MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is an in vitro experimental study. PVF samples were collected from horseshoe crabs from beaches in Malaysia and the crude extract was prepared. DPSCs were treated with different concentrations of PVF crude extract in an 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay (cytotoxicity test). We choose two inhibitory concentrations (IC50 and IC25) and two PVF concentrations which produced more cell viability compared to a negative control (100%) for further tests. Quantitative analysis of the proliferation activity of PVF was studied using the AlamarBlue®assay for 10 days. Population doubling times (PDTs) of the treatment groups were calculated from this assay. Genotoxicity was evaluated based on the CA and Ames tests. Statistical analysis was carried out using independent t test to calculate significant differences in the PDT and mitotic indices in the CA test between the treatment and negative control groups. Significant differences in the data were P<0.05.
RESULTS: A total of four PVF concentrations retrieved from the MTT assay were 26.887 mg/ml (IC50), 14.093 mg/ml (IC25), 0.278 mg/ml (102% cell viability) and 0.019 mg/ml (102.5% cell viability). According to the AlamarBlue®assay, these PVF groups produced comparable proliferation activities compared to the negative (untreated) control. PDTs between PVF groups and the negative control were insignificantly different (P>0.05). No significant aberrations in chromosomes were observed in the PVF groups and the Ames test on the PVF showed the absence of significant positive results.
CONCLUSION: PVF from horseshoe crabs produced insignificant proliferative activity on treated DPSCs. The PVF was non-genotoxic based on the CA and Ames tests.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Anti-cancer activity of a tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) and a tocotrienol-enriched fraction (TEF) isolated from palm oil, as well as pure vitamin E analogues (α-tocopherol, α-, δ- and γ-tocotrienols) were studied using highly aggressive triple negative MDA-MB-231 cells and oestrogen-dependent MCF-7 cells, both of human breast cancer cell lines. Cell population growth was evaluated using a Coulter particle counter. Cell death mechanism, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage and levels of NF-κB were determined using commercial ELISA kits.
RESULTS: Tocotrienols exerted potent anti-proliferative effects on both types of cell by inducing apoptosis, the underlying mechanism of cell death being ascertained using respective IC50 concentrations of all test compounds. There was marked induction of apoptosis in both cell lines by tocotrienols compared to treatment with Paclitaxel, which was used as positive control. This activity was found to be associated with cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (a DNA repair protein), demonstrating involvement of the apoptotic cell death signalling pathway. Tocotrienols also inhibited expression of nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB), which in turn can increase sensitivity of cancer cells to apoptosis.
CONCLUSION: Tocotrienols induced anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects in association with DNA fragmentation, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage and NF-κB inhibition in the two human breast cancer cell lines.
METHODOLOGY: All synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, NMR, Mass and elemental analysis followed by in vitro antimicrobial studies against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus), Gram-negative (Salmonella typhi and Klebsiella pneumoniae) bacterial and fungal (Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger) strains by the tube dilution method. The in vitro anticancer evaluation was carried out against the human colorectal carcinoma cell line (HCT116), using the Sulforhodamine B assay.
RESULTS, DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Compound W6 (MICsa, st, kp = 5.19 µM) emerged as a significant antibacterial agent against all tested bacterial strains i.e. Gram-positive (S. aureus), Gram-negative (S. typhi, K. pneumoniae) while compound W1 (MICca, an = 5.08 µM) was most potent against fungal strains (A. niger and C. albicans) and comparable to fluconazole (MIC = 8.16 µM). The anticancer screening demonstrated that compound W17 (IC50 = 4.12 µM) was most potent amongst the synthesized compounds and also more potent than the standard drug 5-FU (IC50 = 7.69 µM).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The synthesized benzimidazole compounds were evaluated for their antimicrobial activity using the tube dilution method and were found to exhibit good antimicrobial potential against selected Gram negative and positive bacterial and fungal species. The compounds were also assessed for their anticancer activity exhibited using the SRB assay and were found to elicit antiproliferative activity against MCF7 breast cancer cell line, which was comparable to the standard drug.
CONCLUSION: Antimicrobial screening results indicated that compounds 1, 2 and 19 to be promising antimicrobial agents against selected microbial species and comparable to standard drugs which included norfloxacin and fluconazole. The anticancer screening results revealed that compounds, 12, 21, 22 and 29 to show the highest activity against MCF7 and their IC50 values were more potent than 5-fluorouracil.
METHODS: An open web server PharmMapper was used to identify the possible target of the developed compounds through reverse pharmacophore mapping. The results were analyzed and validated through docking with Schrodinger v9.6 using 10 protein GTPase HRas selected as possible target. The docking studies with Schrödinger validated the binding behavior of bis-pyrimidine compounds within GTP binding pocket. MTT and sulforhodamine assay were used as antiproliferative activity.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The protein was found one of the top scored targets of the compound 18, hence, the GTPase HRas protein was found crucial to be targeted for competing cancer. Toxicity study demonstrated the significant selectivity of most active compounds, 12, 16 and 18 showed negligible cell toxicity at their IC50 concentration.
CONCLUSION: From the results, we may conclude that GTPase HRas as a possible target of studied bis-pyrimidine derivatives where the retrieved information may be quite useful for rational drug designing.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The antimicrobial activity was performed against selected fungal and bacterial strains using tube dilution method. The antiproliferative potential was evaluated against human colorectal carcinoma (HCT116) and oestrogen- positive human breast carcinoma (MCF7) cancer cell lines using Sulforhodamine B assay and, results were compared to standard drugs, 5-fluorouracil and tamoxifen, respectively.
CONCLUSION: The performed antimicrobial activity indicated that compounds 3, 5, 6, 8 and 14 showed promising activity against selected microbial species. Antiproliferative screening found compound 14 to be the most potent compound against HCT116 (IC50 = 71.8 µM), whereas Compound 6 was the most potent against MCF7 (IC50 = 74.1 µM). Further, the molecular docking study has been carried to find out the interaction between active oxazole compounds with CDK8 (HCT116) and ER-α (MCF7) proteins indicated that compound 14 and 6 showed good dock score with better potency within the ATP binding pocket and may be used as a lead for rational drug designing of the anticancer molecule.
METHODS: The three variants expressed by bacteria were investigated using substrate (omeprazole and 3- cyano-7-ethoxycoumarin[CEC]) and inhibitor (ketoconazole, fluoxetine, sertraline and loratadine) probes in enzyme assays along with molecular docking.
RESULTS: All alleles exhibited very low enzyme activity and affinity towards omeprazole and CEC (6.1% or less in intrinsic clearance). The inhibition studies with the four inhibitors, however, suggested that mutations in different variants have a tendency to cause enhanced binding (reduced IC50 values). The enhanced binding could partially be explained by the lower polar solvent accessible surface area of the inhibitors relative to the substrates. Molecular docking indicated that G91R, R335Q and F448L, the unique mutations in the alleles, have caused slight alteration in the substrate access channel morphology and a more compact active site cavity hence affecting ligand access and binding. It is likely that these structural alterations in CYP2C19 proteins have caused ligand-specific alteration in catalytic and inhibitory specificities as observed in the in vitro assays.
CONCLUSION: This study indicates that CYP2C19 variant selectivity for ligands was not solely governed by mutation-induced modifications in the active site architecture, but the intrinsic properties of the probe compounds also played a vital role.