Systematic analysis and prediction for disease burden of ovarian cancer attributable to hyperglycemia: a comparative study between China and the world from 1990 to 2019

Probing the role of Coniferin and Tetrahydrocurcumin from Traditional Chinese medicine against PSAT1 in early-stage ovarian cancer: An in silico study

Ovarian cancer, a formidable gynaecological malignancy, poses a significant global health challenge, and it is characterised by late-stage diagnosis and a high mortality rate. Even in its early stages, when treatment choices are scarce, ovarian cancer is still a complicated cancer to treat. In this work, we used computational approaches to find putative Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) inhibitors that target Phosphoserine Aminotransferase 1 (PSAT1), a crucial enzyme linked to the development of early-stage ovarian cancer. Using a methodical screening approach, we chose a panel of TCM compounds and prepared them, expected to interact with PSAT1. We next evaluated the binding affinities using molecular docking, which helped to identify Coniferin and Tetrahydrocurcumin compounds as potent inhibitors with the docking score of -8.8 kcal/mol and -8.9 Kcal/mol, respectively, and compared to the native ligand. The inhibitory effects of Coniferin and Tetrahydrocurcumin compounds were evaluated with the Pharmacokinetic studies and compared with the standard values, which resulted in an utter performance against each descriptor of the QikProp and performed the Molecular Interaction Fingerprints that resulted in the most interaction residues with counts were 4GLY, 4ASN, 4HIE, 4SER, 4THR, 3ARG and many more. Further, 100ns MD Simulation was performed in neutralised water, resulting in entirely stable deviations, fluctuations, and many intermolecular interactions, and the MM\GBSA studies on all 1000 trajectories have supported the complex's stability. The computational studies have shown a completely stable performance that supports Coniferin, and Tetrahydrocurcumin can be a potent inhibitor of PSAT1. However, further experimental works are needed to confirm this study.

Targeting Ovarian Cancer with Chalcone Derivatives: Cytotoxicity and Apoptosis Induction in HGSOC Cells

Ovarian cancer ranks as the eighth most prevalent form of cancer in women across the globe and stands as the third most frequent gynecological cancer, following cervical and endometrial cancers. Given its resistance to standard chemotherapy and high recurrence rates, there is an urgent imperative to discover novel compounds with potential as chemotherapeutic agents for treating ovarian cancer. Chalcones exhibit a wide array of biological properties, with a particular focus on their anti-cancer activities. In this research, we documented the synthesis and in vitro study of a small library of chalcone derivatives designed for use against high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) cell lines, specifically OVCAR-3, OVSAHO, and KURAMOCHI. Our findings revealed that three of these compounds exhibited cytotoxic and anti-proliferative effects against all the tested HGSOC cell lines, achieving IC50 concentrations lower than 25 µM. Further investigations disclosed that these chalcones prompted an increase in the subG1 phase cell cycle and induced apoptosis in OVCAR-3 cells. In summary, our study underscores the potential of chalcones as promising agents for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Prediction of human health risk and disability-adjusted life years induced by heavy metals exposure through drinking water in Fars Province, Iran

Exposure to heavy metals in contaminated drinking water is strongly correlated with various cancers, highlighting the burden of disease. This study aimed to assess the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks associated with exposure to heavy metals (As, Pb, Cd, and Cr) in drinking water of Fars province and evaluate the attributed burden of disease. Non-carcinogenic risk assessment was performed using the hazard quotient (HQ) method, while the carcinogenic risk assessment utilized the excess lifetime cancer risk approach. The burden of disease was evaluated in terms of years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) for three specific cancers: skin, lung, and kidney cancer. The average drinking water concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and lead (Pb) were determined to be 0.72, 0.4, 1.10 and 0.72 μg/L, respectively. The total average HQ of heavy metals in drinking water in the study area were 0.127, 0.0047, 0.0009 and 0.0069, respectively. The average ILCRs of heavy metal in the entire country were in the following order: 1.15 × 10-5 for As, 2.22 × 10-7 for Cd and 3.41 × 10-7 for Cr. The results also indicated that among the various counties analyzed, Fasa experiences the greatest burden of disease in terms of DALYs, with a value of 87.56, specifically attributed to cancers caused by exposure to arsenic. Generally, it can be said that the burden of disease is a critical aspect of public health that requires comprehensive understanding and effective intervention.

Comprehensive health risk analysis of heavy metal pollution using water quality indices and Monte Carlo simulation in R software

Rapid urbanization, population growth, agricultural practices, and industrial activities have led to widespread groundwater contamination. This study evaluated heavy metal contamination in residential drinking water in Shiraz, Iran (2021). The analysis involved 80 groundwater samples collected across wet and dry seasons. Water quality was comprehensively assessed using several indices, including the heavy metals evaluation index (HEI), heavy metal pollution index (HPI), contamination degree (CD), and metal index (MI). Carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk assessments were conducted using deterministic and probabilistic approaches for exposed populations. In the non-carcinogenic risk assessment, the chronic daily intake (CDI), hazard quotient (HQ), and hazard index (HI) are employed. The precision of risk assessment was bolstered through the utilization of Monte Carlo simulation, executed using the R software platform. Based on the results, in both wet and dry seasons, Zinc (Zn) consistently demonstrates the highest mean concentration, followed by Manganese (Mn) and Chromium (Cr). During the wet and dry seasons, 25% and 40% of the regions exhibited high CD, respectively. According to non-carcinogenic risk assessment, Cr presents the highest CDI and HQ in children and adults, followed by Mn, As and HI values, indicating elevated risk for children. The highest carcinogenic risk was for Cr in adults, while the lowest was for Cd in children. The sensitivity analysis found that heavy metal concentration and ingestion rate significantly impact both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks. These findings provide critical insights for shaping policy and allocating resources towards effectively managing heavy metal contamination in residential drinking water.