Flow-cytometric analysis of reactive oxygen species in cancer cells under treatment with brassinosteroids

Cancer and brassinosteroids: Mechanisms of action, SAR and future perspectives

Brassinosteroids are plant hormones whose main function is to stimulate plant growth. However, they have been studied for their biological applications in humans. Brassinosteroid compounds have displayed an important role in the study of cancer pathology and show potential for developing novel anticancer drugs. In this review we describe the relationship of brassinosteroids with cancer with focus on the last decade, the mechanisms of cytotoxic activity described to date, and a structure-activity relationship based on the available information.

Flow cytometry: principles, applications and recent advances

Flow cytometry (FCM) is a sophisticated technique that works on the principle of light scattering and fluorescence emission by the specific fluorescent probe-labeled cells as they pass through a laser beam. It offers several unique advantages as it allows fast, relatively quantitative, multiparametric analysis of cell populations at the single cell level. In addition, it also enables physical sorting of the cells to separate the subpopulations based on different parameters. In this constantly evolving field, innovative technologies such as imaging FCM, mass cytometry and Raman FCM are being developed in order to address limitations of traditional FCM. This review explains the general principles, main applications and recent advances in the field of FCM.

Cytotoxic and pharmacokinetic studies of Indian seaweed polysaccharides for formulating raindrop synbiotic candy

Gut microbiome evidenced as the assembling mode of action facilitates the relationship of environmental factors (such as diet and lifestyle) with colorectal cancer. The cytotoxic and anticancer studies of the enzymatically extracted polysaccharides from selected Indian seaweeds (such as S. wightii, E. compressa, and A. spicifera) on Raw 264.7 macrophage and HT-29 human colon cancer cell line were investigated. E. compressa showed nitric oxide production up to a concentration of 6.99 ± 0.05 μM. The polysaccharide extract of seaweed (PES), A. spicifera (100 μg/ml) had shown the highest in-vitro cytotoxicity effect on HT-29 cells up to 52.13 ± 1.4%. Absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) predictions were performed for exploring the possibility of anti-cancer drug development. The formulated synbiotic candy exhibited post storage survivability of probiotic species L. plantarum NCIM 2083 up to 10⁷ CFU/ml until three weeks and it could be an aesthetic functional food for treating colon cancer.

Study of Safety of SiO2(Ag)–Si System by Cytoflourometric Method of Analysis of Reactive Oxygen Species and Cell Death in Culture

The potential ability of SiO2(Ag)–Si nanosystem to induce oxidative stress and death of human peripheral blood cells involving reactive oxygen species was studied using a double-color cytoflourometry method. This SiO2(Ag)–Si system with silver dendrites obtained via the metal deposition into the pores of SiO2 template on a silicon substrate was shown to increase the concentration of ROS but not cause the cell death associated with oxidative stress. Such systems are prospective for the analysis of biological substances with Raman scattering.