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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most frequently found cancer in the world, and it is frequently discovered when it is already far along in its development. About 20% of cases of CRC are metastatic and incurable. There is more and more evidence that colorectal cancer stem cells (CCSCs), which are in charge of tumor growth, recurrence, and resistance to treatment, are what make CRC so different. Because we know more about stem cell biology, we quickly learned about the molecular processes and possible cross-talk between signaling pathways that affect the balance of cells in the gut and cancer. Wnt, Notch, TGF-β, and Hedgehog are examples of signaling pathway members whose genes may change to produce CCSCs. These genes control self-renewal and pluripotency in SCs and then decide the function and phenotype of CCSCs. However, in terms of their ability to create tumors and susceptibility to chemotherapeutic drugs, CSCs differ from normal stem cells and the bulk of tumor cells. This may be the reason for the higher rate of cancer recurrence in patients who underwent both surgery and chemotherapy treatment. Scientists have found that a group of uncontrolled miRNAs related to CCSCs affect stemness properties. These miRNAs control CCSC functions like changing the expression of cell cycle genes, metastasis, and drug resistance mechanisms. CCSC-related miRNAs mostly control signal pathways that are known to be important for CCSC biology. The biomarkers (CD markers and miRNA) for CCSCs and their diagnostic roles are the main topics of this review study.

Abstract Background Salvadora persica is an endangered medicinal plant due to difficulties in its traditional propagation. It is rich in bioactive compounds that possess many pharmaceutical, antimicrobial activities and widely used in folk medicine. The current study aims at in vitro propagation of Salvadora persica and the application of different nanoparticles (NPs) to induce the synthesis of bioactive and secondary metabolites within the plant. The cellular and genetic responses to the application of different NPs were evaluated. Results The impact of nanoparticles NPs (ZnO, SiO2, and Fe3O4) on callus growth of Salvadora persica and the production of its active constituent benzyl isothiocyanate was examined, regarding some oxidative stress markers, antioxidant enzymes, and genetic variabilities. An encouraging impact of 0.5 mg/l ZnO NPs on benzyl isothiocyanate production was shown reaching up to 0.905 mg/g callus fresh weight in comparison to 0.539 mg/g in control callus. This was associated with decreasing hydrogen peroxide content and increasing superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities. The deposition of the NPs on cellular organelles was detected using a transmission microscope. Fifteen Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) primers detected an overall, 79.1% polymorphism among different treatments. A reduction in genomic DNA template stability (GTS) was made and was more pronounced in higher doses of different NPs. Conclusion This study is a stepping stone in developing a productive protocol for in vitro production of benzyl isothiocyanate from Salvadora persica using NPs as a valuable anticancer compound.

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequently diagnosed tumors worldwide with high mortality and morbidity. There is an urgent need for biomarkers to improve the outcomes and early detection of CRC. The sensitivity of traditional CRC tumor markers (carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9)) is not ideal. The levels of leucine-rich-alpha-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1) and stem cell factor (SCF) were evaluated, but the combined value of both markers is unclear. This case-control study included four groups: CRC patients before treatments (n = 22), CRC patients after treatments (n = 26), 20 patients with benign tumor, and 20 healthy subjects. Levels of routine biochemical and hematological markers, traditional tumor markers (CA19.9 and CEA), and candidate markers (LRG1 and SCF) were determined. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis and area receiver-operating characteristic analysis (ROC) were used for evaluation the diagnostic performances of single and combined markers. Results No significance difference in traditional tumor markers CEA, CA 19.9, and neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were found among study groups. SCF, LRG1, and platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in non-treated CRC patients than after treated CRC. The combination between SCF and LRG1 showed highly significant difference in CRC patients compared with benign, healthy subjects, and among CRC groups (treated and non-treated) (p < 0.0001). The highest areas under curve (AUCs) were observed when LRG1 was used as a single predictor for discriminating CRC from healthy (0.87), benign (0.84), and non-treated CRC vs treated CRC (0.82). AUCs were jumped to 0.90, 0.84, and 0.84 when LRG1 and SCF were combined. Conclusion Our study revealed that LRG1 and SCF were potential diagnostic and follow-up markers for CRC.

COVID-19 is a pandemic disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2, which continues to cause global health and economic problems since emerging in China in late 2019. Until now, there are no standard antiviral treatments. Thus, several strategies were adopted to minimize virus transmission, such as social distancing, face covering protection and hand hygiene. Rhamnolipids are glycolipids produced formally by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and as biosurfactants, they were shown to have broad antimicrobial activity. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial activity of rhamnolipids against selected multidrug resistant bacteria and SARS-CoV-2. Rhamnolipids were produced by growing Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain LeS3 in a new medium formulated from chicken carcass soup. The isolated rhamnolipids were characterized for their molecular composition, formulated into nano-micelles, and the antibacterial activity of the nano-micelles was demonstrated in vitro against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive drug resistant bacteria. In silico studies docking rhamnolipids to structural and non-structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 was also performed. We demonstrated the efficient and specific interaction of rhamnolipids with the active sites of these proteins. Additionally, the computational studies suggested that rhamnolipids have membrane permeability activity. Thus, the obtained results indicate that SARS-CoV-2 could be another target of rhamnolipids and could find utility in the fight against COVID-19, a future perspective to be considered.