Piperazine clubbed with 2-azetidinone derivatives suppresses proliferation, migration and induces apoptosis in human cervical cancer HeLa cells through oxidative stress mediated intrinsic mitochondrial pathway

Piperazine scaffolds or 2-azetidinone pharmacophores have been reported to show anti-cancer activities and apoptosis induction in different types of cancer cells. However, the mechanistic studies involve in induction of apoptosis addressing these two moieties for human cervical cancer cells remain uncertain. The present study emphasizes on the anti-proliferating properties and mechanism involved in induction of apoptosis for these structurally related azoles derivatives in HeLa cancer cells. 1-Phenylpiperazine clubbed with 2-azetidione derivatives (5a-5h) were synthesized, characterized using various spectroscopic techniques and evaluated for their in-vitro anti-proliferative activities and induction of apoptosis. Further, we also evaluated oxidative stress generated by these synthetic derivatives (5a-5h). Cell viability studies revealed that among all, the compound N-(3-chloro-2-(3-nitrophenyl)-4-oxoazetidin-1-yl)-2-(4-phenylpiperazin-1-yl) acetamide 5e remarkably inhibited the growth of HeLa cells in a concentration dependent manner having IC₅₀ value of 29.44 ± 1.46 µg/ml. Morphological changes, colonies suppression and inhibition of migration clearly showed the antineoplasicity in HeLa cells treated with 5e. Simultaneously, phosphatidylserine externalization, DNA fragmentation and cell-cycle arrest showed ongoing apoptosis in the HeLa cancer cells induced by compound 5e in concentration dependent manner. Additionally, generation of intracellular ROS along with the decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential supported that compound 5e caused oxidative stress resulting in apoptosis through mitochondria mediated pathway. Elevation in the level of cytochrome c and upregulation in expression of caspase-3 clearly indicated the involvement of the intrinsic pathway of programmed cell death. In brief; compound 5e could serve as a promising lead for the development of an effective antitumor agent.

Antioxidative and anti-proliferative potential of Curculigo orchioides Gaertn in oxidative stress induced cytotoxicity: In vitro, ex vivo and in silico studies

Plant phytoconstituents have been a valuable source of clinically important anticancer agents. Antioxidant and anticancerous activity of plant Curculigo orchioides Gaertn were explored In vitro antioxidant activity, antioxidant enzyme activity of oxidatively stressed tissue, and cell culture studies on human cancer cell lines HepG2, HeLa and MCF-7 were carried out. Active plant fractions were subjected to GC-MS analysis and compounds selected on the basis of their abundance were screened in silico with the help of Auto Dock 4.2 tools with pre-selected antioxidant enzymes. Curculigo orchioides Gaertn plant fractions exhibited significant antioxidant activities by virtue of scavenging of free radicals having IC₅₀ value of ethylacetate fraction (EA) for DPPH radical scavenging assay to be 52.93 ± 0.66 μg/ml. Further, antioxidant enzyme defense of mammalian tissue when treated with plant fractions revealed that enzyme concentrations were refurbished which were increased during oxidative stress. MTT assay on cell lines HepG2, HeLa and MCF-7 presented IC₅₀ values of ethylacetate (EA) fraction as 171.23 ± 2.1 μg/ml, 144.80 ± 1.08 μg/ml and 153.51 μg/ml and aqueous ethylacetate (AEA) fraction as 133.44 ± 1.1 μg/ml, 136.50 ± 0.8 μg/ml and 145.09 μg/ml respectively. Further EA and AEA plant fractions down regulated the levels of antiapoptotic Bcl-2 expression and upregulated the expression of apoptotic proteins caspase-3 and caspase-8 through an intrinsic ROS-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction pathway.

KEY MESSAGE

Key findings explained that fractions of Curculigo orchioides Gaertn inhibited oxidative stress by increasing the antioxidant enzyme content and have anticancerous potential on cancer cell lines HepG2, HeLa and MCF-7.

