• Bojsen Vick posted an update 6 hours, 55 minutes ago

    Cancer or uncontrolled cell proliferation is a major health issue worldwide and is the second leading cause of deaths globally. The high mortality rate and toxicity associated with cancer chemotherapy or radiation therapy have encouraged the investigation of complementary and alternative treatment methods, such as plant-based drugs. Moreover, over 60% of the anti-cancer drugs are molecules derived from plants or their synthetic derivatives. Therefore, in the present review, an attempt has been made to summarize the cytotoxic plants available in the Indian subcontinent along with a description of their bio-active components. The review covers 99 plants of 57 families as well as over 110 isolated bioactive cytotoxic compounds, amongst which at least 20 are new compounds. Among the reported phytoconstituents, artemisinin, lupeol, curcumin, and quercetin are under clinical trials, while brazilin, catechin, ursolic acid, β-sitosterol, and myricetin are under pharmacokinetic development. However, for the remaining compounds, there is little or no information available. Therefore, further investigations are warranted on these subcontinent medicinal plants as an important source of novel cytotoxic agents.In the present study, we investigated the removal of an emerging pesticide lindane from aqueous solution using synthesized aluminum hydroxide Al(OH)3 (bayerite) nanomaterials with surface modification by an anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The Al(OH)3 nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and zeta potential. The lindane removal using SDS-modified nano-aluminum hydroxide nanoparticles (SMNAH) achieved removal of up to 93.68%, which was 3.3 times higher than that of nano-aluminum hydroxide nanoparticles. The adsorptive removal conditions were studied and found to have an adsorption time of 60 min, a pH of 6, an adsorbent dosage of 25 mg/mL and an ionic strength of 10 mM NaCl. After reusing four times, the removal efficiency of lindane using SMNAH still reached 75%. Two-step adsorption can fit adsorption isotherms of lindane onto SMNAH at two salt concentrations. On the basis of the change in zeta potential, surface functional groups and adsorption isotherms, we suggest that the formation of a bilayer micelle induced the removal of lindane.The liver plays a pivotal role in drug handling due to its contribution to the processes of detoxification (phases 0 to 3). In addition, the liver is also an essential organ for the mechanism of action of many families of drugs, such as cholesterol-lowering, antidiabetic, antiviral, anticoagulant, and anticancer agents. Accordingly, the presence of genetic variants affecting a high number of genes expressed in hepatocytes has a critical clinical impact. selleck The present review is not an exhaustive list but a general overview of the most relevant variants of genes involved in detoxification phases. The available information highlights the importance of defining the genomic profile responsible for the hepatic handling of drugs in many ways, such as (i) impaired uptake, (ii) enhanced export, (iii) altered metabolism due to decreased activation of prodrugs or enhanced inactivation of active compounds, and (iv) altered molecular targets located in the liver due to genetic changes or activation/downregulation of alternative/compensatory pathways. In conclusion, the advance in this field of modern pharmacology, which allows one to predict the outcome of the treatments and to develop more effective and selective agents able to overcome the lack of effect associated with the existence of some genetic variants, is required to step forward toward a more personalized medicine.The improper stacking of chromium (Cr) slag poses a great threat to the environment and human health. The toxicity of Cr in soil is not only related to its total amount, but also to its fractions. A simulated experiment was conducted in laboratory to assess the environmental risk of Cr fractions migration and distribution in red soil. The results showed the content of acid-soluble and reducible Cr significantly decreased (P less then 0.05) in top layer but increased in middle and substratum layers over time. This indicated that acid-soluble and reducible Cr migrated downward with time and the relative mobility of acid-soluble Cr (0.038 mg/kg·d·m) was higher than that of reducible Cr (0.028 mg/kg·d·m). Furthermore, correlation analysis between microbial community and chromium fraction showed the relative abundance of Lysobacter, Flavihumibacter, Flavisolbacter, and Altererythrobacter was significantly (P less then 0.05) correlated with acid-soluble and reducible fractions. Thus, these microorganisms might be evaluators to assess the migration of acid-soluble and reducible fractions in red soil. In summary, this study provided a new comprehension on remediation of Cr-contaminated soil by monitoring the migration of acid-soluble and reducible fractions and the changes of related microbial groups.Improvement in pancreatic cancer treatment represents an urgent medical goal that has been hampered by the lack of predictive biomarkers. Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) may be able to overcome this issue by allowing the monitoring of therapeutic response and tumor aggressiveness through ex vivo expansion. The successful expansion of CTCs is challenging, due to their low numbers in blood and the high abundance of blood cells. Here, we explored the utility of pancreatic CTC cultures as a preclinical model for treatment response. CTCs were isolated from ten patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer using the Labyrinth, a biomarker independent, size based, inertial microfluidic separation device. Three patient-derived CTC samples were successfully expanded in adherent and spheroid cultures. Molecular and functional characterization was performed on the expanded CTC lines. CTC lines exhibited KRAS mutations, consistent with pancreatic cancers. Additionally, we evaluated take rate and metastatic potential in vivo and examined the utility of CTC lines for cytotoxicity assays.