The role of curcumin on apoptosis and NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent pyroptosis on colorectal cancer in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Many factors such as stress, lifestyle, and dietary habits are known to play a role in the initiation and progression of the disease. Herbal therapeutic agents including curcumin can hold a great potential against cancer treatment; however, their efficacy on CRC is still under investigation. Herein, we evaluated the anticancer mechanism of curcumin on four different CRC cell lines. METHODS: Cells were treated with curcumin for 24, 48 and 72 h, and IC50 doses for each cell line were calculated. Mechanistic studies were conducted with the lowest IC50 dose determined for each cell line by evaluating apoptosis and necrosis, cell division, and NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis. RESULTS: Curcumin treatment significantly decreased viability while increasing the SubG1 phase in all cell lines tested, indicating apoptosis is the main programmed cell death pathway activated upon curcumin treatment in CRC. In terms of pyroptosis, components of NLRP3 inflammasome were found to be elevated in SW480 and HCT116 cell lines, although to a lesser extent in the latter, and NLRP3 inflammasome activation was not observed in LoVo and HT29 cells. DISCUSSION: Our results reveal that while curcumin effectively induces apoptosis, its effects on NLRP3-inflammasome mediated pyroptosis vary. Our results underline the need for further research focusing on the other inflammasome complexes to confirm the differential effects of curcumin on CRC.

A potential area of use for immune checkpoint inhibitors: Targeting bone marrow microenvironment in acute myeloid leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) arises from the cells of myeloid lineage and is the most frequent leukemia type in adulthood accounting for about 80% of all cases. The most common treatment strategy for the treatment of AML includes chemotherapy, in rare cases radiotherapy and stem cell and bone marrow transplantation are considered. Immune checkpoint proteins involve in the negative regulation of immune cells, leading to an escape from immune surveillance, in turn, causing failure of tumor cell elimination. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) target the negative regulation of the immune cells and support the immune system in terms of anti-tumor immunity. Bone marrow microenvironment (BMM) bears various blood cell lineages and the interactions between these lineages and the noncellular components of BMM are considered important for AML development and progression. Administration of ICIs for the AML treatment may be a promising option by regulating BMM. In this review, we summarize the current treatment options in AML treatment and discuss the possible application of ICIs in AML treatment from the perspective of the regulation of BMM.

The relationship between sleep problems and cortisol in people with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Sleep problems are linked with negative health outcomes, including coronary heart disease. Neuroendocrine dysfunction has been associated with sleep problems and may be a pathway linking sleep and ill health. Dysregulated cortisol output has observed in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D), though little is known about the links between sleep and cortisol in this population at high risk of coronary disease. METHOD: This study investigated the association between sleep problems and cortisol over the course of an ordinary day and in response to acute laboratory stress in a sample of 129 individuals with T2D. Sleep problems were assessed using the Jenkins sleep problems questionnaire. Mental stress was induced using two five-minute laboratory stress tasks: a mirror-tracing task and the Stroop color-word interference task. RESULTS: Sleep problems were positively associated with daily cortisol area under the curve (B = 17.051, C.I. = 6.547 to 27.554, p = 0.002) adjusting for age, sex, marital status, education, household income, body mass index and smoking; suggesting that those with greater sleep problems had greater cortisol concentrations over the course of an ordinary day. Participants reporting greater sleep problems also had raised evening cortisol levels (B = 0.96, C.I. = 0.176 to 1.746, p = 0.017) in adjusted models. In the laboratory sleep problems were negatively associated with cortisol immediately post-task (B = -0.030, C.I. = -0.059 to 0.000, p = 0.048) and 45 minutes post-task (B = -0.037, C.I. = -0.072 to -0.002, p = 0.039) in fully adjusted models; indicating that those who experienced greater sleep problems had lower cortisol concentrations after stress. CONCLUSIONS: Sleep problems were associated with disturbances in cortisol responses to stress, as well as changes diurnal cortisol output in people with T2D. Further research is needed to assess if neuroendocrine disturbance increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in this population.

Noise disturbance caused by outdoor activities--a simulated-environment study for Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Istanbul.

Negative effects of noise on individuals, the inevitable result of urbanization, have become a significant urban problem in our day. Introduction of an approach to the noise problem on an urban-planning scale lightens the burden of measures required to be taken against noise at the stages of regional and developmental planning. Stadiums, which should be also evaluated from the point of noise problem when planning decisions are made on the urban planning scale, may cause very serious problems differing depending on the region they are located in. In this article, various dimensions of the noise problem caused by stadiums have been exemplified by making an assessment on Ali Sami Yen football stadium located in Mecidiyeköy district which is among important residential and commercial centres of Istanbul or Turkey. When the simulation results obtained for ordinary days and match days are evaluated, it has been found out that the people living in the area are exposed to noise levels substantially exceeding the acceptable values. Results of the survey conducted in the area have clearly revealed the existence of noise problem, too.