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Crude ethanol extracts (CEE) of purple rice was fractionated to obtain hexane soluble (HSF) and ethyl acetate soluble fractions (EASF). Total antioxidant capacity was higher in CEE than the HSF and EASF. However, HSF exhibited strong antiproliferation and apoptosis induction against colon cancer cell lines, both p53 wild-type (RKO) and mutant (SW620) strains. Then, the CEE was used to determine the effects on the progression of aberrant crypt foci (ACF), a preneoplastic lesion seen in colon carcinogenesis in rats. Male Wistar rats were subcutaneously injected of 40 mg/kg body weight dimethylhydrazin (DMH) once weekly for 2 wk. After 2 wk, rats were orally administered ethanol extract at 100 and 1000 mg/kg body weight, for 4 wk. Rats fed with only the high dose of CEE had significantly decreased numbers of ACF per rat (45.56%) and crypt multiplicity (AC/focus) (16.67%) compared to rats that received DMH alone. The result also demonstrated that CEE induced apoptosis in colonic epithelium cells of rat received colon carcinogen as detected the increasing of caspase-3 activity. This finding could be concluded that purple rice extracts inhibited aberrant colonic epithelial cell progression via apoptosis induction. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Antioxidant ellagic acid is a herbal polyphenolic compound shown to possess growth-inhibiting and apoptotic activities in cancer. Protein kinase C (PKC) plays an important role in cell proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation. Apoptosis of tumor cells is induced by inactivation of glycolytic enzyme of anaerobic metabolism, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)-A, and by activating apoptotic protein caspase-3 via PKCδ. The present study aims to analyze the role of ellagic acid on regulation of novel and atypical isozymes of PKC to modulate apoptosis and anaerobic metabolism to prevent lymphoma growth as its role on classical PKCs is reported earlier. Expression of novel and atypical isozymes of PKC, activity of PKCδ, expression and activity of caspase-3, and LDH-A have been analyzed. Expression is measured by RT-PCR, activities of PKCδ as level of its catalytic fragment, caspase-3 as level of its p17 fragment, and LDH-A by specific staining. Lymphoma bearing mice were treated with 3 different doses of ellagic acid. The treatment enhanced expression of all novel and atypical PKCs, activity and expression of caspase-3, and activity of PKCδ but decreased activity and expression of LDH-A. Our results suggest that ellagic acid induces apoptosis via novel and atypical PKCs in association with caspase-3 and induces cancer cell death by blocking the energy metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A functional circadian clock has long been considered a selective advantage. Accumulating evidence shows that the clock coordinates a variety of physiological processes in order to schedule them to the optimal time of day and thus to synchronize metabolism to changes in external conditions. In mitochondria, both metabolic and cellular defense mechanisms are carefully regulated. Abnormal clock function, might influence mitochondrial function, resulting in decreased fitness of an organism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apoptosis is a physiological process that controls tissue homeostasis, in combination with survival signals delivered by distinct receptors that bind hormones, growth factors or extracellular matrix components. The extrinsic pathway of apoptosis is due to the triggering of death receptors and the activation of the caspase cascade; the intrinsic pathway is due to withdrawal of growth factors and mainly related to mitochondrial metabolism. The choice between survival or apoptosis, which is the result of such different integrated environmental signals, is crucial for the maintainance of bone marrow reservoir of hematopoietic precursors (HPC). CD34  +  HPC can receive multiple survival signals during homing and maturation, due to different interactions with adhesion molecules expressed on endothelial and bone marrow stromal cells, proteins of the extracellular matrix and chemokines or growth factors. Among them, the signal delivered via platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) seems to contribute to the resistance of this cell population to starvation, and it is related to the maintainance of mitochondrial metabolism. Indeed, this molecule, originally described as an adhesion receptor belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily, capable of homophilic and heterophilic interactions, turned out to be a signalling molecule, containing an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIM) within its cytoplasmic domain. In particular, it has been shown that PECAM-1 binds to different kinases and phosphatases, including the phosphatidylinositide-3-kinase that phosphorylates Akt, which, in turn can upregulate transcription and function of antiapoptotic proteins, such as Bcl-2 and Bcl-x or A1, responsible for the rescue from mitochondrial apoptosis. The possible role of PECAM-1 engagement in the prevention of starvation-induced apoptosis of HPC precursors and in the maintainance of their survival is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]