Potential Use of Cannabinoids for the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer.

Background: Cannabinoid extracts may have anticancer properties, which can improve cancer treatment outcomes. The aim of this review is to determine the potentially utility of cannabinoids in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Methods: A literature review focused on the biological effects of cannabinoids in cancer treatment, with a focus on pancreatic cancer, was conducted. In vitro and in vivo studies that investigated the effects of cannabinoids in pancreatic cancer were identified and potential mechanisms of action were assessed. Results: Cannabinol receptors have been identified in pancreatic cancer with several studies showing in vitro antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects. The main active substances found in cannabis plants are cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). There effects are predominately mediated through, but not limited to cannabinoid receptor-1, cannabinoid receptor-2, and G-protein-coupled receptor 55 pathways. In vitro studies consistently demonstrated tumor growth-inhibiting effects with CBD, THC, and synthetic derivatives. Synergistic treatment effects have been shown in two studies with the combination of CBD/synthetic cannabinoid receptor ligands and chemotherapy in xenograft and genetically modified spontaneous pancreatic cancer models. There are, however, no clinical studies to date showing treatment benefits in patients with pancreatic cancer. Conclusions: Cannabinoids may be an effective adjunct for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. Data on the anticancer effectiveness of various cannabinoid formulations, treatment dosing, precise mode of action, and clinical studies are lacking.

Molecular identification and phylogenic analysis of Bartonella henselae isolated from Iranian cats based on gltA gene.

One of the most important species of the Bartonella genus is B. henselae that causes a zoonotic infection, cat scratch disease (CSD). The main source of the bacteria is cat and the carrier is Ctenocephalides felis flea. One hundred and forty nail and saliva samples were collected from 70 domestic cats. Positive samples for B. henselae were characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. Sequences of gltA gene were trimmed using BioEdit software and then compared with the sequences of the same gene from B. henselae isolated from cats and humans in GenBank database. Phylogenic tree was constructed using CLC Sequence Viewer software and unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) method. Molecular assessments showed that five samples out of 70 nail samples (7.14%) and one sample out of 70 saliva samples (1.42%) were genetically positive for B. henselae. At least an 87.00% similarity was seen between the gene sequences from the current study and the reference sequences from the GenBank database. Phylogenic analysis has shown that strains isolated in this study were grouped in a different haplo group, compared to other strains. Among the Asian countries, the prevalence of the bacteria in Iran was close to that in Japan and Turkey. In conclusion, findings of this study showed the prevalence of B. henselae in Iranian cats which is important due to its public health issues, especially for the immunocompromised pet owners.

A comparative study of the timecourse of the expression of the thermo­inducible HSP70 gene in clinical and environmental isolates of Aspergillus fumigatus.

The internal environment within animals or humans provides different conditions to invading saprophytic fungal pathogens, requiring the differential regulation of genes in comparison to environmental conditions. Understanding the mechanisms by which pathogens regulate genes within the host may be key in determining pathogen behavior within the host and may additionally facilitate further investigation into novel therapeutic agents. The heat shock protein (HSP)70 gene and its associated proteins have been frequently reported to be among the most highly expressed and dominant proteins present within various locations at physiological temperatures. The present study examined relative gene expression levels of the HSP70 gene in Aspergillus fumigatus isolates from both clinical and environmental origins, at a range of temperature points (20, 30, 37 and 42˚C) over five days, using reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction, comparing with a standard A. fumigatus strain incubated at 25˚C. The results indicated a differential gene expression pattern for the environmental and clinical isolates. During the five days, the HSP70 expression levels in the clinical samples were higher than in the environmental samples. However, the difference in the expression levels between the two groups at 42˚C was reduced. The mean HSP70 expression level over the five incubation days demonstrated a gradual and continual increasing trend by temperature elevation in both groups at 30, 37 and 42˚C, however, at 20˚C both groups demonstrated reduced expression. The temperature shift from 20 to 42˚C resulted in HSP70 induction and up to a 10­ and 8.6­fold change in HSP70 expression levels on the fifth day of incubation in the clinical and environmental groups, respectively. In conclusion, incubation at 37 and 42˚C resulted in the highest expression levels in both experimental groups, with these temperature points important for the induction of HSP70 expression in A. fumigatus.