MATERIALS AND METHODS: MCF-7 cells were plated at a density of 15105 cells/well in 6-well plates. After 24h, cells were treated with a series of concentrations of rapamycin while only adding DMEM medium with PEG for the control regiment and grown at 37oC, 5% CO2 and 95% air for 72h. Trypan blue was used to determine the cell viability and proliferation. Untreated and rapamycin-treated MCF-7 cells were also examined for morphological changes with an inverted-phase contrast microscope. Alteration in cell morphology was ascertained, along with a stage in the cell cycle and proliferation. In addition, cytotoxicity testing was performed using normal mouse breast mammary pads.
RESULTS: Our results clearly showed that rapamycin exhibited inhibitory activity on MCF-7 cell lines. The IC50 value of rapamycin on the MCF-7 cells was determined as 0.4μg/ml (p<0.05). Direct observation by inverted microscopy demonstrated that the MCF-7 cells treated with rapamycin showed characteristic features of apoptosis including cell shrinkage, vascularization and autophagy. Cells underwent early apoptosis up to 24% after 72h. Analysis of the cell cycle showed an increase in the G0G1 phase cell population and a corresponding decrease in the S and G2M phase populations, from 81.5% to 91.3% and 17.3% to 7.9%, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that rapamycin may potentially act as an anti-cancer agent via the inhibition of growth with some morphological changes of the MCF-7 cancer cells, arrest cell cycle progression at G0/G1 phase and induction of apoptosis in late stage of apoptosis. Further studies are needed to further characterize the mode of action of rapamycin as an anti-cancer agent.
METHODS: A ball phantom was scanned using panoramic mode of the Planmeca ProMax 3D Mid CBCT unit (Planmeca, Helsinki, Finland) with standard exposure settings used in clinical practice (60 kV, 2 mA, and maximum FOV). An automated calculator algorithm was developed in MATLAB platform. Two parameters associated with panoramic image distortion such as balls diameter and distance between middle and tenth balls were measured. These automated measurements were compared with manual measurement using the Planmeca Romexis and ImageJ software.
RESULTS: The findings showed smaller deviation in distance difference measurements by proposed automated calculator (ranged 3.83 mm) as compared to manual measurements (ranged 5.00 for Romexis and 5.12 mm for ImageJ software). There was a significant difference (p
METHODS: This study aimed to conduct a 5-year budget impact analysis of the proposed stratified treatment cascade for HCV treatment in Malaysia. A disease progression model that was developed based on model-predicted HCV epidemiology data was used for the analysis, where all HCV patients in scenario A were treated with SOF/DAC for all disease stages while in scenario B, SOF/DAC was used only for non-cirrhotic patients and SOF/VEL was used for the cirrhotic patients. Healthcare costs associated with DAA therapy and disease stage monitoring were included to estimate the downstream cost implications.
RESULTS: The stratified treatment cascade with 109 in Scenario B was found to be cost-saving compared to Scenario A. The cumulative savings for the stratified treatment cascade was USD 1.4 million over 5 years.
DISCUSSION: A stratified treatment cascade with SOF/VEL was expected to be cost-saving and can result in a budget impact reduction in overall healthcare expenditure in Malaysia.
METHODS: The Trypan blue viability assay used to examine cell death. Immunofluorescence assay, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was used to portray the morphology of astrocytes. The hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) staining was performed to confirm hypoxia induced cell death and there was a dramatic expression of HIF-1α displayed in exposed astrocyte cells compared to the control. In molecular level, genes were chosen, such as glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), GFAP, HIF-1α and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and ran the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
RESULTS: Microscope revealed a filamentous and clear nucleus appearance in a control whereas the rupture nuclei with no rigid structure of the cell were found in the 3% oxygen. The control and hypoxia cells were also stained with the annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (annexin V-FITC). Fluorescence microscope reveals astrocyte cells after hypoxia showed higher expression of nuclei but not in control. Merging PI and FITC showed the differences of nuclei expression between the control and hypoxia. In the molecular analysis, there were significant changes of GFAP, HIF-1α and Bcl-2 in hypoxia exposed cells when compared to the control group.
CONCLUSION: Cells that were exposed to hypoxia (3% oxygen for 15 min) clearly showed damage. General view of human hippocampal astrocyte genomic response to hypoxia was obtained.
OBJECTIVE: This study protocol examines the impact of the ecosystem on health literacy among rural communities in protected areas.
METHODS: This study comprises 5 phases. In phase 1, we conduct a systematic review to identify the issue of health literacy in protected areas. In phase 2, we will collect data from stakeholders in a protected area of Pahang National Park and analyze the results using Net-Map analysis. In phase 3, we will conduct a survey among the adult community in Pahang National Park related to health literacy, socioeconomic status, health expenditure, and quality of life. In phase 4, informed by the results of the survey, we will determine suitable intervention programs to improve health literacy through a focus group discussion. Finally, in phase 5, we will conduct a costing analysis to analyze which intervention program is the most cost-effective.
RESULTS: This study was funded by Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) and strategic research partnership grants, and enrollment is ongoing. The first results are expected to be submitted for publication in 2024.
CONCLUSIONS: This is one of the first studies to explore health literacy among rural communities in protected areas and will provide the first insights into the overall level of health literacy in the protected community, potential determinants, and a suitable intervention program with expected cost analysis. The results can be used to promote health literacy in other protected areas and populations.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Registry ISRCTN40626062; http://tinyurl.com/4kjxuwk5.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/51851.
METHODS: Embryonic day 18 (E-18) rat hippocampus neurons were cultured with poly-L-lysine coated glass coverslips. Following optimisation, KA (0.5 μM), a chemoconvulsant agent, was administered at three different time-points (30, 60 and 90 min) to induce seizure in rat hippocampal neuronal cell culture. We examined cell viability, neurite outgrowth density and immunoreactivity of the hippocampus neuron culture by measuring brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), γ-amino butyric acid A (GABAA) subunit α-1 (GABRA1), tyrosine receptor kinase B (TrkB), and inositol trisphosphate receptor (IP3R/IP3) levels.
RESULTS: The results revealed significantly decreased and increased immunoreactivity changes in TrkB (a BDNF receptor) and IP3R, respectively, at 60 min time point.
CONCLUSION: The current findings suggest that TrkB and IP3 could have a neuroprotective role which could be a potential pharmacological target for anti-epilepsy drugs.