| 1. |
- Fakhoury, Isabelle, et al.
(author)
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Uptake, delivery, and anticancer activity of thymoquinone nanoparticles in breast cancer cells
- 2016
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In: Journal of nanoparticle research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1388-0764 .- 1572-896X. ; 18:7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Thymoquinone (TQ) is a promising anticancer molecule but its development is hindered by its limited bioavailability. Drug encapsulation is commonly used to overcome low drug solubility, limited bioavailability, and nonspecific targeting. In this project, TQ nanoparticles (TQ-NP) were synthesized and characterized. The cytotoxicity of the NP was investigated in nontumorigenic MCF-10-A breast cells, while the uptake, distribution, as well as the anticancer potential were investigated in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Flash Nanoprecipitation and dynamic light scattering coupled with scanning electron microscopy were used to prepare and characterize TQ-NP prior to measuring their anticancer potential by MTT assay. The uptake and subcellular intake of TQ-NP were evaluated by fluorometry and confocal microscopy. TQ-NP were stable with a hydrodynamic average diameter size around 100 nm. Entrapment efficiency and loading content of TQ-NP were high (around 80 and 50 %, respectively). In vitro, TQ-NP had equal or enhanced anticancer activity effects compared to TQ in MCF-7 and aggressive MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, respectively, with no significant cytotoxicity of the blank NP. In addition, TQ and TQ-NP were relatively nontoxic to MCF-10-A normal breast cells. TQ-NP uptake mechanism was both time and concentration dependent. Treatment with inhibitors of endocytosis suggested the involvement of caveolin in TQ-NP uptake. This was further confirmed by subcellular localization findings showing the colocalization of TQ-NP with caveolin and transferrin as well as with the early and late markers of endocytosis. Altogether, the results describe an approach for the enhancement of TQ anticancer activity and uncover the mechanisms behind cell-TQ-NP interaction.
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| 2. |
- Hassan, Saadia Bashir, et al.
(author)
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Alpha Terpineol : A Potential Anticancer Agent which Acts through Suppressing NF-kappa B Signalling
- 2010
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In: Anticancer Research. - 0250-7005 .- 1791-7530. ; 30:6, s. 1911-1919
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Alpha terpineol is a bioactive component of Salvia libanotica essential oil extract and has shown antitumour activity. Materials and Methods: The cytotoxicity of alpha terpineol towards different tumour cell lines was evaluated in vitro. Mechanistic characterization was performed using analysis of drug activity in a cell line panel and drug-induced gene expression perturbation using the connectivity map approach. Results: The small cell lung carcinoma was the cell line most sensitive to alpha terpineol. The results proposed alpha terpineol as an NF-kappa B inhibitor, which was confirmed by the observed dose-dependent inhibition of NF-kappa B translocation and activity using two NF-kappa B assays, and by the down-regulation of the expression of several NE-kappa B-related genes such as IL-1 beta and IL1R1. Conclusion: The results suggest that alpha terpineol inhibits the growth of tumour cells through a mechanism that involves inhibition of the NF-kappa B pathway.
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| 3. |
- Hassan, Saadia, et al.
(author)
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Gene expression signature-based chemcial genomics and activity pattern in a panel of tumour cell lines propose linalyl acetate as a protein kinase/NF-κB inhibitor
- 2008
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In: Gene Therapy and Molecular Biology. - 1529-9120. ; 12:B, s. 359-370
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The essential oil of Lebanese sage, Salvia libanotica, was reported to have anti-tumour activity; however, the mechanism of action has not been identified yet. In this study, 14- cancer cell lines including drug-sensitive and resistant lung, leukaemia, and colon, as well as primary human tumours of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and primary normal mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were used to characterize the anti-tumour activity and mechanism of action of linalyl acetate, a component of the Lebanese sage essential oil. Drug activity and gene expression data sets were utilized to identify drugs with similar activity patterns and genes involved in drug sensitivity/resistance. In addition, the Connectivity Map, a gene expression signature-based screening approach, assisted in predicting further the molecular action of linalyl acetate. Small cell lung carcinoma and colorectal cancer cell lines were the most sensitive to the drug and greater tumour selectivity was observed against chronic lymphocytic leukaemia cells compared to normal mononuclear cells. Only limited effect of some of the classical mechanisms of multi-drug resistance on the activity of Linalyl acetate was noted which makes it potentially interesting for drug-resistant patients. There was high similarity between the activity-pattern/gene expression profile of linalyl acetate and that of protein kinase/NF-kappa B inhibitors. Validating this, linalyl acetate was found to strongly inhibit Janus kinase, JAK3, and p38 alpha kinases in a cell-free assay as well as the NF-kappa B translocation in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, our results show that the NF-kappa B inhibitor, linalyl acetate, may represent a new therapeutic compound in the management of inflammation and cancer.
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| 4. |
- Itani, Wafica, et al.
(author)
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Anti colon cancer components from lebanese sage (Salvia libanotica) essential oil : Mechanistic basis
- 2008
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In: Cancer Biology & Therapy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1538-4047 .- 1555-8576. ; 7:11, s. 1765-1773
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Lebanese sage essential oil possesses antitumor properties, however, the bioactive components and antitumor mechanisms are not known. Here we show that combining the three sage bioactive compounds, Linalyl acetate (Ly), Terpeniol (Te) and Camphor (Ca), caused synergistic inhibition of the growth of two isogenic human colon cancer cell lines HCT-116 (p53(+/+) and p53(-/-)), and had no effect on growth of FHs74Int normal human intestinal cell line. In p53(+/+) cells, the combination of Ly + Te + Ca (10(-3) M of each) caused significant accumulation of cells in PreG(1) (64% at 48 h); less preG(1) increase was observed in response to Ly + Te (25%) or Ly + Ca (14%). In p53(-/-) cells, Ly + Te + Ca caused cell accumulation in PreG(1) and G(2)/M phases. In response to the three components, 58% apoptosis occurred in p53(+/+) cells and 38% in p53(-/-) cells. Apoptosis by Ly + Te + Ca, in p53(+/+) cells, was associated with increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and pp53/p53 ratio, cleavage and activation of caspase-3, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and cytochrome c release. In p53(-/-) cells, the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential was observed but to a lesser extent than in p53(+/+) cells and caspase activation or cleavage did not appear to be involved in drug-induced apoptosis. Sage components induced poly(ADP-ribose)-polymerase (PARP) cleavage in both p53(+/+) and p53(-/-) cell lines. Pretreatment with the caspase-3 inhibitor and pan caspase inhibitor abrogated drug-mediated apoptosis and blocked procaspase-3 activation and partially blocked PARP cleavage in p53(+/+) cells. Conversely, in p53(-/-) cells, pre-incubation with caspase inhibitors potentiated drug-induced cell death. It appears that apoptosis in p53(+/+) cells is through the mitochondrial-mediated, caspase-dependent pathway, while in p53(-/-) cells apoptosis is mostly caspase independent despite the presence and features indicating caspase-dependent cell death, such as cytochrome c release and PARP cleavage. Our findings encourage further studies of sage oil components as promising chemotherapeutic agents against colon cancer.
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