evolution of the disease, this study intended to evaluation of parasite and host genetics in two generations of a family with Chagas disease from the Alto Paranaiba region, Minas Gerais, Brazil, comprising a mother and her five daughters. Several features were evaluated, including the characterization of T. cruzi directly from the blood of patients, host polymorphisms of genes related to cardiomyopathy (TNF, WISP1, CCR5, and TGF-ß1) and clinical aspects of the patients. To verify the intraspecific variability of the parasite, the characterization was done directly from human blood using the PCR-LSSP technique and analyzed based on Dice coefficient and unweighted pair group analysis (UPGMA). The host polymorphism was evaluated by PCR-RFLP. The global results showed low variability of the parasites characterized from blood of patients, through Shannon index (0.492) and mean heterozygosity value per locus (0.322). All six patients presented the same genetic polymorphism profile for TNF, WISP1, and TGF-ß1, and only one patient was homozygous to CCR5, which suggests that there is no association between the clinical aspects of the patients and their genetic profiles. In conclusion, the findings confirm that the understanding of the clinical evolution of Chagas disease goes beyond the genetic aspects of the parasite and the host.

Behavior of two Leishmania infantum strains-evaluation of susceptibility to antimonials and expression of microRNAs in experimentally infected J774 macrophages and in BALB/c mice.

Strains of the same Leishmania parasite species, isolated from different host organisms, may exhibit unique infection profiles and induce a change in the expression of microRNAs among host macrophages and in model host mice. MicroRNAs (MiR) are endogenous molecules of about 22 nucleotides that are involved in many regulatory processes, including the vertebrate host immune response. In this respect, the infectivity and susceptibility to antimonials of two L. infantum strains, BH46, isolated from human, and OP46, isolated from symptomatic dog, were characterized in J774 macrophages and BALB/c mice. Parasite burden was assessed in the liver, spleen, and bone marrow using the serial limiting dilution technique. A higher parasite burden was observed in the spleen and bone marrow of animals infected with OP46 compared to BH46 strain. Our results also showed that OP46 was less susceptible to the antimonials. In addition, miR-122 and miR-155 expression was evaluated in the liver and J774 macrophages, and in spleens from infected animals, respectively. An increase was observed in the expression of miR-155 in J774 macrophages infected with both strains compared to uninfected cells, with a higher expression in cells infected with OP46. However, no difference in the expression of miR-122 and miR-155 was observed in the infected animals. Thus, this study shows that OP46 was more infective for mice, it caused a higher increase in miR-155 expression in infected macrophages and was less susceptible to the antimonials evaluated. These data suggest that alteration in miR-155 level likely plays a role in regulating the response to L. infantum.

MRE11A and SKP2 genes are associated with the increased cytotoxicity induced by the synergistic effects of cisplatin and gemcitabine in bladder cancer cells.

The combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin has been shown previously to elicit a synergistic therapeutic effect on bladder cancer cell lines and result in reduced cell survival. However, the precise mechanism by which cells die has not been elucidated. Cell cycle-related genes are the predominant targets of chemotherapeutic protocols. Therefore, molecular biomarkers that are predictive of therapeutic outcomes associated with tumor sensitivity might be important for optimal treatment protocol selection. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in gene expression in cell cycle-related genes that were induced by cisplatin, gemcitabine or a combined treatment using both agents in a low-grade urinary bladder transitional carcinoma cell line (RT4). The following three treatment protocols were used: 1.0 µM cisplatin, 1.56 µM gemcitabine and a combination of 1.0 µM cisplatin and 1.56 µM gemcitabine. Cytometry and morphology analysis (by phase-contrast photomicrography) were performed in addition to pathway-specific gene expression analysis using quantitative RT-PCR gene arrays. The following results were observed after 1.0 µM cisplatin treatment: (1) a decrease in cell number, (2) an increased percentage of scattered cells and (3) downregulated expression of genes related to cell cycle arrest, G1/S-to-mitotic cell cycle transition, DNA repair, apoptosis, transcription and mitosis. Treatment with 1.56 µM gemcitabine, or with both drugs simultaneously, induced the following effects: (1) a decrease in cell number, (2) an increased percentage of scattered and elongated cells, (3) the modulation of genes that are predominantly involved in DNA repair and (4) a significant upregulation of genes related to cell cycle arrest. Reduced cell density was observed after the combined treatment compared to the two other single-agent protocols. The downregulation of MRE11A and SKP2 was observed only in cells subjected to the combined treatment. In conclusion, cisplatin, gemcitabine and the combination of both drugs elicited distinct toxicogenomic effects in the RT4 bladder transitional carcinoma cell line, although disruptions in the expression of cell cycle control-related genes and other pathways responsible for cell survival were observed for all of the protocols. MRE11A and SKP2 downregulation appeared to be responsible for the synergistic therapeutic effects elicited by cisplatin and gemcitabine.

Citral and eugenol modulate DNA damage and pro-inflammatory mediator genes in murine peritoneal macrophages.

