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Human dental pulp stem cells (HDPSCs) have great potential to be used in regenerative medicine. To use these stem cells effectively for this purpose, they should be grown in a 3D cell culture that mimics their natural niches instead of a 2D conventional cell culture. The aim of this study was to grow the HDPSCs in the 3D cell culture created by Transglutaminase-crosslinked collagen hydrogels (Col-Tgel) in two different strengths to find a suitable 3D cell culture environment for these stem cells. Two stiffness of the 3D Col-Tgel were used to grow the HDPSCs: soft and medium matrix with strength of 0.9–1.5 kPa and 14–20 kPa, respectively. HDPSCs express markers similar to MSCs, therefore seven such markers were analyzed in the HDPSCs during their growth in the 2D and in the 3D soft and medium Col-Tgel. The CD105 and CD90 markers were significantly (p < 0.05) downregulated in HDPSCs cultured in both 3D cell culture conditions compared with HDPSCs in 2D cell culture. Furthermore, CD34 marker, a negative marker, expressed by a few cells in HDPSCs culture was upregulated (p < 0.05) in HDPSCs cultured in medium 3D Col-Tgel, indicating cells that expressing the marker grow better in medium 3D Col-Tgel. The apoptosis results revealed that HDPSCs in medium 3D Col-Tgel had the least number of live cells and a significantly (p < 0.05) higher early apoptosis rate compared to HDPSCs in 2D and 3D Col-Tgel medium. MTT analysis also showed a significant difference among the three cell culture conditions. We conclude that HDPSCs cultured on 3D soft Col-Tgel showed better proliferation than cells cultured in 3D medium gel. These results demonstrate that the ideal environment to grow HDPSCs in 3D is the soft Col-Tgel not medium Col-Tgel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous study revealed that the treatment of 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine (5-aza) inhibited while treatment of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) enhanced the adipogenic differentiation of MG-63 cells. In this study, we examined the transcriptomic profiles of the derived adipocyte-like cells from MG-63 cells in the presence of 5-aza (Treatment 1) and SAHA (Treatment 2). Genome wide expression analysis showed high within sample variability for the adipocytes derived with 5-aza versus vehicle. Additionally, the expression profile of 5-aza derived cells was separated from the other sample groups. Differential analysis on the pairwise comparison of 5-aza versus control and SAHA versus 5-aza identified 1290 and 1086 differentially expressed (DE) genes, respectively. Furthermore, some overlap was observed between the up and down-regulated DE genes of 5-aza versus control and SAHA versus control (jaccard score 0.3) as well as between the differentially regulated genes of 5-aza versus control and 5-aza versus SAHA (jaccard score 0.29). A total of 73 transcription factors (TFs) were differentially expressed across all the pair wise comparisons with some overlap between the under and over expressed TFs of 5-aza versus control and 5-aza versus SAHA (jaccard score 0.29). Unsupervised clustering of TFs showed that the samples within the group are consistent in expression and the samples cluster in accordance with the group. Several GO terms related to enhanced adipogenesis such as neutral lipid biosynthetic process, lipid metabolic processes, cellular amide metabolic processes and cellular carbohydrate metabolic processes were enriched in the down regulated genes of 5-aza derived adipocytes versus control, indicating 5-aza inhibit the adipogenic differentiation of MG-63 cells. GSEA analysis on selected gene sets of MAPK and PI3K signaling pathway in MSigDB identified the pathways were up-regulated in 5-aza versus control. This study revealed that inhibition of MG-63 adipogenesis due to 5-aza treatment is associated with large transcriptomics changes and further research is needed to unravel the roles of these genes in the adipogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plants extracts are widely used in traditional medicines and hence considered a potential source for drug discovery. In this study, we assessed the phytochemical composition of Asplenium dalhousiae and Asplenium polypodioides in acetone extracts and checked its antiproliferative potential in MDA-MB-231 cells. We found that both plants are rich in phenolic and flavonoid compounds and are efficient in antioxidant activities. The total phenolic compounds in A. dalhousiae were 44.15 ± 1.38 µg/mg whereas in A. polypodioides were 27.73 ± 1.35 µg/mg. Total flavonoids in A. dalhousiae were 105.39 ± 2.92 µg/mg whereas in A. polypodioides were 101.56 ± 1.75 µg/mg. The ferric reducing power assay indicates 66.38 ± 2.6% reduction by A. dalhousiae whereas 78.43 ± 0.47% reduction by A. polypodioides. Similarly, the total antioxidant capacity of A. dalhousiae was found to be 59.95 ± 1.13 whereas for A. polypodioides