Potentilla reptans L. preconditioning regulates H19 and MIAT long noncoding RNAs in H9C2 myoblasts Ischemia/Reperfusion model

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of the ethyl acetate fraction of P. reptans root (PEF) preconditioning on expressions of lncRNAs H19 and MIAT in H9C2 myoblasts I/R injury.H9C2 cells were treated with different concentrations ranging from (10-400 µg/ml) of PEF for 24 h, followed by simulation of I/R condition. For I/R experiments, H9C2 cells were subjected with the oxygen and glucose deprivation for 2 h.H9C2 cell viability was significantly enhanced by PEF preconditioning under I/R condition in a concentration-dependent manner up to 200 µg/ml as a EC₅₀. The PEF significantly diminished the expression of lncRNA MIAT and rate of apoptosis against the I/R group. In addition, PEF pretreated before stimulation I/R condition increased H19 expression compared to the normal PEF group with no statistically significant differences between groups. Hence, the results suggest that PEF can protect cardiomyocytes during hypoxia-induced myocardial cell injury by targeting specific involved genes.

Prediction of COVID-19 manipulation by selective ACE inhibitory compounds of Potentilla reptant root: In silico study and ADMET profile

In the novel SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) as a global emergency event, the main reason of the cardiac injury from COVID-19 is angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) targeting in SARS-CoV-2 infection. The inhibition of ACE2 induces an increase in the angiotensin II (Ang II) and the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT1R) leading to impaired cardiac function or cardiac inflammatory responses. The ethyl acetate fraction of Potentilla reptans L. root can rescue heart dysfunction, oxidative stress, cardiac arrhythmias and apoptosis. Therefore, isolated components of P. reptans evaluated to identify natural anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents via molecular docking.

In silico molecular docking study were carried out using the Auto Dock software on the isolated compounds of Potentilla reptans root. The protein targets of selective ACE and others obtained from Protein Data Bank (PDB). The best binding pose between amino acid residues involved in active site of the targets and compounds was discovered via molecular docking. Furthermore, ADMET properties of the compounds were evaluated.

The triterpenoids of P. reptans showed more ACE inhibitory potential than catechin in both domains. They were selective on the nACE domain, especially compound 5. Also, the compound 5 & 6 had the highest binding affinity toward active site of nACE, cACE, AT1R, ACE2, and TNF-α receptors. Meanwhile, compound 3 showed more activity to inhibit TXA2. Drug likeness and ADMET analysis showed that the compounds passed the criteria of drug likeness and Lipinski rules. The current study depicted that P. reptans root showed cardioprotective effect in COVID-19 infection and manipulation of angiotensin II-induced side effects.

Investigations of adsorption behavior and anti-inflammatory activity of glycine functionalized Al12N12 and Al12ON11 fullerene-like cages

The adsorption behavior of the amino acid, glycine (Gly), via the carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amino groups onto the surfaces of Al₁₂N₁₂ and Al₁₆N₁₆ fullerene-like cages were computationally evaluated by the combination of density functional theory (DFT) and molecular docking studies. It was found that Gly can chemically bond with the Al₁₂N₁₂ and Al₁₆N₁₆ fullerene-like cages as its amino group being more favorable to interact with the aluminum atoms of the adsorbents compared to carboxyl and hydroxyl groups. Oxygen and carbon doping were reported to reduce steric hindrance for Glycine interaction at Al site of Al₁₂ON₁₁/Gly and Al₁₂CN₁₁/Gly complexes. Interaction was further enhanced by oxygen doping due to its greater electron withdrawing effect. Herein, the Al₁₂ON₁₁/Gly complex where two carbonyl groups of Gly are bonded to the aluminum atoms of the Al₁₂N₁₂ fullerene-like cage is the most stable interaction configuration showing ∆_adsH and ∆_adsG values of -81.74 kcal/mol and -66.21 kcal/mol, respectively. Computational studies also revealed the frequency shifts that occurred due to the interaction process. Molecular docking analysis revealed that the Al₁₂N₁₂/Gly (-11.7 kcal/mol) and the Al₁₂ON₁₁/Gly (-9.2 kcal/mol) complexes have a good binding affinity with protein tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α). TNF-α was implicated as a key cytokine in various diseases, and it has been a validated therapeutic target for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. These results suggest that the Al₁₂N₁₂/Gly complex in comparison with the Al₁₆N₁₆/Gly, Al₁₂ON₁₁/Gly, and the Al₁₂CN₁₁/Gly complexes could be efficient inhibitors of TNF-α.

