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Cancer is a complex and multistage disease that causes suffering worldwide. Several mutations in tumor suppressor proteins are mostly responsible for tumorigenic development. Thus, determination of the mutations and developing a mutation targeted therapy are crucial in order to cure cancer. Moreover, since healthy cells do not have mutations in their tumor suppressor genes, mutation-specific treatment is responsible for selective treatment without harming a healthy tissue in the body. In this current study, lead borate nanoparticles (LB-Np) have been synthesized, and their effects on P53 mutant cancer cells were investigated. The synthesis method includes steps of mixing a borate buffer solution with the lead nitrate solution, washing the resulting precipitate with distilled water and eventually preparing stable LB-Np solutions. Cell viability analysis was conducted to identify the toxicity of LB-Np in HaCaT, A549, MCF7, and T47D cell lines. The changes in morphologies of breast cancer cell lines were demonstrated by using microscopical analysis. Additionally, alterations in gene expressions were determined in breast cancer cell lines after LB-Np treatment. This multidisciplinary study also identified the selective effect of LB-Np in cancer cell lines, in vitro. MTS and quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays demonstrated the effect of LB-Np were specific for p53 mutation cell line, T47D. Breast cancer cell line T47D has 580 C/T mutation which affects the activation of p53 tumor suppressor protein. However, LB-Np treatment effectively killed T47D cell lines and did not affect any other cell lines that have no p53 mutations such as MCF7, A549, and healthy HaCaT. Overall, synthesized LB-Np were found to be effective in p53-mutated cell lines and showed a remarkable selective anti-cancer activity.

Human embryonic stem (ES) cell culture has developed over the years allowing the subtle procedures that are easy to manipulate. Feeder-free ES cell culture is an important milestone for human pluripotent stem cell research which eliminates the feeder cells. Various matrices and medium formulations have been generated for feeder-independent culture. Here we described an mTeSR™1 based feeder-independent human ES cell culture on Matrigel® matrix. Culture, freeze/thaw, passaging and initiation of differentiation in suspension culture were described.

Mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) were first derived and cultured nearly 30 years ago and have been beneficial tools to create transgenic mice and to study early mammalian development so far. Fibroblast feeder cell layers are often used at some stage in the culture protocol of mESCs. The feeder layer-often mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs)-contribute to the mESC culture as a substrate to increase culture efficiency, maintain pluripotency, and facilitate survival and growth of the stem cells. Various feeder-dependent and feeder-independent culture and differentiation protocols have been established for mESCs. Here we describe the isolation, culture, and preparation feeder cell layers and establishment of feeder-dependent/independent protocol for mESC culture. In addition, basic mESC protocols for culture, storage, and differentiation were described.

Improvements in stem cell-based research and genetic modification tools enable stem cell-based tissue regeneration applications in clinical therapies. Although inadequate cell numbers in culture, invasive isolation procedures, and poor survival rates after transplantation remain as major challenges, cell-based therapies are useful tools for tissue regeneration.Organoids hold a great promise for tissue regeneration, organ and disease modeling, drug testing, development, and genetic profiling studies. Establishment of 3D cell culture systems eliminates the disadvantages of 2D models in terms of cell adaptation and tissue structure and function. Organoids possess the capacity to mimic the specific features of tissue architecture, cell-type composition, and the functionality of real organs while preserving the advantages of simplified and easily accessible cell culture models. Thus, organoid technology might emerge as an alternative to cell and tissue transplantation. Although transplantation of various organoids in animal models has been demonstrated, lioitations related to vascularized structure formation, cell viability and functionality remain as obstacles in organoid-based transplantation therapies. Clinical applications of organoid-based transplantations might be possible in the near future, when limitations related to cell viability and tissue integration are solved. In this review, the literature was analyzed and discussed to explore the current status of organoid-based transplantation studies.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis regulates stress response in the body and abnormal increase in oxidative stress contributes to the various disease pathogenesis. Although hypothalamic distribution of Apelin receptor (APLNR) has been studied, the potential regulatory role in hormone releasing function of hypothalamus in response to stress is not well elucidated yet. To determine whether APLNR is involved in the protection of the hypothalamus against oxidative stress, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) cells were used as an in vitro model system. GT1-7 mouse hypothalamic neuronal cell line was subjected to H2O2 and hypoxia induced oxidative stress under various circumstances including APLNR overexpression, knockdown and knockout. Overexpression and activation of APLNR in GnRH producing neurons caused an increase in cell proliferation under oxidative stress. In addition, blockage of APLNR function by siRNA reduced GnRH release. Activation of APLNR initiated AKT kinase pathway as a proliferative response against hypoxic culture conditions and blocked apoptosis. Although expression and activation of APLNR have not been related to GnRH neuron differentiation during development, positive contribution of activated APLNR signaling to GnRH release in mouse embryonic stem cell derived GnRH neurons was observed in the present study. Sustained overexpression and complete deletion of APLNR in mouse embryonic stem cell derived GnRH neurons reduced GnRH release in vitro. The present findings suggest that expression and activation of APLNR in GnRH releasing GT1-7 neurons might induce a protective mechanism against oxidative stress induced cell death and APLNR signaling may play a role in GnRH neurons.

