• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.15
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• pp.6651-6661
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• 2015

Breast cancer is a global health concern and is a major cause of death among women. In Oman, it is the most common cancer in women, with an incidence rate of 15.6 per 100,000 Omani females. Various anticancer remedies have been discovered from natural products in the past and the search is continuing for additional examples. Cytotoxic natural compounds may have a major role in cancer therapy either in potentiating the effect of chemotherapy or reducing its harmful effects. Recently, a few studies have reported advantages of using crude camel milk in treating some forms of cancer. However, no adequate data are available on the lyophilised camel's milk responsibility for triggering apoptosis and oxidative stress associated with human breast cancer. The present study aimed to address the role of the lyophilised camel's milk in inducing proliferation repression of BT-474 and HEp-2 cells compared with the non-cancer HCC1937 BL cell line. Lyophilized camel's milk fundamentally repressed BT-474 cells growth and proliferation through the initiation of either the intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways as indicated by both caspase-3 mRNA and its action level, and induction of death receptors in BT-474 but not the HEp-2 cell line. In addition, lyophilised camel's milk enhanced the expression of oxidative stress markers, heme-oxygenase-1 and reactive oxygen species production in BT-474 cells. Increase in caspase-3 mRNA levels by the lyophilised camel's milk was completely prevented by the actinomycin D, a transcriptional inhibitor. This suggests that lyophilized camel's milk increased newly synthesized RNA. Interestingly,it significantly (p<0.003) repressed the growth of HEp-2 cells and BT-474 cells after treatment for 72 hours while 24 hours treatment repressed BT-474 cells alone. This finding suggests that the lyophilised camel's milk might instigate apoptosis through initiation of an alternative apoptotic pathway.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.37-44
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• 2023

Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) has been reported to promote colitis and colon cancer through the secretion of B. fragilis toxin (BFT), a zinc-dependent metalloprotease. In colonic epithelial cells, BFT induces the cleavage of E-cadherin into the 80 kDa ectodomain and the 33 kDa membrane-bound intracellular domain. The resulting membrane-tethered fragment is then cleaved by γ-secretase forming the 28 kDa E-cadherin intracellular fragment. The 28 kDa cytoplasmic fragment is then degraded by an unknown mechanism. In this study, we found that the 28 kDa E-cadherin intracellular fragment was degraded by the proteasome complex. In addition, we found that this sequential E-cadherin cleavage mechanism is found not only in colonic epithelial cells but also in the human breast cancer cell line, BT-474. Finally, we report that staurosporine also induces E-cadherin cleavage in the human breast cancer cell line, MCF7, through γ-secretase. However, further degradation of the 28 kDa E-cadherin intracellular domain is not dependent on the proteasome complex. These results suggest that the BFT-induced E-cadherin cleavage mechanism is conserved in both colonic and breast cancer cells. This observation indicates that ETBF may also play a role in the carcinogenesis of tissues other than the colon.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.15
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• pp.6581-6589
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• 2015

Background: Previously, stingless bee (Trigona spp.) products from East Kalimantan, Indonesia, were successfully screened for in vitro antiproliferative activity against human cancer derived cell lines. It was established that propolis from T. incisa presented the highest in vitro cytotoxicity against the SW620 colon cancer cell line (6% cell survival in $20{\mu}g/mL$). Materials and Methods: Propolis from T. incisa was extracted with methanol and further partitioned with n-hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol. The in vitro cytotoxicity of the extracts was assessed by the MTT assay against human colon (SW620), liver (Hep-G2), gastric (KATO-III), lung (Chago) and breast (BT474) cancer derived cell lines. The active fractions were further enriched by silica gel quick column, absorption and size exclusion chromatography. The purity of each fraction was checked by thin layer chromatography. Cytotoxicity in BT-474 cells induced by cardanol compared to doxorubicin were evaluated by MTT assay, induction of cell cycle arrest and cell death by flow cytometric analysis of propidium iodide and annexin-V stained cells. Results: A cardol isomer was found to be the major compound in one active fraction (F45) of T. incisa propolis, with a cytotoxicity against the SW620 ($IC_{50}$ of $4.51{\pm}0.76{\mu}g/mL$), KATO-III (IC50 of $6.06{\pm}0.39{\mu}g/mL$), Hep-G2 ($IC_{50}$ of $0.71{\pm}0.22{\mu}g/mL$), Chago I ($IC_{50}$ of $0.81{\pm}0.18{\mu}g/mL$) and BT474 (IC50 of $4.28{\pm}0.14{\mu}g/mL$) cell lines. Early apoptosis (programmed cell death) of SW620 cells was induced by the cardol containing F45 fraction at the $IC_{50}$ and $IC_{80}$ concentrations, respectively, within 2-6 h of incubation. In addition, the F45 fraction induced cell cycle arrest at the G1 subphase. Conclusions: Indonesian stingless bee (T. incisa) propolis had moderately potent in vitro anticancer activity on human cancer derived cell lines. Cardol or 5-pentadecyl resorcinol was identified as a major active compound and induced apoptosis in SW620 cells in an early period (${\leq}6h$) and cell cycle arrest at the G1 subphase. Thus, cardol is a potential candidate for cancer chemotherapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.14
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• pp.5977-5981
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• 2015

