•Cr(VI) causes behavioural, histological, immunological changes in fresh water fishes.•Cr(VI) induces formation of micronuclei, binucleated cell and DNA breakage in fish RBC.•It also induces ...endocrine disruption in fish altering action of T3, T4, TSH and cortisol etc.•Chronic exposure of Cr(VI) results in hyperglycemia and hyperlactamia in fishes.•Enzymological activity has been found to be altered due to chronic exposure of Cr(VI).
Chromium is considered as one of the most common ubiquitous pollutants in the aquatic environment, but the pure metallic form is absent naturally. There are three oxidation states in case of Chromium viz., Cr (II), Cr (III), Cr (VI). Among which Cr (II) is most unstable. Cr (III) and Cr (VI) are the stable oxidation state of Chromium in the environment. Being one of the commonly used metals Chromium and its particulates enter the aquatic medium through effluents discharged from different industries like textiles, tanneries, electroplating workshops, ore mining, dyeing, printing-photographic and medical industries. Among these, hexavalent chromium is considered as the most toxic form because it readily passes cellular membranes and then reduced to trivalent form. This trivalent chromium combines with several macromolecules including genetic material inside the cytosol, and is ultimately exposes the toxic and mutagenic alterations due of chromium toxicity. Chromium is taken up either through gastrointestinal tract or respiratory tract. The amount varies depending upon the medium and the form of chromium. In this review, an attempt has been made to accumulate the mammoth available data regarding impact of chromium on fresh water fishes into a systematic representation. The main objective of the review is to provide a future guideline for the scientific community and public officials involved in health risk assessment and management ensuring a better environmental condition for human health.
Environment friendly methods for the synthesis of copper nanoparticles have become a valuable trend in the current scenario. The utilization of phytochemicals from plant extracts has become a unique ...technology for the synthesis of nanoparticles, as they possess dual nature of reducing and capping agents to the nanoparticles. In the present investigation we have synthesized copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) using a rare medicinal plant Cissus arnotiana and evaluated their antibacterial activity against gram negative and gram positive bacteria. The morphology and characterization of the synthesized CuNPs were studied and done using UV-Visible spectroscopy at a wavelength range of 350–380 nm. XRD studies were performed for analyzing the crystalline nature; SEM and TEM for evaluating the spherical shape within the size range of 60–90 nm and AFM was performed to check the surface roughness. The biosynthesized CuNPs showed better antibacterial activity against the gram-negative bacteria, E. coli with an inhibition zone of 22.20 ± 0.16 mm at 75 μg/ml. The antioxidant property observed was comparatively equal with the standard antioxidant agent ascorbic acid at a maximum concentration of 40 μg/ ml. This is the first study reported on C. arnotiana mediated biosynthesis of copper nanoparticles, where we believe that the findings can pave way for a new direction in the field of nanotechnology and nanomedicine where there is a significant potential for antibacterial and antioxidant activities. We predict that, these could lead to an exponential increase in the field of biomedical applications, with the utilization of green synthesized CuNPs, due to its remarkable properties. The highest antibacterial property was observed with gram-negative strains mainly, E. coli, due to its thin peptidoglycan layer and electrostatic interactions between the bacterial cell wall and CuNPs surfaces. Hence, CuNPs can be potent therapeutic agents in several biomedical applications, which are yet to be explored in the near future.
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•To prepare the copper nanoparticles using novel medicinal plant Cissus arnotiana•Characterization of CuNPs by different microscopic techniques•To evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial activity
EndoTAG-1, composed of paclitaxel embedded in liposomal membranes targeting tumor endothelial cells, was evaluated for safety and efficacy in advanced triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
One ...hundred and forty patients were treated with weekly EndoTAG-1 (22 mg/m2) plus paclitaxel (70 mg/m2), twice weekly EndoTAG-1 (2× 44 mg/m2), or weekly paclitaxel (90 mg/m2) for greater than or equal to four cycles (3-week treatment + 1-week rest) or until progression/toxicity. Primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) rate evaluated centrally after four cycles of therapy (week 16). The study was not powered for intergroup comparisons.
