Molecular and biological functions of gingerol as a natural effective therapeutic drug for cervical cancer

Fabrication, optimization, and characterization of pH-responsive PEGylated nanoniosomes containing gingerol for enhanced treatment of breast cancer

Multiple potential drug delivery strategies have emerged as a result of recent advances in nanotechnology and nanomedicine. The aim of this research was to prepare an optimized system of PEGylated gingerol-loaded niosomes (Nio-Gin@PEG) as an excellent candidate for the treatment of human breast cancer cells. The preparation procedure was modified by adjusting the drug concentration, lipid content, and Span60/Tween60 ratio, resulting in high encapsulation efficacy (EE%), rapid release rate, and reduced size. The Nio-Gin@PEG exhibited significantly improved storage stability compared to the gingerol-loaded niosomes formulation (Nio-Gin), with minimal changes in EE%, release profile, and size during storage. Furthermore, Nio-Gin@PEG demonstrated pH-dependent release behavior, with delayed drug diffusion at physiological pH and significant drug diffusion under acidic conditions (pH = 5.4), making it a promising option for cancer treatment. Cytotoxicity tests indicated that Nio-Gin@PEG possessed excellent biocompatibility with human fibroblast cells while exerting a remarkable inhibitory effect on MCF-7 and SKBR3 breast cancer cells, attributed to the presence of gingerol and the PEGylated structure in the preparation. Nio-Gin@PEG also exhibited the ability to modulate the expression of target genes. We observed statistically significant down-regulation of the expression of BCL2, MMP2, MMP9, HER2, CCND1, CCNE1, BCL2, CDK4, and VEGF genes, along with up-regulation of the expression of BAX, CASP9, CASP3, and P21 genes. Flow cytometry results revealed that Nio-Gin@PEG could induce a higher rate of apoptosis in both cancerous cells compared to gingerol and Nio-Gin, owing to the optimal encapsulation and efficient drug release from the formulation, as confirmed by cell cycle tests. ROS generation demonstrated the superior antioxidant effect of Nio-Gin@PEG compared to other prepared formulations. The results of this study emphasize the potential of formulating highly biocompatible niosomes in the future of nanomedicine, enabling more precise and effective treatment of cancers.

Pharmacological network study on the effect of 6-gingerol on cervical cancer using computerized databases

Cervical cancer (CC) is the most frequent cancer in the female population worldwide. Although there are treatments available, they are ineffective and cause adverse effects. 6-gingerol is an active component in ginger with anticancer activity. This research aims to discover the mechanism by which 6-gingerol act as an anticancer agent on CC through a pharmacological network using bioinformatics databases. From MalaCard, Swiss Target Prediction, Comparative Toxicogenomics Database, and Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform, we obtained the target genes for 6-gingerol and CC and matched them. We got 26 genes and analyzed them in ShinyGO-0.76.3 and DAVID-Bioinformatics Resources. Then, we generated a protein-protein interaction network in Cytoscape and obtained 12 hub genes. Hub genes were analyzed in Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis and TISIDB. In addition, molecular docking studies were performed between target proteins with 6-gingerol using SwissDock database. Finally, molecular dynamics studies for three proteins with the lowest interaction energy were implemented using Gromacs software. According to gene ontology results, 6-gingerol is involved in processes of apoptosis, cell cycle, and protein kinase complexes, affecting mitochondria and pathways related to HPV infection. CTNNB1 gene was negatively correlated with CD8+ infiltration but was not associated with a higher survival rate. Furthermore, the molecular docking study showed that 6-gingerol has a high binding to proteins, and the molecular dynamics showed a stable interaction of 6-gingerol to AKT1, CCNB1, and CTNNB1 proteins. Conclusion, our work helps to understand the anticancer activity of 6-gingerol in CC that should be studied experimentally.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Phytocompound identification of aqueous Zingiber officinale rhizome (ZOME) extract reveals antiproliferative and reactive oxygen species mediated apoptotic induction within cervical cancer cells: an in vitro and in silico approach

