Imminent Angiotensin-converting Enzyme Inhibitor from Microbial Source for Cancer Therapy

Background

Drugs targeting Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) have been used broadly in cancer chemotherapy. The recent past coupled with our results demonstrates the effective use of ACE inhibitors (ACEi) as anticancer agents, and they are potentially relevant in deriving new inhibitors.

Methods

Bacterial strains were isolated from cow milk collected in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India and plated on nutrient agar medium. The identity of the strain was ascertained by 16s rRNA gene sequencing method and was submitted to the NCBI GenBank nucleotide database. Various substrates were screened for ACEi production by the fermentation with the isolated strain. ACEi was purified by sequential steps of ethanol precipitation, ion exchange column chromatography and gel filtration column chromatography. The apparent molecular mass was determined by SDS-PAGE. The anticancer property was analyzed by studying the cytotoxicity effects of ACEi using Breast cancer MCF-7 cell lines.

Results

The isolate coded as BUCTL09 was selected and identified as Micrococcus luteus. Among the seven substrates, only beef extract fermented broth showed an inhibition of 79% and was reported as the best substrate. The peptide was purified and molecular mass was determined. The IC50 value of peptide was found to be 59.5 μg/ml. The purified peptide has demonstrated to induce apoptosis of cancer cell.

Conclusions

The results of this study revealed that Peptide has been determined as an active compound that inhibited the activity of ACE. These properties indicate the possibilities of the use of purified protein as a potent anticancer agent.

Evaluation of serum steroid hormones in schizophrenic patients

BACKGROUND

Recent studies have implicated the abnormalities in the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurotransmmiter system in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. There are also evidences indicating that steroids of central or peripheral origin may modulate GABAergic system through direct interaction with the GABAA receptor complex. These raise the possibility that alternations in serum steroid hormones may contribute to the pathophysiological process in the schizophrenia.

AIMS

The purposes of this study were first, to determine whether alternations in steroid serum levels occur in schizophrenic patients, and secondly to determine whether such alternations normalize with clinical improvement.

METHODS AND MATERIAL

Serum concentrations of testosterone (T), estradiol (E), progesterone (P) and cortisol (C) were determined in male schizophrenic patients (N = 49) before treatment, during treatment and after recovery and in age-matched healthy male subjects (N = 17). All steroid hormones were assayed by ELISA method.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED

Differences in steroids concentrations between groups were assayed by One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), followed by Tukey's post hoc test. The level of significance was considered at P < 0.05.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

The serum concentrations of E, P and C were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in male schizophrenic patients in all three stages of the study, compared with healthy subjects. Serum concentrations of T were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in male schizophrenic patients before and during treatment, but not after recovery, compared with healthy subjects. These findings support the occurrence of abnormal steroid concentrations in schizophrenic patients and suggest that lower T level in this disorder is related to the illness and normalizes with remission, while trait-related factors may contribute to lower serum E and C levels in schizophrenia.