RESUMO
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an eating disorder (ED) that has seen an increase in its incidence in the last thirty years. Compared to other psychosomatic disorders, ED can be responsible for many major medical complications, moreover, in addition to the various systemic impairments, patients with AN undergo morphological and physiological changes affecting the cerebral cortex. Through immunohistochemical studies on portions of postmortem human brain of people affected by AN and healthy individuals, and western blot studies on leucocytes of young patients and healthy controls, this study investigated the role in the afore-mentioned processes of altered redox state. The results showed that the brain volume reduction in AN could be due to an increase in the rate of cell death, mainly by apoptosis, in which mitochondria, main cellular organelles affected by a decreased dietary intake, and a highly compromised intracellular redox balance, may play a pivotal role.
Assuntos
Anorexia Nervosa , Encéfalo , Estresse Oxidativo , Humanos , Anorexia Nervosa/metabolismo , Anorexia Nervosa/patologia , Estresse Oxidativo/fisiologia , Encéfalo/metabolismo , Encéfalo/patologia , Feminino , Adulto , Adulto Jovem , Adolescente , Apoptose/fisiologiaRESUMO
The current standard oncotherapy for glioblastoma is limited by several adverse side effects, leading to a short-term patient survival rate paralleled by a worsening quality of life (QoL). Recently, Complementary and Integrative Medicine's (CIM) innovative approaches have shown positive impacts in terms of better response to treatment, side effect reduction, and QoL improvement. In particular, promising potential in cancer therapy has been found in compounds coming from phyto- and mycotherapy. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the beneficial effects of a new phyto-mycotherapy supplement, named Ganostile, in the human glioblastoma cell line U251, in combination with chemotherapeutic agents, i.e., Cisplatin and a new platinum-based prodrug. Choosing a supplement dosage that mimicked oral supplementation in humans (about 1 g/day), through in vitro assays, microscopy, and cytometric analysis, it has emerged that the cells, after 48hr continuous exposure to Ganostile in combination with the chemical compounds, showed a higher mortality and a lower proliferation rate than the samples subjected to the different treatments administered individually. In conclusion, our data support the use of Ganostile in integrative oncology protocols as a promising adjuvant able to amplify conventional and new drug effects and also reducing resistance mechanisms often observed in brain tumors.
Assuntos
Neoplasias Encefálicas , Glioblastoma , Humanos , Glioblastoma/tratamento farmacológico , Glioblastoma/patologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Neoplasias Encefálicas/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Encefálicas/patologia , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Cisplatino/farmacologia , Cisplatino/uso terapêutico , Suplementos Nutricionais , Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacosRESUMO
Aging and its related disorders are important issues nowadays and the first cause of this physio-pathological condition is the overproduction of ROS. Ascorbic acid is an antioxidant mediator and its anti-aging proprieties are well known. Our previous data demonstrated that Voghera sweet pepper (VP), a distinctive type of pepper cultivated in Italy, is particularly rich in ascorbic acid. Based on these data, the anti-aging effect mediated by extracts of the edible part of VP was evaluated on an in vitro model of both young and old Normal Human Diploid Fibroblasts (NHDF). Using phase contrast microscopy, we observed that VP may help cells in the maintenance of physiological morphology during aging. Cytofluorimetric analyses revealed that VP extracts led to an increase in DNA synthesis and percentage of living cells, linked to a consequent increase in mitotic events. This hypothesis is supported by the enhancement of PCNA expression levels observed in old, treated fibroblasts, corroborating the idea that this extract could recover a young phenotype in adult fibroblasts, confirmed by the study of p16 and p53 expression levels and TEM analyses. Based on these results, we may suppose that VP can lead to the partial recovery of "young-like" phenotypes in old fibroblasts.
Assuntos
Ácido Ascórbico , Capsicum , Proliferação de Células , Senescência Celular , Fibroblastos , Extratos Vegetais , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53 , Humanos , Fibroblastos/efeitos dos fármacos , Fibroblastos/metabolismo , Capsicum/química , Senescência Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Extratos Vegetais/farmacologia , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Ácido Ascórbico/farmacologia , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/metabolismo , Antígeno Nuclear de Célula em Proliferação/metabolismo , Inibidor p16 de Quinase Dependente de Ciclina/metabolismo , Envelhecimento/fisiologia , Antioxidantes/farmacologia , Diploide , Células Cultivadas , ItáliaRESUMO
The effects of ferrocene (Fc) and ferrocenium (Fc+) induced in triple negative human breast cancer MCF-7 cells were explored by immunofluorescence, flow cytometry, and transmission electron microscopy analysis. The different abilities of Fc and Fc+ to produce reactive oxygen species and induce oxidative stress were clearly observed by activating apoptosis and morphological changes after treatment, but also after tests performed on the model organism D. discoideum, particularly in the case of Fc+. The induction of ferroptosis, an iron-dependent form of regulated cell death driven by an overload of lipid peroxides in cellular membranes, occurred after 2 h of treatment with Fc+ but not Fc. However, the more stable Fc showed its effects by activating necroptosis after a longer-lasting treatment. The differences observed in terms of cell death mechanisms and timing may be due to rapid interconversion between the two oxidative forms of internalized iron species (from Fe2+ to Fe3+ and vice versa). Potential limitations include the fact that iron metabolism and mitophagy have not been investigated. However, the ability of both Fc and Fc+ to trigger different and interregulated types of cell death makes them suitable to potentially overcome the shortcomings of traditional apoptosis-mediated anticancer therapies.
