Development and Evaluation of Crocetin-Functionalized Pegylated Magnetite Nanoparticles for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Liver cancer remains among the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. This is due to many reasons, including limitations of available drugs, late diagnosis due to the overlapping symptoms with many other liver diseases, and lack of effective screening modalities. Compared to conventional chemotherapy, targeted drug delivery systems are advantageous in many ways, as they minimize drug resistance and improve therapeutic value for cancer patients. Nanomaterials, in general, and nanoparticles, in particular, possess nm size, which provides a high surface area for a great extent of functionalization to be used for the targeted delivery of cancer drugs. Amongst the different formulations of nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have unique chemical and physical characteristics and magnetic behavior, making them preferable candidates as a core for drug delivery systems. To maintain the nanosized structure of MNPs, a polymeric coating is usually applied to maintain the nanoparticles dispersed in the solution. Moreover, the polymeric coating provides a plate form for carrying drug molecules on its surface. In the present study, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-coated MNPs were successfully synthesized, where the optimum concentration of PEG on the surface of the MNPs was investigated. The PEG-coated MNPs were further coated with crocetin at different concentrations. The crocetin-coated pegylated MNPs were evaluated in vitro using a hepatic cell line (HepG2) for up to 72 h. Results showed good release kinetics under acidic and neutral conditions. The optimally prepared drug delivery system showed a high potential for reducing the HepG2 cell proliferation in vitro using an MTT assay. The calculated IC50 for Cro-PEG-MNPs were 0.1019, 0.0903, and 0.0462 mg/mL of 5×, 10× and 20×, respectively.

Glioblastoma multiforme metastasizing to the skin, a case report and literature review.

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary central nervous system (CNS) malignancy in adults. It is very aggressive and is notorious for its fast and local invasion of nearby brain parenchyma. Consequently, the overall survival (OS) of patients with GBM is short despite resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy regimens. The most common sites of metastasis of GBM are the lungs and pleura, cervical lymph nodes, and bone. Metastasis to the skin is a rare event and to our knowledge, there are less than 30 cases of GBM metastasizing to cutaneous or subcutaneous tissue described in the literature. None of these cases were diagnosed and/or treated in the Middle East region; and the majority of the metastases found were adjacent to the site of surgery undergone to remove the primary malignancy. We present the case of a 53-year-old male diagnosed with GBM and later showing signs of metastases at the anterio-auricular side of his face near-distant from the site of previous surgery done to remove the primary tumor.

Extended Endonasal Endoscopic Complete Resection of a Solitary Intraorbital Myofibroma: A Case Report and Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Infantile myofibromatosis is a rare benign disease of mesenchymal origin. It occurs mostly in infants but can occur in children and adults. It presents in 2 forms: solitary and multicentric. The presence of an orbital component, whether as a solitary lesion or as part of the multicentric disease, is even rarer. Surgery is required when these tumors behave aggressively and grow rapidly or when they are large enough to cause compression symptoms. Several surgical approaches have been described to resect such lesions. CASE DESCRIPTION: We present a case of a solitary intraorbital myofibroma extending into the optic canal in a 6-year-old girl that was completely resected via an extended endonasal endoscopic approach. CONCLUSIONS: This case report highlights the advantages of the extended endonasal endoscopic approach in terms of intraoperative and postoperative factors.

Induction of G1-phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis pathway in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells by sulfated polysaccharide extracted from Laurencia papillosa.

BACKGROUND: Marine algae consumption is linked to law cancer incidences in countries that traditionally consume marine products. Hence, Phytochemicals are considered as potential chemo-preventive and chemotherapeutic agents against cancer. We investigated the effects of the algal sulfated polysaccharide extract (ASPE) from the red marine alga L. papillosa on MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line. METHODS: Flow cytometry analysis was performed to study the cell viability, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Changes in the expression of certain genes associated with cell cycle regulation was conducted by PCR real time analyses. Further investigations on apoptotic molecules was performed by ROS measurement and protein profiling. RESULTS: ASPE at low doses (10 µg/ml), inhibited cell proliferation, and arrested proliferating MDA-MB-231 cells at G1-phase. However, higher doses (50 µg/ml), triggered apoptosis in those cells. The low dose of ASPE also caused up-regulation of Cip1/p21 and Kip1/p27 and down-regulation of cyclins D1, D2, and E1 transcripts and their related cyclin dependent kinases: Cdk2, Cdk4, and Cdk6. The higher doses of ASPE initiated a dose-dependent apoptotic death in MDA-MB-231 by induction of Bax transcripts, inhibition of Bcl-2 and cleavage of Caspase-3 protein. Over-generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were also observed in MDA-MB-231 treated cells. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicated that ASPE induces G1-phase arrest and apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells. ASPE may serve as a potential therapeutic agent for breast cancer.

Dispersion and thermal properties of lithium aluminum silicate glasses doped with Cr3+ ions.

A series of new lithium aluminum silicate (LAS) glass systems doped with chromium ion is prepared. The reflectance and transmittance of the glass slabs are recorded. By means of an iteration procedure, the glass refractive index n and the extinction coefficient k and their dispersions are obtained. Across a wide spectral range of 0.2-1.6 microm, the dispersion curves are used to determine the atomic and quantum constants of the prepared glasses. These findings provide the average oscillator wavelength, the average oscillator strength, oscillator energy, dispersion energy, lattice energy, and material dispersion of the glass materials to be calculated. For optical waveguide applications, the wavelength for zero material dispersion is obtained. Dilatometric measurements are performed and the thermal expansion coefficient is calculated to throw some light on the thermo-optical properties of the present glasses correlating them with their structure and the presence of nonbridging oxygen ions.