Tapirira guianensis is Selectively Cytotoxic, Induces Apoptosis to the Glioblastoma and Decreases Tumor Growth and Angiogenesis in vivo

Glioblastoma is the most frequent primary malignant brain tumor without effective treatment, which makes this work extremely relevant. The study of the bioactive compounds from medicinal plants plays an important role in the discovery of new drugs.This research investigated the constituents of Tapirira guianensis and its antitumor potential (in vitro and in vivo) in glioblastoma. The T. guianensis extracts were characterized by mass spectrometry. The ethyl acetate partition (01ID) and its fractions 01ID-F2 and 01ID-F4 from T. guianensis showed potential antitumor treatment evidenced by selective cytotoxicity for GAMG with IC50 14.1 µg/mL, 83.07 µg/mL, 59.27 µg/mL and U251 with IC50 25.92 µg/mL, 37.3 µg/mL and 18.84 µg/mL. Fractions 01ID-F2 and 01ID-F4 were 10 times more selective when compared to TMZ and 01ID for the two evaluated cell lines. T. guianensis also reduced matrix metalloproteinases 2 - 01ID-F2 (21.84%), 01ID-F4 (29.6%) and 9 - 01ID-F4 (73.42%), ID-F4 (53.84%) activities, and induced apoptosis mainly through the extrinsic pathway. Furthermore, all treatments significantly reduced tumor size (01ID p < 0,01, 01ID-F2 p < 0,01 and 01ID-F4 p < 0,0001) and caused blood vessels to shrink in vivo. The present findings highlight that T. guianensis exhibits considerable antitumor potential in preclinical studies of glioblastoma. This ability may be related to the phenolic compounds and sesquiterpene derivatives identified in the extracts. This study deserves further in vivo research, followed by clinical investigation.

Infrasound a new weapon in cancer therapy?

BACKGROUND

Researchers take different positions when describing the effects of infrasound on the human body. Although several studies investigated the likely harmful effects of infrasound exposure from wind turbines a significant connection has not been found yet. There is evidence that infrasound interacts with cell metabolism and may disrupt cell membrane integrity.

OBJECTIVES

The suggested impairment of the cells' ultrastructure by infrasound leads to the question of whether infrasound can be therapeutically used, for instance in cancer therapy. This review provides the current state of the literature.

METHOD

Current literature on infrasound in cancer therapy including all studies with the search terms 'cancer' and 'infrasound' were identified and reviewed until the year 2020.

RESULTS

The present state of research reveals promising effects of targeted infrasound in cancer therapy. Infrasound directly affects the tumor cells' ultrastructure and seems to sensitize several types of cancer to chemotherapy, presumably due to membrane permeabilization. The application of infrasound on tumor cells without other therapeutic agents demonstrates different effects that probably depend on the type of cells, the applied frequency and sound pressure level as well as the time of exposure.

CONCLUSIONS

The mechanism of infrasound on cancer cells is not completely understood yet, hence, further studies have to be conducted to clarify the ultrastructural and metabolic changes inside the tumor cells. The development of suitable infrasound generators for the application in a clinical setting would be an important course of action.

WINDOW consortium: A path towards increased therapy efficacy against glioblastoma

Glioblastoma is the most common and malignant form of brain cancer, for which the standard treatment is maximal surgical resection, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Despite these interventions, mean overall survival remains less than 15 months, during which extensive tumor infiltration throughout the brain occurs. The resulting metastasized cells in the brain are characterized by chemotherapy resistance and extensive intratumoral heterogeneity. An orthogonal approach attacking both intracellular resistance mechanisms as well as intercellular heterogeneity is necessary to halt tumor progression. For this reason, we established the WINDOW Consortium (Window for Improvement for Newly Diagnosed patients by Overcoming disease Worsening), in which we are establishing a strategy for rational selection and development of effective therapies against glioblastoma. Here, we overview the many challenges posed in treating glioblastoma, including selection of drug combinations that prevent therapy resistance, the need for drugs that have improved blood brain barrier penetration and strategies to counter heterogeneous cell populations within patients. Together, this forms the backbone of our strategy to attack glioblastoma.

Transcriptional Changes in Cancer Cells Induced by Exposure to a Healing Method

Energy healing, or healing with intent, is a complementary and alternative medicine therapy reported to be beneficial with a wide variety of conditions. We are developing a delivery technology for a method previously tested in mouse models with solid tumors (the Bengston method) independent of the presence of a healer. The goal of this study was to assess whether stored or recorded energy has an impact on breast cancer cells in vitro, using energy-charged cotton and electromagnetic recording of healers practicing the method. Expression of genes involved in cancer and inflammation pathways was measured by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Treatment of cells using energy-charged cotton resulted in statistically significant changes <1.5-fold. In cells exposed to an electromagnetic recording, 37 genes of 167 tested showed a >1.5-fold change when compared to the control, and 68 genes showing statistically significant fold changes. Two genes, ATP citrate lyase (ACLY) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β), were consistently downregulated at 4 and 24 hours of exposure to the recording, respectively, in 3 independent experiments. Both ACLY and IL-1β were also downregulated in cells exposed to a hands-on delivery of the method, suggesting these 2 genes as potential markers of the healing method.

Effect of microRNA-128 on cisplatin resistance of glioma SHG-44 cells by targeting JAG1

This current study intends to investigate the effect of microRNA-128 (miR-128) on cisplatin (DDP) resistance in glioma SHG-44 cells. SHG-44/DDP cells were transfected with miR-128 antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) and assigned into blank, resistance, NC, anti-miR-128, miR-128 mimic, si-JAG1, and anti-miR-128 + si-JAG1 groups. qRT-PCR and Western blotting were employed for determining expression of miR-128, JAG1, Bax and Bcl-2. MTT assay, Giemsa staining, and flow cytometry were applied to detect DDP resistance, cellular morphology, and cell cycle, respectively. JAG1 is targeted and negatively regulated by miR-128. In in vitro experiments, compared with the blank group, the rest groups exhibited declined miR-28 and Bax expression, lowered cell inhibition rate and apoptosis rate, but elevated JAG1 and Bcl-2 expression with cells arrested in the S phase. Compared with the resistance group, the anti-miR-128 group showed decreasedBax expression along with a lowered cell inhibition rate and apoptosis rate, but increased JAG1 and Bcl-2 expression with reduced cells arrested in the S phase; while the miR-128 mimic group showed an opposite trend; the si-JAG1 group showed decreased Bcl-2 expression and reduced cells in the S phase. In in vivo experiments, compared with the resistance group, the tumor growth rate, tumor volume, and weight as well as JAG1 expression accelerated in the anti-miR-128 group; whereas the miR-128 mimic and si-JAG1 groups exhibited an opposite trend. Our findings demonstrated that miR-128 ASO transfection might down-regulate the expression of miR-128 in SHG-44/DDP and up-regulate the DDP resistance in SHG-44/DDP cells, providing a potential treatment target for glioma.