Data on molecular docking of tautomers and enantiomers of ATTAF-1 and ATTAF-2 selectivty to the human/fungal lanosterol-14α-demethylase

The data have been obtained for tautomers and enantiomers of ATTAF-1 and ATTAF-2 that were developed based on antifungal standard drugs with triazole scaffold. These compounds were docked into the human and fungal lanosterol-14α-demethylase. In order to validate the data, 8 standard triazole antifungal drugs (Fluconazole, Itraconazole, Posaconazole, Ravuconazole, Albaconazole, Voriconazole, Isavuconazole and Efinaconazole) were also docked into the human and fungal lanosterol-14α-demethylase. The binding conformations of these molecules and their interactions with lanosterol-14α-demethylase may inform the development of further small molecule lanosterol-14α-demethylase inhibitors with significant selectivity toward this enzyme. The analysis has done on the basis of type of interactions (bond type and distance). The length of the Fe-N coordination bond for (R)-N2-ATTAF-1 and (S)-N1-ATTAF-2 complexes is obtained 6.36 and 4.19 Å, respectively and about 2 Å in the other tautomer and enantiomer complexes, reflecting the lower basicity of the N-4 atom in the 1,2,4-triazole ring of (R)-N2-ATTAF-1 and (S)-N1-ATTAF-2 in comparison with the N-4 atom in the 1,2,4-triazole ring in other tautomers and enantiomers and supporting higher selectivity of (R)-N2-ATTAF-1 and (S)-N1-ATTAF-2 towards the target CYP51 enzymes vs. human. Interestingly, we have investigated unfavorable interactions (donor-donor) with TRP239 and MET378 for (R)-N2-ATTAF-1 and (S)-N1-ATTAF-2, respectively. These unfavorable interactions also have been seen in case of posaconazole and isavuconazole. The data presented in this article are related to the research paper entitled "In silico prediction of ATTAF-1 and ATTAF-2 selectivity towards human/fungal lanosterol 14α-demethylase using molecular dynamic simulation and docking approaches".

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of flexible and rigid analogs of 4H-1,2,4-triazoles bearing 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl moiety as new antiproliferative agents

Several flexible and rigid analogs of 4H-1,2,4-triazoles (compounds 8a-g and 9a-g) bearing trimethoxyphenyl pharmacophoric unit, were designed and synthesized as potential anticancer agents. The in vitro cytotoxic assay indicated that both flexible and rigid analogs (8 and 9, respectively) can potentially inhibit the growth of cancerous cells (A549, MCF7, and SKOV3), with IC₅₀ values less than 5.0 µM. Furthermore, compounds 10a-l as regional isomers of compounds 9 exhibited remarkable cytotoxic activity with IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.30 to 5.0 µM. The rigid analogs 9a, 10h and 10k were significantly more potent than etoposide against MCF7, SKOV3 and A549 cells, respectively. These compounds showed high selectivity towards cancer cells over normal cells, as they had no significant cytotoxicity against L929 cells. In addition, the representative compounds 9a and 10h could inhibit the tubulin polymerization at micro-molar levels. By determining changes in the colchicine-tubulin fluorescence, it was suggested that compound 10h could bind to the tubulin at the colchicine pocket. The molecular docking study further confirmed the inhibitory activity of promising compounds 9a, 10h and 10k on tubulin polymerization through binding to the colchicine-binding site.

Repurposing azole antifungals into antileishmanials: Novel 3-triazolylflavanones with promising in vitro antileishmanial activity against Leishmania major

Previously, we have described a series of azole antifungals namely 3-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)flavanones (TFs) containing an N-(phenethyl)azole framework required for sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) inhibitory activity. Similar mechanism of action of azoles in fungi and protozoan parasites prompted us to investigate the potential effects of TFs against promastigote and amastigote forms of Leishmania major (L. major), as well as their toxicity against macrophages, apoptosis induction and in silico interactions with the target enzyme. All compounds showed more potent anti-parasitic activity against L. major in comparison with reference azole drug fluconazole and standard antileishmanial agent glucantime. Among the tested compounds, the 4-chloro derivative (TF-2) was found to be the most potent one, being about 13 times more potent than fluconazole against promastigotes. TF-2 decreased both mean infection rate of macrophages (MIR) and mean number of amastigotes per macrophages (MNAPM), significantly more than fluconazole (P < .001). Furthermore, the cytotoxicity assay against J774.A.1 macrophages revealed that this compound displays high selectivity against amastigotes over macrophages (SI = 30.21). The in silico study showed that TF-2 can properly accommodated in the active site of parasitic CYP51 and coordinated to the heme. The SAR analysis showed that the introduction of 4-chloro on 2-phenyl moiety results in the best profile of activity and selectivity. Accordingly, the compound TF-2 prototype can be considered as promising candidate for development of new antileishmanial agents.