New insights into the antioxidant and apoptotic potential of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. during hydrogen peroxide mediated oxidative stress: An in vitro and in silico evaluation

Plant-derived substances (phytochemicals) are well recognized as sources of pharmacologically potent drugs in the treatment of several oxidative stress related disorders. Our study aims to evaluate the antioxidant and apoptotic effects of Glycyrrhiza glabra L. in both cell free and cell culture system. Plant fractions have been prepared with hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and water and their antioxidant properties are reviewed. Potent antioxidant activity has been well established in both in vitro and in silico studies which is believed to be responsible for the anticancerous nature of the plant. Results obtained indicate that methanol fraction of G. glabra L. exhibited maximum scavenging activity against DPPH and nitric oxide free radicals comparable to standard antioxidant L-AA. Administration of methanol fraction also considerably reduced the malondialdehyde produced due to lipid peroxidation in mammalian liver tissues. Moreover, the levels of antioxidant enzymes SOD, CAT, GST, GPx and GR in the oxidative stress induced tissues were refurbished significantly after treatment with plant's methanol fraction. Moreover, methanol fraction was found to be nontoxic to normal human cell line whereas it inhibited cancer cells HeLa and HepG2 considerably. Apoptosis was established by DAPI fluorescent staining and western blot analysis of pro apoptotic protein caspase-8, caspase-3 and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2.There is an up regulation in the levels of pro apoptotic caspase-8 and caspase-3 and down regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2. Furthermore, GC-MS analysis of the methanol fraction revealed the presence of many compounds. In silico experiments using Autodock 4.2 tools showed strong affinity of plant compounds towards antioxidant enzymes (proteins) thus validating with the conclusions of antioxidant enzyme assays and establishing a role in cancer pathogenesis.

New transition metal complexes containing imidazole rings endowed with potential antiamoebic activity

Imidazole-hydrazones were found to be better antiamoebic lead molecules compared to the standard drug metronidazole (MNZ). Chelation of these bioactive ligands with metals enhanced their activity profiles.

Synthesis, characterization, and anti-amoebic activity of N-(pyrimidin-2-yl)benzenesulfonamide derivatives

A new series of N-(pyrimidin-2-yl)benzenesulfonamide derivatives, 3a-3i and 4a-4i, was synthesized from pyrimidin-2-amines, 2a-2i, with the aim to explore their effects on in vitro growth of Entamoeba histolytica. The chemical structures of the compounds were elucidated by elemental analysis, FT-IR, (1) H- and (13) C-NMR, and ESI mass-spectral data. In vitro anti-amoebic activity was evaluated against HM1 : IMSS strain of Entamoeba histolytica. The IC50 values were calculated by using the double dilution method. The results were compared with the IC50 value of the standard drug 'metronidazole'. The selected compounds were tested for their cytotoxic activities by cell-viability assay using H9C2 cardiac myoblasts cell line, and the results indicated that all the compounds displayed remarkable >80% viabilities to a concentration of 100 μg/ml.

Expressed sequence tags for bovine muscle satellite cells, myotube formed-cells and adipocyte-like cells

Background

Muscle satellite cells (MSCs) represent a devoted stem cell population that is responsible for postnatal muscle growth and skeletal muscle regeneration. An important characteristic of MSCs is that they encompass multi potential mesenchymal stem cell activity and are able to differentiate into myocytes and adipocytes. To achieve a global view of the genes differentially expressed in MSCs, myotube formed-cells (MFCs) and adipocyte-like cells (ALCs), we performed large-scale EST sequencing of normalized cDNA libraries developed from bovine MSCs.

Results

A total of 24,192 clones were assembled into 3,333 clusters, 5,517 singletons and 3,842contigs. Functional annotation of these unigenes revealed that a large portion of the differentially expressed genes are involved in cellular and signaling processes. Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) functional analysis of three subsets of highly expressed gene lists (MSC233, MFC258, and ALC248) highlighted some common and unique biological processes among MSC, MFC and ALC. Additionally, genes that may be specific to MSC, MFC and ALC are reported here, and the role of dimethylargininedimethylaminohydrolase2 (DDAH2) during myogenesis and hemoglobinsubunitalpha2 (HBA2) during transdifferentiation in C2C12 were assayed as a case study. DDAH2 was up-regulated during myognesis and knockdown of DDAH2 by siRNA significantly decreased myogenin (MYOG) expression corresponding with the slight change in cell morphology. In contrast, HBA2 was up-regulated during ALC formation and resulted in decreased intracellular lipid accumulation and CD36 mRNA expression upon knockdown assay.

Conclusion

In this study, a large number of EST sequences were generated from the MSC, MFC and ALC. Overall, the collection of ESTs generated in this study provides a starting point for the identification of novel genes involved in MFC and ALC formation, which in turn offers a fundamental resource to enable better understanding of the mechanism of muscle differentiation and transdifferentiation.