The PFS rate at week 16 was 59.1% one-sided 95% CI: 45.6, ∞ on combination treatment, 34.2% 21.6, ∞ on EndoTAG-1, and 48.0% 30.5, ∞ on paclitaxel. Median PFS reached 4.2, 3.4, and 3.7 months, respectively. After complete treatment (week 41 analysis), median overall survival (OS) was 13.0, 11.9, and 13.1 months for the modified Intention-to-Treat (ITT) population and 15.1, 12.5, and 8.9 months for the per-protocol population, respectively. The clinical benefit rate was 53%, 31%, and 36% for the treatment groups. Safety analysis revealed known toxicities of the drugs with slight increases of grade 3/4 neutropenia on combination therapy.
Treatment of advanced TNBC with a combination of EndoTAG-1 and standard paclitaxel Taxol® (Bristol-Myers Squibb GmbH), or equivalent generic formulation was well tolerated and showed antitumor efficacy. The positive trend needs to be confirmed in a randomized phase III trial.
European Clinical Trials Database: EudraCT number 2006-002221-23. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00448305.
Abstract
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) conducts fast neutron personnel monitoring service to radiation workers involved in reactors, accelerators, spent fuel processing plants, oil-well ...industries, etc., using CR-39 detector based dosemeter. In this study, performance of the BARC fast neutron personnel dosemeter has been checked through EURADOS intercomparison exercise for simulated workplace neutron fields. The overall performance of the dosemeter in the lower dose equivalent (≤ 5 mSv) was found to be acceptable as per ISO-14146. The performance (ratio of estimated to reference dose equivalent) of the dosemeter in the higher dose equivalent (12 mSv) was found to be in the range of 0.48–0.44 and not satisfactory as per the ISO-14146 criteria for any dosimetry service. Based on this performance, a new imaging system was developed and performance of the dosemeters were improved and found to be acceptable (within ±20%) as per ISO.
In many ways, cancer cells are different from healthy cells. A lot of tactical nano-based drug delivery systems are based on the difference between cancer and healthy cells. Currently, ...nanotechnology-based delivery systems are the most promising tool to deliver DNA-based products to cancer cells. This review aims to highlight the latest development in the lipids and polymeric nanocarrier for siRNA delivery to the cancer cells. It also provides the necessary information about siRNA development and its mechanism of action. Overall, this review gives us a clear picture of lipid and polymer-based drug delivery systems, which in the future could form the base to translate the basic siRNA biology into siRNA-based cancer therapies.
The latest development in the lipids and polymeric nanocarrier for siRNA delivery to the cancer cells were highlighted. It also provides the necessary information about siRNA development and its mechanism of action. Display omitted
Piceatannol (PIC) is known to have anticancer activity, which has been attributed to its ability to block the proliferation of cancer cells via suppression of the NF-kB signaling pathway. However, ...its effect on hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is not well known in cancer. In this study, PIC was loaded into bovine serum albumin (BSA) by desolvation method as PIC-BSA nanoparticles (NPs). These PIC-BSA nanoparticles were assessed for in vitro cytotoxicity, migration, invasion, and colony formation studies and levels of p65 and HIF-1α. Our results indicate that PIC-BSA NPs were more effective in downregulating the expression of nuclear p65 and HIF-1α in colon cancer cells as compared to free PIC. We also observed a significant reduction in inflammation induced by chemical colitis in mice by PIC-BSA NPs. Furthermore, a significant reduction in tumor size and number of colon tumors was also observed in the murine model of colitis-associated colorectal cancer, when treated with PIC-BSA NPs as compared to free PIC. The overall results indicate that PIC, when formulated as PIC-BSA NPs, enhances its therpautice potential. Our work could prompt further research in using natural anticancer agents as nanoparticels with possiable human clinical trails. This could lead to the development of a new line of safe and effective therapeutics for cancer patients.