Background: Worldwide, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among women and a leading cause of cancer deaths. The age of onset in Iran has become reduced by a decade for unknown reasons. Herceptin, a humanized monoclonal antibody, is a target therapy for breast cancer cells with over expression of HER2-neu receptors, but it is an expensive drug with only 20% beneficial rate of survival. This study introduces a novel approach to enhance the efficacy of this drug through immunoconjugation of the antibody to botulinum toxin. Decreasing the cost and adverse effects of the antibody were secondary goals of this study. Materials and Methods: Botulinum toxin was conjugated with Herceptin using heterobifunctional cross linkers, succinimidyl acetylthiopropionate (SATP) and sulfo-succinimidyl-4-(N-maleimidomethyl) cyclohexane-1-carboxylate (SMCC) according to the supplier's guidelines and tested on two breast cancer cell lines: SK-BR-3 and BT-474. Toxin and Herceptin were also used separately as controls. The cytotoxicity assay was also performed using the new bioconjugate on cultured cells with Alamar blue and a fluorescence plate reader. Results: Herceptin-Toxin bioconjugation significantly improved Herceptin efficacy on both breast cancer cell lines when compared to the control group. Conclusions: Toxin-Herceptin bioconjugation can be a potential candidate with increased efficiency for treating breast cancer patients with over expression of the HER2 receptor.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.24
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• pp.10847-10853
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• 2015

Background: Lapatinib, a dual tyrosine kinase inhibitor that interrupts the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and HER2/neu pathways, has been indicated to have significant efficacy in treating HER2-positive breast cancer. However, acquired drug resistance has become a very serious clinical problem that hampers the use of this agent. In this study, we aimed to screen small molecule drugs that might reverse lapatinib-resistance of breast cancer by exploring differentially expressed genes (DEGs) via a bioinformatics method. Materials and Methods: We downloaded the gene expression profile of BT474-J4 (acquired lapatinib-resistant) and BT474 (lapatinib-sensitive) cell lines from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and selected differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using dChip software. Then, gene ontology and pathway enrichment analyses were performed with the DAVID database. Finally, a connectivity map was utilized for predicting potential chemicals that reverse lapatinib-resistance. Results: A total of 1, 657 DEGs were obtained. These DEGs were enriched in 10 pathways, including cell cycling, regulation of actin cytoskeleton and focal adhesion associate examples. In addition, several small molecules were screened as the potential therapeutic agents capable of overcoming lapatinib-resistance. Conclusions: The results of our analysis provided a novel strategy for investigating the mechanism of lapatinib-resistance and identifying potential small molecule drugs for breast cancer treatment.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.1047-1051
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• 2008

Overexpression of HER2 in breast cancer cells is considered to induce the expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase $\alpha$ (ACACA) and fatty acid synthase (FASN) through activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Resveratrol, a red wine polyphenol, has been shown to induce apoptosis in several cancers by interfering in several signaling pathways. Present study elucidated the mechanism by which resveratrol downregulates ACACA and FASN in breast cancer cells. Resveratrol activated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and downregulated mTOR in BT-474 cells. These effects of resveratrol were mimicked by AICAR, an AMPK activator, and exogenously expressed constitutively active AMPK, while they were abolished by a dominant-negative mutant of AMPK. The downregulation of mTOR was not accompanied with changes in Akt, the upstream regulator of mTOR. These findings indicate that the downregulation of ACACA and FASN by resveratrol is mediated by the downregulation of mTOR signaling pathway via activation of AMPK.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.140-144
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• 2006