the recorded value was 33.03 ± 1.67%. Using GCMS analysis, we identified 25 compounds in A. dalhousiae whereas 26 in A. polypodioides. Four of these compounds are common in both plants. The morphological study and MTT assay revealed that both plants have antiproliferative potential as both plants exerted significant effects on the shape of the MDA-MB-231 cells and inhibited cellular proliferation in time and dose dependent manner. We conclude that both Asplenium plants have potential anticancer compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ficus latex is rich in polyphenolic compounds and hence considered as an antioxidant and anti-proliferative. Many studies are available on Ficus carica (common fig) whereas Ficus salicifolia is less studied. F. salicifolia grows in a harsh dry environment, therefore its latex was selected in the current study along with the F. carica for their comparative anti-cancer potential and the involved molecular mechanism. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) derived MDA-MB-231 cells were used in the study. MTT and morphological studies indicated that the latex of both plants has anti-proliferative effects. To know their anti-metastatic effects, a wound-healing assay was performed. Both species were able to maintain the wound size compared to the untreated cells indicating their anti-metastatic effects. Using a DNA damage assay kit, we found that both fig species have genotoxic and cytotoxic effects in MDA-MB-231 cells compared to the untreated control. To know the potential molecular mechanism involved, we used a human kinase array kit. We found that ERK2, CREB, and AKT2 were downregulated after treatment the MDA-Mb-231 cells with the latex of F. carica. We assumed that F. salicifolia will also affect the same pathways, however after confirmation through real-time (RT)-PCR, downregulations of the above mentioned pathways were confirmed in cells treated with F. carica latex, however, in cells treated with F. salicifolia the selected genes were upregulated at the transcriptional level. We conclude that latex of both species of ficus have anti-cancer effects in MDA-MB-231 cells, however differ in their level of toxicity and the mechanism of action at the molecular level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important fruit crop with significant pharmaceutical potential. Little data are available on comparative pharmaceutical importance of the date pits. We designed this study to assess the antitumorigenic effects of date palm pits extracts from different Emiratis varieties. We used MDA-MB-231 cells derived from triple negative breasts cancer tissues as a model. We found that out of the 17 date pits extracts from 6 Emiratis varieties, three (Khalas extract in water + acetone (1:1), Abu-Maan extract in MeOH + Chloroform (1:1) and Mabroom extract in water + acetone (1:1)) were found effectively cytotoxic and changed morphology of cells in dose and time dependent manner. We found the maximum effect at 2.5 mg/mL concentration at 72 h. We calculated IC50 values for these varieties at 24 h. IC50 values for Khalas, Abu-Maan and Mabroom were 0.982 mg/mL, 1.149 mg/mL and 2.213 mg/mL respectively. We treated the cells with IC50 values of extracts and observed changes in protein profile using human kinase array kit. After analyzing the results, we suggest that EGFR/ERK/FAK pathway, eNOS and src family proteins are targets of these extracts. We conclude that date pits extracts can be a possible therapeutic agent against cancer and we suggest further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An indigenously isolated white rot fungus, Schizophyllum commune IBL-06 was used to decolorize Solar brilliant red 80 direct dye in Kirk’s basal salts medium. In initial screening study, the maximum decolorization (84.8%) of Solar brilliant red 80 was achieved in 7days shaking incubation period at pH 4.5 and 30°C. Different physical and nutritional factors including pH, temperature and fungal inoculum density were statistically optimized through Completely Randomized Design (CRD), to enhance the efficiency of S. commune IBL-06 for maximum decolorization of Solar brilliant red 80 dye. The effects of inexpensive carbon and nitrogen sources were also investigated. Percent dye decolorization was determined by a reduction in optical density at the wavelength of maximum absorbance (λ max, 590nm). Under optimum conditions, the S. commune IBL-06 completely decolorized (100%) the Solar brilliant red 80 dye using maltose and ammonium sulfate as inexpensive carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively in 3days. S. commune IBL-06 produced the three major ligninolytic enzymes lignin peroxidase (LiP), manganase peroxidase (MnP) and lacaase (Lac) during the decolorization of Solar brilliant red 80. LiP was the major enzyme (944U/mL) secreted by S. commune IBL-06 along with comparatively lower activities of MnP and Laccase. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]