The target of rapamycin (TOR) protein regulates growth and development in photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic eukaryotes. Although the TOR regulatory networks are involved in nutrient and energy ...signalling, and transcriptional and translational control of multiple signalling pathways, the molecular mechanism of TOR regulation of plant abiotic stress responses is still unclear. The TOR-mediated transcriptional regulation of genes encoding ribosomal proteins (RP) is a necessity under stress conditions for balanced growth and productivity in plants. The activation of SnRKs (sucrose non-fermenting-related kinases) and the inactivation of TOR signalling in abiotic stresses is in line with the accumulation of ABA and transcriptional activation of stress responsive genes. Autophagy is induced under abiotic stress conditions, which results in degradation of proteins and the release of amino acids, which might possibly induce phosphorylation of TOR and, hence, its activation. TOR signalling also has a role in regulating ABA biosynthesis for transcriptional regulation of stress-related genes. The switch between activation and inactivation of TOR by its phosphorylation and de-phosphorylation maintains balanced growth in response to stresses. In the present review, we discuss the important signalling pathways that are regulated by TOR and try to assess the relationship between TOR signalling and tolerance to abiotic stresses in plants. The review also discusses possible cross-talk between TOR and RP genes in response to abiotic stresses.
Advanced innovations for combating variants of aggressive breast cancer and overcoming drug resistance are desired. In cancer treatment, ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) have the capacity to specifically and ...compellingly activate apoptosis of cancer cells. There is also a pressing need to develop innovative anti-cancer therapeutics, and recent research suggests that ZnO nanoparticles hold great potential. Here, the
chemical effectiveness of ZnO NPs has been tested. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were synthesized using
(L.) Schrad by green methods approach. The generated ZnO was observed to have a hexagonal wurtzite crystal arrangement. The generated nanomaterials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-visible spectroscopy. The crystallinity of ZnO was reported to be in the range 50-60 nm. The NPs morphology showed a strong absorbance at 374 nm with an estimated gap band of 3.20 eV to 3.32 eV. Microscopy analysis proved the morphology and distribution of the generated nanoparticles to be around 50 nm, with the elemental studies showing the elemental composition of ZnO and further confirming the purity of ZnO NPs. The cytotoxic effect of ZnO NPs was evaluated against wild-type and doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines. The results showed the ability of ZnO NPs to inhibit the prefoliation of MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 prefoliation through the induction of apoptosis without significant differences in both wild-type and resistance to doxorubicin.
Angiogenesis and metastasis play pivotal roles in the progression of cancer. We recently discovered that crocin, a dietary carotenoid derived from the Himalayan crocus, inhibited the growth of colon ...cancer cells. However, the exact role of crocin on the angiogenesis and metastasis in colorectal cancer remains unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated that crocin significantly reduces the viability of colon cancer cells (HT-29, Caco-2) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC), but was not toxic to human colon epithelial (HCEC) cells. Furthermore, pre-treatment of human carcinoma cells (HT-29 and Caco-2) with crocin inhibited cell migration, invasion, and angiogenesis in concentration -dependent manner. Further studies demonstrated that crocin inhibited TNF-α, NF-κB and VEGF pathways in colon carcinoma cell angiogenesis and metastasis. Crocin also inhibited cell migration, invasion, and tube formation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in a concentration -dependent manner. We also observed that crocin significantly reduced the secretion of VEGF and TNF-α induced activation of NF-kB by human colon carcinoma cells. In the absence of TNF-α, a concentration-dependent reduction in NF-kB was observed. Many of these observations were confirmed by in vivo angiogenesis models, which showed that crocin significantly reduced the progression of tumour growth. Collectively, these finding suggest that crocin inhibits angiogenesis and colorectal cancer cell metastasis by targeting NF-kB and blocking TNF-α/NF-κB/VEGF pathways.
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