Cystic Hygroma of Wrist

Cystic hygroma is the rare congenital lesion. This is a cystic variety of lymphangioma. Cystic hygroma arising outside of the cervicofacial, thoracic, and abdominal areas are extremely rare. Wrist is a very rare site for occurrence of cystic hygroma. Presentation depends on site of location of cystic hygroma. A case of cystic hygroma of wrist in a child is reported. This child presented with painless swelling of left wrist. Excision of cyst was done. This is first case report of literature reporting occurrence of cystic hygroma on wrist. J Nepal Paediatr Soc 2012;32(2):166-168 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jnps.v32i2.5465

Antiinflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activity of certain thiazolidinones

The thiazolidin-4-one derivatives and the corresponding spiro compounds were synthesized from sulphanilamide and were evaluated for anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity in acute and sub acute models. Compounds were also evaluated for antipyretic and cyclooxygenase enzyme inhibitory activity. All the compounds showed significant antiinflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic activity at 100 mg/kg in all the models. The compounds B1, B2, B5, B6, and B8 showed maximum inhibition of COX-2 activity without inhibiting the COX-1 activity. The nimesulide was used as standard drug for comparison. The substitution at R, R₁ and R₂ with the functional groups Cl, OCH₃, NO₂ and OH in the aromatic ring resulted in increased activity as compared to unsubstituted thiazolidin-4-ones. However the substitution at R₃ with spiro group did not improve the activity. The study suggests that COX-2 binding site may not be a rigid structure but might adopt to various related molecules.

Antiamoebic coumarins from the root bark of Adina cordifolia and their new thiosemicarbazone derivatives

In continuation of our search for potential antiamoebic agents from folklore Indian medicinal plants, we found that the benzene and ethyl acetate extracts from the root bark of Adina cordifolia exhibited strong antiamoebic activity with IC(50) values of 2.92 and 2.50 microg/ml, respectively. Bioassay-guided fractionation of benzene and ethyl acetate extracts led to the isolation of 7-hydroxycoumarin (umbelliferone 1) and 7-beta-D-glucosylcoumarin (skimmin 2), respectively. Umbelliferone 1 was converted into 7-acetoxycoumarin 1a, which on treatment with aluminium chloride afforded 7-hydroxy-8-acetylcoumarin 2a. A new series of thiosemicarbazones 3a-e of 7-hydroxy-8-acetylcoumarin with different thiosemicarbazides were synthesized. Umbelliferone was also converted into its methoxy derivative (7-methoxycoumarin 4). Subsequently, all the compounds were assessed for antiamoebic activity against HM1:IMMS strain of Entamoeba histolytica. Umbelliferone and skimmin were found to possess a very good activity with IC(50) values of 6.38 and 4.35 microM/ml, respectively. The activity drastically increased on converting compound 2a into its thiosemicarbazone derivatives 3a-e with IC(50) values ranging between 1.06 and 4.46 microM/ml. Compounds 3b,c and e with IC(50) values of 1.49, 1.56 and 1.06 microM/ml, respectively, exhibited even higher antiamoebic activity than the standard drug metronidazole (IC(50)=2.62 microg/ml). The activity of 7-methoxycoumarin (IC(50)=8.92 microM/ml) was less than umbelliferone. Compounds 3b, c and e were tested for toxicity using H9c2 cardiac myoblasts cell line. The compounds exhibit >80% viability at 3.125-200 microg/ml. It is apparent from these results that umbelliferone and skimmin may be a useful lead for the development of new antiamoebic drugs.

Head injury in children due to cricket ball scenario in developing countries

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the study was the assessment of head injury caused by cricket ball injury in children. In underdeveloped countries, this is particularly important due to the absence of safety precautions. The study was undertaken to increase the public awareness of the need to reduce the morbidity related to this sport.

METHODS

This was a prospective study in which all the children <18 years who had sustained head injury due to cricket balls were enrolled.

RESULTS

The study included 27 children, 26 males and 1 female. Out of these 21 cases of head injury were due to hard plastic cricket balls and the rest were due to conventional cricket balls. In 25 patients, CT scan was done, which revealed a lesion in 21 of them. Six patients required surgery, 3 for extradural hematoma, 1 for acute subdural hematoma, 1 for contusion and 1 for compound depressed fracture. One death occurred in our series. There was no significant difference in the nature of injury sustained by either plastic or conventional cricket balls.