Citral and eugenol have been broadly studied because of their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antiparasitic potentials. In this study, the effects of citral (25, 50 and 100 µg/mL) and eugenol (0.31, 0.62, 1.24 and 2.48 µg/mL) on the expression (RT-PCR) of the pro-inflammatory mediator genes NF-κB1, COX-2 and TNF-α were evaluated in mouse peritoneal macrophages with or without activation by a bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Additionally, the genotoxic potentials of two compounds and their capacities to modulate the DNA damage induced by doxorubicin (DXR) were investigated using the comet assay. The data revealed that neither citral nor eugenol changed COX-2, NF-κB1 or TNF-α expression in resting macrophages. However, in LPS-activated cells, citral induced the hypoexpression of COX-2 (100 µg/mL) and TNF-α (50 and 100 µg/mL). Hypoexpression of TNF-α was also detected after cellular exposure to eugenol at the highest concentration (2.48 µg/mL). Both compounds exhibited genotoxic potential (citral at 50 and 100 µg/mL and eugenol at all concentrations) but also showed chemopreventive effects, in various treatment protocols. Both citral and eugenol might modulate inflammatory processes and DXR-induced DNA damage, but the use of these compounds must be viewed with caution because they are also able to induce primary DNA lesions.

Cell cycle kinetics, apoptosis rates, DNA damage and TP53 gene expression in bladder cancer cells treated with allyl isothiocyanate (mustard essential oil).

Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) is present in plants of the cruciferous family and is abundant in mustard seed. Due to its high bioavailability in urine after ingestion, AITC has been considered a promising antineoplastic agent against bladder cancer. Because TP53 mutations are the most common alterations in bladder cancer cells and are frequently detected in in situ carcinomas, in this study, we investigated whether the AITC effects in bladder cancer cells are dependent on the TP53 status. Two bladder transitional carcinoma cell lines were used: RT4, with wild-type TP53; and T24, mutated TP53 gene. AITC was tested at concentrations of 0.005, 0.0625, 0.0725, 0.0825, 0.0925, 0.125 and 0.25 µM in cytotoxicity, cell and clonogenic survival assays, comet and micronucleus assays and for its effects on cell cycle and apoptosis by flow cytometry and on TP53 gene expression. The data showed increased primary DNA damage in both cell lines; however, lower concentrations of AITC were able to induce genotoxicity in the mutant cells for the TP53 gene. Furthermore, the results demonstrated increased apoptosis and necrosis rates in the wild-type cells, but not in mutated TP53 cells, and cell cycle arrest in the G2 phase for mutated cells after AITC treatment. No significant differences were detected in TP53 gene expression in the two cell lines. In conclusion, AITC caused cell cycle arrest, increased apoptosis rates and varying genotoxicity dependent on the TP53 status. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that those differences could reflect other intrinsic genetic alterations in the examined cell lines, which may also carry mutations in genes other than TP53. Therefore, further studies using other molecular targets need to be performed to better understand the mechanisms by which AITC may exert its antineoplastic properties against tumor cells.

Oxidative Stress Responses in Obese Individuals Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: Impact on Carcinogenesis.

Obesity is a big public health problem that claims several thousand lives every year. Bariatric surgery has arisen as a suitable procedure for treating obesity, particularly morbid obesity. Oxidative stress, genotoxicity, apoptosis, and inflammatory responses are recognized as the most important occurrences in carcinogenesis, as they actively contribute to the multistep process. This study aimed to briefly review the connection between oxidative stress, genotoxicity, apoptosis, and inflammation in obese patients undergoing bariatric surgery, focusing on its impact on carcinogenesis. Regarding oxidative stress, bariatric surgery may inhibit the synthesis of reactive oxygen species. Moreover, a significant reduction in the inflammatory status after weight loss surgery was not observed. Bariatric surgery prevents apoptosis in several tissues, but the maintenance of low body weight for long periods is mandatory for mitigating DNA damage. In conclusion, the association between bariatric surgery and cancer risk is still premature. However, further studies are yet needed to elucidate the real association between bariatric surgery and a reduced risk of cancer.

Qualitative and quantitative changes in mitochondrial DNA associated with cervical cancer: A comprehensive review.

Cervical cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer in women and is considered a preventable disease, as vaccination and screening programs effectively reduce its incidence and mortality rates. Disease physiopathology and malignant cell transformation is a complex process, but it is widely known that high-risk HPV (hrHPV) infection is a necessary risk factor for cancer development. Mitochondria, cell organelles with important bioenergetic and biosynthetic functions, are important for cell energy production, cell growth, and apoptosis. Mitochondrial DNA is a structure that is particularly susceptible to quantitative (mtDNA copy number variation) and qualitative (sequence variations) alterations that are associated with various types of cancer. Novel biomarkers with diagnostic and prognostic value in cervical cancer can be evaluated to provide higher specificity and complement hrHPV molecular testing, which is the most recommended method for primary screening. In accordance with this, this review aimed to assess mitochondrial alterations associated with cervical cancer in clinical cervicovaginal samples, in order to unravel their possible role as specific diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for cervical malignancy, and also to guide the understanding of their involvement in carcinogenesis, HPV infection, and disease progression.

Chrysin inhibits the cell viability, induces apoptosis and modulates expression of genes related to epigenetic events in bladder cancer cells.

This study was conducted with the aim of exploring the molecular and cellular mechanisms of action of the chrysin (natural flavonoid compound) on bladder tumour cell lines with different status of TP53 (RT4, 5637 and T24). The cells were treated with different concentrations of chrysin (20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 µM) to analyze the cell viability, nuclear division index, mutagenicity, apoptosis rates and expression of genes related to epigenetic events (DNMT1, HAT1 and HDAC1). Results showed that the treatment with chrysin reduced the cell viability and caused apoptosis, regardless TP53. Moreover, in the TP53-mutated cell lines, chrysin modulated the expression of the DNMT1, HAT1 and HDAC1 epigenetic genes, which might be a plus to the death observed in the cells with p53 mutation.