Through the process of cryopreservation, cells are stored at very low temperature for a long time to decrease the biological and chemical reactions in viable cells. In this process, the administration of cryoprotective agents is crucial since cryopreservation is regarded as a leading process in various research fields such as biotechnology, clinical medicine and maintenance of both animal and plant cells. Even after a long time of storage in very low temperatures, a recovery is achieved by cryo-preservative agents that act on cellular metabolism and biophysiology of cells. In the current study, the effect of boron on cryopreservation of human lung cancer cell line, A549, and murine fibroblast cell line, L929, was investigated with the help of cell viability assay, colony forming unit assay and RT-PCR analysis. 15 µg/ml boron supplemented freezing medium was found to indicate a positive effect on cell viability. Moreover, gene expression profiles of A549 and L929 cell lines have been altered. The levels of apoptosis related genes decreased while proliferation related gene levels increased significantly after repeated freeze-thaw cycles or long period of freezing. As indicated through our results, sodium pentaborate pentahydrate, as a boron source, might be a crucial cryoprotective agent for cryo-protection and bio-banking of cancer and healthy cells while keeping their viability and functionality., Canlı hücrelerin uzun süre boyunca çok düşük sıcaklıklarda saklanması işlemi kriyo-korunma olarak adlandırılır. Kriyo-koruma işlemi biyoteknoloji, klinik çalışmalar ve hayvan veya bitki hücreleriyle ilgili birçok çalışmada çok önemli bir rol oynadığından dolayı, kriyo-korumada kullanılan ajanların araştırılması son derece mühimdir. Kriyo- koruma ajanları, hücresel metabolizma ve biyofizyoloji üzerindeki etkileri nedeniyle uzun süreli kriyo-korumanın ardından hücresel canlılığın korunmasını sağlarlar. Mevcut çalışmada; hücre canlılık testi, koloni oluşturma testi ve gerçek zamanlı polimeraz zincir reaksiyonu tekniklerinden yararlanılarak, borun kriyo-koruma üzerindeki etkisi, insan akciğer kanser hücre hattı, A549 ve fare fibroblast hücre hattı, L929 kullanılarak araştırılmıştır. Hücre dondurma ortamını 15 µg/ml bor ile desteklemenin hücre canlılığı üzerine olumlu etki ettiği gözlemlenmiştir. Ayrıca, tekrar eden dondurma - çözme döngüleri ve uzun süreli kriyo-koruma sonucunda, gen anlatım profilleri değişen A549 ve L929 hücre hatlarının, bor takviyesi sonrasında, programlı hücre ölümüyle alakalı genlerinin anlatımında azalma, hücre çoğalması ile ilgili genlerinde de artış gözlemlenmiştir. Sonuçlarımız göstermiştir ki bor kaynağı olarak sodium pentaborat pentahidrat, kanser veya sağlıklı hücrelerin canlılıklarını kaybetmeksizin dondurulmalarını ve hücrelerin uzun süreli saklanmaları için son derece önemli bir kriyo-koruyucu ajan olarak kullanılabilir.