CONCLUSION

Head injury due to cricket balls can lead to serious consequences even if an innocuous plastic ball is used in place of a conventional cricket ball. Public awareness apart from safety measures is required so that helmets are worn during playing. Change in the nature of the balls may bring a reduction in the severity of head injury.

Synthesis and in-vitro antimicrobial activity of new 1,2,4-triazoles

We have described the synthesis of new 1,2,4-triazoles and have evaluated their antimicrobial profile. Antitubercular activity was determined in triplicate using the Lowenstein-Jensen medium. A loopful of Mycobacterium tuberculosis suspension was inoculated on the surface of each Lowenstein-Jensen media containing the test compounds (100, 10 or 1 microg mL(-1)). To evaluate in-vitro antibacterial activity, compounds (50, 5 or 0.5 microg) were evaluated against B. subtilis, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus typhi by the disc diffusion method. To evaluate antifungal activity Sabourauds Dextrose agar medium was used. Some of the compounds (5, 0.5 or 0.05 microg mL(-1)) were screened for activity against Aspergillus niger 88 and Aspergillus niger 90 and others were screened for activity against T. rubrum TR1, T. rubrum R6, T. rubrum R7 and T. mentagrophyte M1, using the cup plate method. Our results show that the triazoles with a pyrazine moiety at position 3 were more active as antitubercular and antifungal agents compared with the triazoles which had a pyrazine moiety at position 4 of the molecule.

Acute psychosis following cervical myelography with iohexol

We report a young man who developed transient acute psychosis following uneventful cervical myelography with iohexol. This complication has not been described previously.

Protease inhibitors in serum and urine of snakebite victims

In victims of poisonous snakebites, serum total antichymotryptic activity but not the antitryptic activity was found to be increased. In addition, urinary antitryptic activity was found to be markedly elevated. In nonpoisonous snakebite cases, no such differences were noted. Ion-exchange chromatographic analysis of serum protease inhibitors revealed the absence of inhibitory activity in the alpha 2-macroglobulin fraction and elevation of alpha 1-antichymotrypsin in poisonous bite cases. In addition, there was a significant increase in the ratio of cationic to anionic fraction of alpha 1-protease inhibitor compared to normals. Urinary antitryptic activity could serve as a reliable index in assessing clinical improvement in snakebite victims during treatment and in differentiating poisonous from nonpoisonous cases.

Comparative study of proteinase inhibitors in human amniotic fluid and maternal serum

Serum and amniotic fluid samples from five pregnant women were analyzed for different proteinase inhibitors by ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose. Alpha-2 macroglobulin was found to be absent in amniotic fluid. Even though alpha-1 antichymotrypsin was identified in amniotic fluid, its concentration gradient between serum and amniotic fluid (20--60) was much higher than that of alpha-1 antitrypsin (8--20). Two forms of alpha-1 antitrypsin were identified in both the fluids. In pregnancy, the ratio of the two forms was altered in favour of the less anionic form compared to normal sera. The contribution of the heat stable proteinase inhibitor for total antitryptic activity in amniotic fluid was more than in serum. The observation that urine samples from immature infants had higher heat stable inhibitory activity than urine samples from normal infants suggests that the heat stable inhibitor in amniotic fluid may arise from fetal kidney.

Protease inhibitors in serum and amniotic fluid during pregnancy

Antitryptic and antichymotryptic activities in amniotic fluid and maternal serum were measured at various stages of pregnancy using the caseinolytic assay method for proteases. The inhibitory activities increased up to 20 weeks in amniotic fluid and remained in the same range up to 30 weeks; a sharp fall was observed at term. In serum, there was a gradual rise of activities with peak values around 30 weeks. The decrease with further advance of pregnancy was not as sharp as in amniotic fluid. The ratios of antitryptic to antichymotryptic activities remained fairly constant (1.54 +/- 0.07) in amniotic fluid throughout pregnancy. In maternal serum the ratio varied over a range of 1.28 to 2.67 and the increase in antichymotryptic activity was relatively greater between 16 and 30 weeks resulting in a lower ratio between the two activities. Amniotic fluid was found to contain a higher proportion of a heat stable inhibitor compared to serum and its contribution to total antitryptic activity varied from 8.7 to 15.6 per cent.