Curcumin and its derivatives in cancer therapy: Potentiating antitumor activity of cisplatin and reducing side effects.

Curcumin is a phytochemical isolated from Curcuma longa with potent tumor-suppressor activity, which has shown significant efficacy in pre-clinical and clinical studies. Curcumin stimulates cell death, triggers cycle arrest, and suppresses oncogenic pathways, thereby suppressing cancer progression. Cisplatin (CP) stimulates DNA damage and apoptosis in cancer chemotherapy. However, CP has adverse effects on several organs of the body, and drug resistance is frequently observed. The purpose of the present review is to show the function of curcumin in decreasing CP's adverse impacts and improving its antitumor activity. Curcumin administration reduces ROS levels to prevent apoptosis in normal cells. Furthermore, curcumin can inhibit inflammation via down-regulation of NF-κB to maintain the normal function of organs. Curcumin and its nanoformulations can reduce the hepatoxicity, neurotoxicity, renal toxicity, ototoxicity, and cardiotoxicity caused by CP. Notably, curcumin potentiates CP cytotoxicity via mediating cell death and cycle arrest. Besides, curcumin suppresses the STAT3 and NF-ĸB as tumor-promoting pathways, to enhance CP sensitivity and prevent drug resistance. The targeted delivery of curcumin and CP to tumor cells can be mediated nanostructures. In addition, curcumin derivatives are also able to reduce CP-mediated side effects, and increase CP cytotoxicity against various cancer types.

Curcumin-Loaded Iron Particle Improvement of Spermatogenesis in Azoospermic Mouse Induced by Long-Term Scrotal Hyperthermia.

Spermatogenesis process is sensitive to heat stress because the testicular temperature is 2 to 4 °C lower than the core body temperature. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of iron oxide nanoparticles containing curcumin on spermatogenesis in mice induced by long-term scrotal hyperthermia. In this experimental study, 18 mice were equally divided into the following three groups: control, scrotal hyperthermia, and scrotal hyperthermia + curcumin-loaded iron particles (NPs) (240 µL) (mice were treated for 20 days). Hyperthermia was induced by exposure to the temperature of 43 °C for 20 min every other day for 5 weeks. Afterward, the animals were euthanized; sperm samples were collected for sperm parameters analysis, and testis samples were taken for histopathology experiments, evaluation of serum testosterone level, and RNA extraction in order to examine the expression of c-kit, STRA8 and PCNA genes. Our study showed that curcumin-loaded iron particles could notably increase the volume of testis, length of seminiferous tubules, sperm parameters, and stereological parameters (i.e., spermatogonia, primary spermatocyte, round spermatid, and Leydig cells) thereby increasing serum testosterone level; in addition, TUNEL-positive cells showed a significant decrease in curcumin-loaded iron particle group. Thus, based on the obtained results, the expression of c-kit, STRA8, and PCNA genes was significantly increased in treatment groups by curcumin-loaded iron particles compared with scrotal hyperthermia-induced mice. In conclusion, curcumin-loaded iron particles can be considered an alternative treatment for improving the spermatogenesis process in scrotal hyperthermia-induced mice.

Association of dietary fiber and depression symptom: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.

BACKGROUND: A potential relationship between depression and the intake of dietary fiber has been hypothesized in several studies. However, no meta-analysis has been conducted so far to explore the association between these two variables. Hence, we designed the present meta-analysis to elucidate the relationship between the intake of dietary fiber and depression. METHODS: A comprehensive search was performed using the PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases to identify any relevant studies published from inception to October 2019. Observational studies (cross-sectional and case-control) were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Pooled analysis from the random-effects model of four case-control studies revealed that the consumption of dietary fiber in patients with depression was significantly lower versus healthy controls (WMD: -1.41 mg/dl, 95 % CI: -2.32, -0.51, P = 0.002). No significant heterogeneity was demonstrated among the analyzed studies (I2 = 4.0 %, P = 0.37). By pooling 5 effect sizes of cross-sectional studies (with a total of 97,023 subjects), we demonstrated that a higher dietary consumption of fiber was associated with significantly lower odds of depression (OR = 0.76; 95 % CI: 0.64, 0.90; P = 0.010), with a low heterogeneity seen among the retrieved studies (I2 = 43.9 %; P = 0.12). CONCLUSION: An increased intake of total dietary fiber is associated with lower odds of depression. Further studies are needed to evaluate the relationship between the different types of dietary fiber and depression.

Photobiomodulation restores spermatogenesis in the transient scrotal hyperthermia-induced mice.

OBJECTIVE: Heat stress shock affects the generation of free radicals and can have a harmful effect on spermatogenesis. Photobiomodulation (PBM) is very effective in andrology for treating male infertility. This research aimed at the evaluation of the impacts of PBM on spermatogenesis on the transient scrotal hyperthermia-induced oligospermia mouse model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This experimental research divided 24 mice into the following four groups: (1) Control, (2) Scrotal hyperthermia, (3) Scrotal hyperthermia receiving laser 0.03 J/cm2 for 30 s for each testis, 35 days after induction of scrotal hyperthermia every other day for 35 days, and (4) Scrotal hyperthermia receiving laser 0.03 J/cm2 for 30 s for each testis, immediately after induction of scrotal hyperthermia every other day for 35 days. Scrotal hyperthermia was induced by water bath with 43 °C for 30 min. Then, the mice were euthanized, and their sperm samples were collected for sperm parameters analysis. Then, we took the testis samples for histopathological experimentations, serum testosterone level, reactive oxygen species (ROS), RNA extraction for the examination of IL1-α, IL6 and TNF-α genes expression as well as production and glutathione disulfide (GSH) activity. KEY FINDINGS: Our outputs indicated that PBM could largely improve the sperms parameters and stereological parameters, like spermatogonia, primary spermatocyte, round spermatid and Leydig cells together with an increasing level of the serum testosterone and GSH activity compared to the scrotal hyperthermia induced mice. In addition, it was found that the diameter of seminiferous tubules, ROS production, as well as the expression of IL1-α, IL6, and TNF-α genes significantly decreased in the treatment groups by PBM compared to the scrotal hyperthermia induced mice, but there was not a significant difference in terms of testis weight and Sertoli cells between the studied groups. SIGNIFICANCE: It could be concluded that PBM may be regarded as an alternative treatment for improving the spermatogenesis process in the scrotal hyperthermia induced mice.