Effect of Turkish propolis extracts on proteome of prostate cancer cell line.

BACKGROUND: Propolis is a natural, resinous hive product that has several pharmacological activities. Its composition varies depending on the vegetation, climate, season and environmental conditions of the area from where it was collected. Surface enhanced laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS) is a proteomic approach which has been used in cancer proteomics studies. Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men. It has shown that nutritional supplements rich in polyphenolic compounds such as propolis play a significant role in prostate cancer chemoprevention. The aim of this study is to evaluate if protein expression profile in PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines could be differentiated when incubated with dimethyl sulfoxide and water extracts of Turkish propolis. RESULTS: The antioxidant potentials of dimethyl sulfoxide and water extracts of propolis were found in correlation with the amount of total phenolic compounds of them. Dimethyl sulfoxide and water extracts of propolis of 20 µg/mL reduced the cell viability to 24.5% and 17.7%, respectively. Statistically significant discriminatory peaks between control PC-3 cells and dimethyl sulfoxide extract of propolis-treated PC-3 cells were found to be the proteomic features at m/z 5143, 8703, 12661, 20184 and 32794, detected by CM10 ProteinChip, and the peak at m/z 3772, detected by Q10 ProteinChip. Between control PC-3 cells and water extract of propolis-treated PC-3 cells, statistically significant discriminatory peaks were found to be the proteomic features at m/z 15846, 16052 and 24658, detected by CM10 ProteinChip and the peaks at m/z 10348, 10899 and 11603, detected by Q10 ProteinChip. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that dimethyl sulfoxide and water extracts of Turkish propolis may have anti-proliferative activity through differentiating protein expression profile in PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines along with their antioxidant capacity.

Effects of Turkish pollen and propolis extracts on respiratory burst for K-562 cell lines.

Bee-collected pollen and propolis are apicultural products which are composed of nutritionally valuable substances and contain considerable amounts of polyphenol substances which may act as potent antioxidants. We wanted to show if respiratory burst within a cancer cell lines could be influenced when incubated with pollen and propolis extracts or not. Pollen and propolis extracts at concentrations of 50, 25, 12.5 and 0 mg/ml were prepared by dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). K-562 cell cultures and mononuclear cell (MNC) cultures prepared from a peripheral blood sample to serve as control cells were incubated with extracts for 24 h. Determination of respiratory burst was carried out by intracellular dichlorofluorescein (DCFH) test by using flow-cytometric fluorescence analysis. While about 90% and 66% fluorescence was detected at zero concentrations for both K-562 and MNC cultures, fluorescence positivity decreased (between 3.8% and 11.8%) as concentrations of both propolis and pollen extracts increased for K-562 cell culture, but unchanged (between 20% and 83%) for MNC culture. It was concluded that pollen and propolis extracts inhibit respiratory burst within cancer cell lines probably by their antioxidant potentials.

Is the combined use of insulin resistance indices, including adipokines, more reliable in metabolic syndrome?

BACKGROUND/AIM: To determine the levels of adipokines (leptin, adiponectin, resistin, and visfatin) and the indices of insulin sensitivity/ resistance, and to examine the relationship among them in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study groups included 45 subjects with MetS (31 women/14 men), and 45 sex- and age-matched non-MetS healthy volunteers (31 women/14 men). The levels of adipokines were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: The levels of leptin and visfatin were significantly higher in the MetS than in the non-MetS subjects (P < 0.01). There was no difference in adiponectin levels in subjects with and without MetS (P = 0.052). Similarly, resistin did not show any statistically significant difference. A statistically significant positive correlation ofleptin with insulin levels was observed, while negative correlations of visfatin levels with age, and resistin levels with the ratio of adiponectin to leptin, were found in the MetS (P <0.05). The combination of adipokines, insulin resistance-sensitivity parameters, and MetS criteria parameters gave more significant differences than a single parameter. CONCLUSION: Since the parameters mentioned above might affect, interact with, and/or interfere with each other, the combinations of these parameters might give more reliable results to evaluate the insulin resistance/sensitivity in MetS patients.

The effects of royal jelly on autoimmunity in Graves' disease.

OBJECTIVE: Graves' disease is an organ-specific autoimmune disease with unknown etiology. TSHR Ab plays the most important role for the pathogenesis of Graves' disease. Recently, the role of cytokines for the pathogenesis of Graves' disease has been studied extensively. Royal jelly (RJ) is a creamy product secreted by young nurse worker bees (Apis mellifera), and it is synthesized in the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands. RJ has been reported to have such pharmacological characteristics as antitumor, antibacterial, antihypercholesterolemic, antiallergic, antiinflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties. The major aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of RJ on autoimmunity in peripheral lymphocyte culture and to establish the therapeutic doses. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In the first phase, lymphocyte cell isolation from four voluntary healthy subjects was performed to find the effective concentration of RJ on immunity. Serial dilutions of the RJ were prepared (0-5 mg/mL). All isolated lymphocyte cells were treated with the above diluted samples. MTT test was carried out after incubation of 72 h. In the second phase, six patients with Graves' disease, newly diagnosed by clinical and laboratory methods and admitted to my hospital and untreated were identified. RJ samples of 0 and 4 mg/mL were incubated in a culture medium for 72 h with isolated lymphocytes obtained from the patients. After incubation, MTT test in lymphocyte cell culture, Th1 cytokines IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and IL-12, and Th2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-10 levels by the enzyme amplified sensitivity immunoassay (EASIA) method and TSHR Ab by the radioreceptor method were determined. RESULTS: The concentration causing lymphocytes to proliferate was found to be 4 mg/mL by MTT test after incubation of 72 h in cell culture medium. Of the cytokines produced and secreted from lymphocytes, IFN-gamma increased, whereas, other cytokines decreased in RJ concentration of 4 mg/mL. Significant differences were found only for IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha. IL-4 concentrations were kept near the level of significancy. Of Th1/Th2 ratios, IFN-gamma/IL-4 and IFN-gamma/IL-10 ratios also exhibited significant differences between 0 and 4 mg/mL. RJ treatment in lymphocytes from patients with Graves' disease shifted the Th1/Th2 cytokine ratio to the side of Th1 cytokine. Therefore, RJ using the treatment and establishing a remission of Graves' disease may be effective as an antithyroid drug treatment. TSHR Ab levels of lymphocyte cell culture supernatants treated with RJ showed significant decreases. Also, the result may suggest that RJ may exert an effect similar to an antithyroid drug for decreasing TSHR Ab levels. CONCLUSIONS: RJ may be effective as an immunomodulatory agent in Graves' disease.