Four xanthones were isolated from mycelia of Emericella variecolor, an endophytic fungus isolated from the leaves of Croton oblongifolius. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic analysis to be shamixanthone, 14-methoxytajixanthone-25-acetate, tajixanthone methanoate, and tajixanthone hydrate. All compounds were tested for cytotoxic activity against various human tumor cell lines including gastric carcinoma, colon carcinoma, breast carcinoma, human hepatocarcinoma, and lung carcinoma. The antitumor activities of these xanthones were compared with that of doxorubicin hydrochloride, a chemotherapeutic substance. All of them showed moderate activities and were selective against gastric carcinoma, colon carcinoma, and breast carcinoma. Only tajixanthone hydrate exhibited moderate activity against all cancer cell lines. Furthermore, under the test conditions it was found that 14-methoxytajixanthone-25-acetate and tajixanthone hydrate are almost as active as doxorubicin hydrochloride against gastric carcinoma (KATO3) and breast carcinoma (BT474).

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.469-474
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• 2004

We have fabricated and designed wavelength-tunable sampled grating distributed Bragg reflector laser diodes(SGDBR-LD) by using, for the first time, planar buried heterostructures(PBH). The diodes have low threshold current values and high-performance of laser operation. Growth condition using metal organic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD) was optimized for the formation of a good butt-coupling at the interface. A maximum output power of the fabricated device was 20 mW under 200 mA continuous wave(CW) operation at $25^{\circ}C$. Average threshold current and voltage were 12 mA and 0.8 V, approximately. This output power is higher than those of ridge waveguide(RWG) and buried ridge stripe(BRS) structures by amounts of 9 mW and 13 mW, respectively. We obtained a tuning range of 44.4nm which is well matched with the target value of our design. The side mode suppression ratio of more than 35 dB was obtained for the whole tuning range. Optical output power variation was less than 5 dB, which is 4 dB smaller than that of RWG structures.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.4623-4628
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• 2015

Breast cancer still remains as the most frequent cancer with second mortality rate in women worldwide. There are no validated biomarkers for detection of the disease in early stages with effective power in diagnosis and therapeutic approaches. Cancer/testis antigens are recently promising tumor antigens and suitable candidates for targeted therapies and generating cancer vaccines. We conducted the present study to analyze transcript changes of two cancer/testis antigens, OIP5 and TAF7L, in breast tumors and cell lines in comparison with normal breast tissues by quantitative real time RT-PCR for the first time. Significant over-expression of OIP5 was observed in breast tumors and three out of six cell lines including MDA-MB-468, T47D and SKBR3. Not significant expression of TAF7L was evident in breast tumors but significant increase was noted in three out of six cell lines including MDA-MB-231, BT474 and T47D. OIP5 has ssignificant role in chromatin organization and cell cycle control during cell cycle exit and normal chromosome segregation during mitosis and TAF7L is a component of the transcription factor IID, which is involved in transcription initiation of most protein coding genes. TAF7Lis located at X chromosome and belongs to the CT-X gene family of cancer/testis antigens which contains about 50% of CT antigens, including those which have been used in cancer immunotherapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.63-68
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• 2013

Background: Tumor angiogenesis correlates with recurrence and appears to be a prognostic factor for both breast and prostate cancers. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the correlation of microvessel density (MVD), a measure of angiogenesis, with nuclear pleomorphism, mitotic count, and vascular invasion in breast and prostate cancers at preclinical and clinical levels. Methods: Samples from xenograft tumors of luminal B breast cancer and prostate adenocarcinoma, established by BT-474 and PC-3 cell lines, respectively, and commensurate human paraffin-embedded blocks were obtained. To determine MVD, specimens were immunostained for CD-34. Nuclear pleomorphism, mitotic count, and vascular invasion were determined using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained slides. Results: MVD showed significant correlations with nuclear pleomorphism (r=0.68, P=0.03) and vascular invasion (r=0.77, P=0.009) in breast cancer. In prostate cancer, MVD was significantly correlated with nuclear pleomorphism (r=0.75, P=0.013) and mitotic count (r=0.75, P=0.012). In the breast cancer xenograft model, a significant correlation was observed between MVD and vascular invasion (r=0.87, P=0.011). In the prostate cancer xenograft model, MVD was significantly correlated with all three parameters (nuclear pleomorphism, r=0.95, P=0.001; mitotic count, r=0.91, P=0.001; and vascular invasion, r=0.79, P=0.017; respectively). Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that MVD is correlated with nuclear pleomorphism, mitotic count, and vascular invasion at both preclinical and clinical levels. This study therefore supports the predictive value of MVD in breast and prostate cancers.