Assuntos
Neoplasias da Mama , Humanos , Feminino , Neoplasias da Mama/tratamento farmacológico , Células MCF-7 , Metalocenos/farmacologia , Apoptose/fisiologia , Ferro/metabolismo , Espécies Reativas de Oxigênio/metabolismoRESUMO
Malignant primary brain tumors remain among the most difficult cancers to treat, in particular, Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is the deadliest brain tumor. The standard therapies currently used are not efficient enough in improving patients' survival and quality of life. Cisplatin (CDDP), a platinum-based drug, has shown efficacy against different solid neoplasms, but it is also associated to different forms of off-target toxicity. To overcome the limitation in the use of CDDP in the treatment of GBM patients, fourth generation platinum compounds are been synthesized, one of them is the Pt(IV)Ac-POA, a prodrug with a medium-chain fatty acid as axial ligand, which acts as a histone 3 deacetylase inhibitor. Moreover, recently, the antioxidant effects of medicinal mushrooms have been shown to induce a lowering of the toxicity of chemotherapy drugs, inducing greater therapeutic efficiency, thus the combined therapy of chemotherapy and micotherapy could be helpful in the treatment of GBM reducing the adverse effects of the former thanks to phytotherapy's antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and antitumoral activities. Here, through immunoblotting, ultrastructural and immunofluorescence analysis, we evaluated the contribution in the activation of different cell death pathway of Micotherapy U-Care, a medicinal blend supplement, used together with platinum-based compounds on human glioblastoma U251 cells.
Assuntos
Antineoplásicos , Neoplasias Encefálicas , Glioblastoma , Humanos , Glioblastoma/tratamento farmacológico , Glioblastoma/genética , Apoptose , Qualidade de Vida , Morte Celular , Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , Cisplatino/farmacologia , Cisplatino/uso terapêutico , Neoplasias Encefálicas/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Encefálicas/patologia , Antineoplásicos Alquilantes/uso terapêutico , Inibidores de Histona Desacetilases/farmacologia , Linhagem Celular TumoralRESUMO
In the present study, the potential functional properties of the extracts from the edible part of Capsicum annuum L. var. Peperone di Voghera (VP) were studied. The phytochemical analysis revealed a high amount of ascorbic acid, paralleled by a low carotenoid content. Normal human diploid fibroblasts (NHDF) were chosen as the in vitro model models to investigate the effects of the VP extract on oxidative stress and aging pathways. The extract of Carmagnola pepper (CP), another important Italian variety, was used as the reference vegetable. The cytotoxicity evaluation was performed firstly, using a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, while the VP potential antioxidant and antiaging activity was investigated by immunofluorescence staining focusing on specifically selected proteins. The MTT data revealed the highest cell viability at a concentration of up to 1 mg/mL. The immunocytochemical analyses highlighted an increased expression of transcription factors and enzymes involved in redox homeostasis (Nrf2, SOD2, catalase), improved mitochondrial functionality, and the up-regulation of the longevity gene SIRT1. The present results supported the functional role of the VP pepper ecotype, suggesting a feasible use of its derived products as valuable food supplements.
Assuntos
Capsicum , Humanos , Capsicum/metabolismo , Antioxidantes/metabolismo , Estresse Oxidativo , Extratos Vegetais/metabolismo , EnvelhecimentoRESUMO
Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and mortal primary brain tumor in human. After standard therapies, that include surgical resection followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, it is difficult to completely remove the tumor and the development of relapses and resistance is almost inevitable. The chemotherapy now available also show important side effects, to overcame those limitation, new platinum-based drugs are being synthetized, Pt(IV)Ac-POA, (OC-6-44)-acetate-diamine-chloride(2-(2-propynyl)octanoato)platinum(IV), a prodrug having an Histone-3-DeAcetylase-Inhibitor as axial ligands, is one of them. Moreover, new compounds of plant origin are increasingly seen as potential sources of benefits in oncological treatments. The aim of the study is to investigate the possible contribution of micotherapy in the fight against GBM, its role in the metabolism of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and its synergic effect with a new platinum-based compound, Pt(IV)Ac-POA, on human glioblastoma U251 cells. Through cytofluorimetric and immunofluorescence analysis, the ability of the micotherapy in study to regulate the cell cycle was assessed, and its importance in controlling the cellular redox state was also revealed, opening to the possibility of a new therapy in which micotherapy can support the activity of new chemotherapy while reducing its side effects controlling inflammatory conditions in the microenvironment. Additionally, the combined therapy appeared able to induce regulated form of necrosis, such as ferroptosis, and to hinder the establishment of resistance mechanisms.