Promising antileishmanial activity of novel imidazole antifungal drug luliconazole against Leishmania major: In vitro and in silico studies

OBJECTIVES

Pentavalent antimonials have been used for the treatment of leishmaniasis for over 70 years, however they are limited by their toxicity. Unfortunately, the efficacy of first-line drugs for the treatment of leishmaniasis has decreased and resistance is noticeable. Luliconazole is a new azole with unique effects on fungi that has not yet been tested on Leishmania parasites.

METHODS

In this study, the cytotoxicity and antileishmanial activity of luliconazole were evaluated in vitro against promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes of Leishmania major. The docking simulation with the target enzyme, sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) was performed using AutoDock 4.2 program.

RESULTS

The IC₅₀ (concentration of test compound required for 50% inhibition) against promastigotes revealed that luliconazole (IC₅₀=0.19μM) has greater potency than ketoconazole (KET), meglumine antimoniate (MA) and amphotericin B (AmB) (IC₅₀ values of 135, 538 and 2.52μM, respectively). Against the amastigote stage, luliconazole at a concentration of 0.07μM decreased the mean infection rate and the mean number of amastigotes per macrophage more effectively than MA (P<0.004) and KET (P<0.043), but there was no difference compared with AmB (P>0.05). A docking study of luliconazole with the cytochrome P450 enzyme sterol 14α-demethylase (CYP51) revealed that this azole drug can properly interact with the target enzyme in Leishmania mainly via coordination with heme and multiple hydrophobic interactions.

CONCLUSION

These results show the potent activity of luliconazole at extremely low concentrations against L. major. It may therefore be considered as a new candidate for treatment of leishmaniasis in the near future.

Semiautomatic detection of villi in confocal endoscopy for the evaluation of celiac disease

Celiac Disease (CD) is an immune-mediated enteropathy, diagnosed in the clinical practice by intestinal biopsy and the concomitant presence of a positive celiac serology. Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (CLE) allows skilled and trained experts to potentially perform in vivo virtual histology of small-bowel mucosa. In particular, it allows the qualitative evaluation of mucosa alteration such as a decrease in goblet cells density, presence of villous atrophy or crypt hypertrophy. We present a semi-automatic method for villi detection from confocal endoscopy images, whose appearance change in case of villous atrophy. Starting from a set of manual seeds, a first rough segmentation of the villi is obtained by means of mathematical morphology operations. A merge and split procedure is then performed, to ensure that each seed originates a different region in the final segmentation. A border refinement process is finally performed, evolving the shape of each region according to local gradient intensities. Mean and median Dice coefficients for 290 villi originating from 66 images when compared to manually obtained ground truth are 80.71% and 87.96% respectively.

Molecular imaging and cancer gene therapy

Gene therapy is known as one of the most advanced approaches for therapeutic prospects ranging from tackling genetic diseases to combating cancer. In this approach, different viral and nonviral vector systems such as retrovirus, lentivirus, plasmid and transposon have been designed and employed. These vector systems are designed to target different therapeutic genes in various tissues and cells such as tumor cells. Therefore, detection of the vectors containing therapeutic genes and monitoring of response to the treatment are the main issues that are commonly faced by researchers. Imaging techniques have been critical in guiding physicians in the more accurate and precise diagnosis and monitoring of cancer patients in different phases of malignancies. Imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) are non-invasive and powerful tools for monitoring of the distribution of transgene expression over time and assessing patients who have received therapeutic genes. Here, we discuss most recent advances in cancer gene therapy and molecular approaches as well as imaging techniques that are utilized to detect cancer gene therapeutics and to monitor the patients' response to these therapies worldwide, particularly in Iranian Academic Medical Centers and Hospitals.Cancer Gene Therapy advance online publication, 18 November 2016; doi:10.1038/cgt.2016.62.

Imaging techniques: new avenues in cancer gene and cell therapy

Cancer is one of the world's most concerning health problems and poses many challenges in the range of approaches associated with the treatment of cancer. Current understanding of this disease brings to the fore a number of novel therapies that can be useful in the treatment of cancer. Among them, gene and cell therapies have emerged as novel and effective approaches. One of the most important challenges for cancer gene and cell therapies is correct monitoring of the modified genes and cells. In fact, visual tracking of therapeutic cells, immune cells, stem cells and genetic vectors that contain therapeutic genes and the various drugs is important in cancer therapy. Similarly, molecular imaging, such as nanosystems, fluorescence, bioluminescence, positron emission tomography, single photon-emission computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, have also been found to be powerful tools in monitoring cancer patients who have received therapeutic cell and gene therapies or drug therapies. In this review, we focus on these therapies and their molecular imaging techniques in treating and monitoring the progress of the therapies on various types of cancer.