Novel thiourea (5a, 5b) and thiazolidinone derivatives (6a, 6b) were synthesized by hybridizing molecules starting from the compound 6-(4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl)pyridin-3-amine (4) which is known to show anticancer activity. The synthesis of the leading compound was carried out by using 1-(5-nitropyridin-2-yl)-4-phenylpiperazine (3) which was obtained by a novel method of the reaction of 2-chloro-5-nitropyridine (1) and N-phenylpiperazine (2). The structures of the compounds were confirmed using FTIR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, HRMS spectroscopic methods and elemental analysis. The organic molecules were tested for their anticancer activities against prostate cancer (PC) cell lines: DU 145, PC-3 and LNCaP. As the compound 5a exerted the highest cytotoxic activity, IC50 concentrations of compound 5a were further investigated in terms of morphology, colony-forming ability, RNA expression, fragmented DNA and cell cycle distributions of PC cell lines. Overall data revealed that compound 5a treatment induces apoptosis and DNA fragmentation in PC cell lines and inhibits cell cycle progression resulting in the accumulation of cells in either the G1 or the S phases. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons A/S 116Z932 Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştirma Kurumu The support provided by Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK, Project no: 116Z932) is gratefully acknowledged.

WOS: 000445295500134, PubMed ID: 30082676, Cyclooxygenase enzymes play a vital role in inflammatory pathways in the human body. Apart from their relation with inflammation, the additional involvement of COX-2 enzyme with cancer activity was recently discovered. In some cancer types the level of COX-2 enzyme is increased indicating that this enzyme could be a suitable target for cancer therapy. Based on these findings, we have synthesized some new diflunisal thiosemicarbazides and 1,2,4-triazoles and tested them against androgen-independent prostate adenocarcinoma (PC-3), colon carcinoma (HCT-116), human breast cancer (T47D), breast carcinoma (MCF7) and human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) cell lines. Specifically, the diflunisal and thiosemicarbazide functionality are combined during the synthesis of original compounds anticipating a potency enhancement. Compounds 6, 10, 15 and 16 did not show cytotoxic effects for the HEK293 cell line. Among them, compounds 15 and 16 demonstrated anticancer activity for the breast cancer cell line T47D, whereas compounds 6 and 10 which are thiosemicarbazide derivatives displayed anti-tumourigenic activity against the PC-3 cell line, consistent with the literature. However, no activity was observed for the HCT-116 cancer cell line with the tested thiosemicarbazide derivatives. Only compound 16 displayed activity against the HCT-116 cell line. Therefore, it was speculated that the diflunisal and thiosemicarbazide functionalities potentiate anticancer activity on prostate cancer and the thiosemicarbazide functionality decreases the anticancer activity of diflunisal on colon cancer cell lines. In order to gain insight into the anticancer activity and COX-2 inhibition, molecular docking studies were carried out for COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes utilizing the newly synthesized compounds 15, and 16. Both 15 and 16 showed high selectivity and affinity toward COX-2 isozyme over COX-1, which is in agreement with the experimental results., Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) [114S966]; Marie Sklodowska-Curie action, funding scheme: FP7-MC-ITN [608381], This work was supported by The Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), Research Fund Project Number: 114S966. The authors are grateful to Jurgen Gross from the Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Heidelberg, for his generous help on obtaining HR-EI/FAB mass spectra of the synthesized compounds. Diflunisal was supplied by Sanovel Pharmaceutical Industry Inc, Istanbul, Turkey. Teodora Djikic kindly acknowledges "Training in Neurodegeneration, Therapeutics, Intervention and Neurorepair" project number 608381 funded by Marie Sklodowska-Curie action, funding scheme: FP7-MC-ITN.