Glioblastoma: exosome and microRNA as novel diagnosis biomarkers

Glioblastoma (GBM) is known as a tumor type, which arises from astrocytes. Several studies indicated that GBM tumor cells are malignant. This is because of the fact that they consist of different cell types, which are reproducing very quickly and are also supported by a large network of blood vessels. The correct identification of various stages of GBM could help to better treat the patients with this disease. Therefore, new biomarkers such as exosomes and microRNAs (miRNAs) may help us to learn more about GBM and they may also lead to a more effective treatment for patients with GBM. Exosomes have emerged as biological vehicles, which can perform various tasks in carcinogenesis pathways such as PI3K/AKT, SOX2, PTEN, ERK, and STAT3. The miRNAs are known as small noncoding RNAs that are involved in several GBM pathogenic events. These molecules have key roles in various biological processes such as angiogenesis, metastasis and tumor growth. In this study, we highlighted various exosomes and miRNAs that could be used for diagnosis and/or prognosis biomarkers in patients with GBM.

Recent advances of cytotoxic chalconoids targeting tubulin polymerization: Synthesis and biological activity

Since microtubules have an important role in mitosis and other vital cellular functions, tubulin-targeting chemotherapy has been received growing attention in anticancer drug design and development. It was found that a number of naturally occurring compounds including distinct chalcones exert their effect by inhibition of tubulin polymerization. After the identification of tubulin polymerization as potential target for chalcone-type compounds, extensive researches have been made to design and synthesis of new anti-tubulin chalconoids. Although diverse chalcones have found to be potent anticancer agents but in the present review, we focused on the recently reported tubulin polymerization inhibitors from chalcone origin and related synthetic compounds, and their detailed synthetic methods and biological activities.

Detection and density estimation of goblet cells in confocal endoscopy for the evaluation of celiac disease

Celiac Disease (CD) is an immune-mediated enteropathy, diagnosed in the clinical practice by intestinal biopsy and the concomitant presence of a positive celiac serology. Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (CLE) allows skilled and trained experts to potentially perform in vivo virtual histology of small-bowel mucosa. In particular, it allows the qualitative evaluation of mucosa alteration such as a decrease in goblet cells density, presence of villous atrophy or crypt hypertrophy. We present a semi-automatic computer-based method for the detection of goblet cells from confocal endoscopy images, whose density changes in case of pathological tissue. After a manual selection of a suitable region of interest, the candidate columnar and goblet cells' centers are first detected and the cellular architecture is estimated from their position using a Voronoi diagram. The region within each Voronoi cell is then analyzed and classified as goblet cell or other. The results suggest that our method is able to detect and label goblet cells immersed in a columnar epithelium in a fast, reliable and automatic way. Accepting 0.44 false positives per image, we obtain a sensitivity value of 90.3%. Furthermore, estimated and real goblet cell densities are comparable (error: 9.7 ± 16.9%, correlation: 87.2%, R(2) = 76%).

SU-E-T-320: A New Verification Phantom for GYN Brachytherapy Applicators Using GafChromic - Films

PURPOSE

Brachytherapy plays an important role in radiation therapy a wide range of tumor sits such as vaginal, cervical and endometrial cancers. The purpose of this project was to design, fabricate and verify a new phantom for dosimetric verification at small distances from GYN applicators used with GZP6 cobalt-60 HDR system.

METHODS

A new phantom has been designed and fabricated from 90 slabs of 18×16×0.2 cm³ Perspex to accommodate one tandem and two ovoids. The thin layer of the slabs was chosen to place GafChromic films in between the slabs for dosimetry with GZP6 cobalt-60 HDR system. For verification of this device, an assembly composed of a large ovoid size (3cm diameter) and tandem #1 with the least curvature was selected in this study. With this assembly, GafChromic films were exposed using a plan with 500 cGy dose delivery to point "A". The irradiated films were scanned. The responses of the films were converted to dose by calibrating samples of these films using a cobalt-60 teletherapy system in the range of 25 to 800 cGy dose. The measured isodose curves with the films were compared to calculated isodose lines by the treatment planning software.

RESULTS

The Result of these investigations indicated differences of up to ± 23 % between the planning and measured dosimetry at different points in GYN implant with cobalt-60 HDR source of GZP6 system. Therefore, this phantom enabled us to confirm the accuracy of radiation delivery to the GYN patients with cobalt-60 HDR source of GZP6 system.

CONCLUSIONS

The new phantom design could be utilized for the QA procedure of the GZP6 cobalt-60 HDR system as well as the Ir-192 HDR system to confirmation the accuracy of dose distribution in GYN implants, especially in non-traditional implants. The Radiotherapy Department of Shahid Beheshti University at Shohada hospital sponsored the purchase of the phantom materials and films used in the investigations.