The prevalence of cervical cancer in women is in the fourth position among various other types of cancer globally. Many established therapies, including surgery, chemotherapy, and immunomodulation, are present, but high levels of side effects cause mortality and morbidity among the patients. Zingiber officinale rhizome (ZOME) has been potentially used to cure a variety of ailments and diseases. The aqueous ZOME extract also contains ample phytochemical constituents having anticancer effects on different cancers. The cell viability of HeLa cells was evaluated using MTT assay with IC50 at 97 µg/mL. Furthermore, a significant level of ROS generation causes the apoptosis of the cells. Nuclear staining dye DAPI and Hoechst 33342 showed DNA's fragmented and condensed form. Propidium Iodide staining showed necrotic or late-apoptotic cells. While acidic organelle dye LysoTracker and MitoTracker dye along with dual staining showed significant results. In silico studies were carried out using identified phytochemicals from GC-MS analysis with pharmacokinetics properties (ADMET), and targeted toward receptor proteins for molecular docking. Ligands with high docked scores were subjected to molecular dynamics simulations at 310 K for 100 ns. In vitro and in silico investigations in our studies showed that aqueous ZOME extract can be used as an efficient therapy against cervical cancer treatment as it showed significant cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects toward the HeLa cell line.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Public Health Burden of Secondhand Smoking: Case Reports of Lung Cancer and a Literature Review

Secondhand smoke (SHS), composed of mainstream and sidestream smoke, is a known human carcinogen. It contains a variety of harmful substances at even higher concentrations than mainstream smoke itself, which is inhaled during firsthand smoking. Exposure to SHS, affecting more than a third of the worldwide population, increases the likelihood of lung cancer by roughly 30%, with specific contributions depending on the histological type of cancer. This study aimed to present the harmful potential of SHS through case reports and describe the burden of SHS via a literature review. From a collection of lung cancer case reports occurring in never smokers from the Olomouc district over the last 10 years, 2 cases with no risk factors for lung cancer except for significant exposure to SHS were identified. Both cases were of young women who lived in households where their parents smoked during childhood. They suffered from rarer histological types of lung cancer in which the association with SHS has not yet been analyzed. As the literature confirms, SHS has the most adverse effects in individuals exposed during childhood. It is necessary to both take measures to reduce the prevalence of SHS, especially among children in households and pay due attention to the smoking history of patients, including current and previous exposure to SHS, when obtaining anamnestic data. Furthermore, the effect of SHS on rarer histological types of lung cancer should be studied.

The ginger extract could improve diabetic retinopathy by inhibiting the expression of e/iNOS and G6PDH, apoptosis, inflammation, and angiogenesis

Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes, caused by high blood sugar levels damaging the retina. It is the result of damage to the small blood vessels and neurons of the retina. Ginger and its phytochemical compounds can improve oxidative damage and inflammation. However, the effects of this plant on ocular expression G6PDH and e/iNOS, eye cell apoptosis, and angiogenesis are not well known in this tissue. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic potential of ginger extract on rats with type 2 diabetic retinopathy. Thirty-two Wistar rats were randomly divided into four controlled and treated groups. The serum level of metabolic factors such as lipid profiles, insulin and glucose, and the level of oxidative biomarkers along with the TNF-α level in eye tissue were measured. The expression of NF-κB, VEGF, BAX, Bcl-2, caspase-3, e/iNOS, and G6PDH in eye tissue was measured. Serum levels of lipid profiles, glucose, and insulin, oxidative and inflammatory markers were significantly increased in the diabetic group compared to control. While, treatment with ginger extract could significantly improve these factors in diabetic rats. Moreover, the ocular expression of e/iNOS, G6PDH, VEGF, NF-κB, and genes involved in apoptosis was changed in diabetic rats. However, treatment with ginger extract could ameliorate these changes in the diabetic-treated group. It can be concluded that ginger extract could improve diabetic retinopathy by inhibiting oxidative damage, inflammation, iNOS, VEGF, apoptosis, and improving eNOS and G6PDH. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Microvascular complications of diabetes such as retinopathy can be one of the main causes of disability in people with diabetes. Chronic hyperglycemia, oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis cause diabetic retinopathy through retinal damage. Ginger, on the other hand, is an available, inexpensive, and uncomplicated medicinal plant that contains more than 20 different phytochemicals, such as gingerol and shogaol, which have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antihypertensive, hypoglycemic, and hypolipidemic properties. The results of our study showed well that the ginger extract could improve diabetic retinopathy by inhibiting the expression of e/iNOS and G6PDH and oxidative damage, apoptosis, inflammation, and angiogenesis. Therefore, ginger and its compounds can be a good option to improve the complications of diabetes.

Effect of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides on cell signal transduction pathways

Lycium barbarum polysaccharide (LBP), is a major active ingredient Lycium barbarum (LB), which exhibits several beneficial effects through NF-κB, PI3K-Akt-mTOR, p38-MAPK, Wnt-β-catenin, PI3K-Akt-GSK-3β, and MyD88 signal pathway, including anti-oxidation, and anti-aging, hypolipidemic and hypoglycemic, radiation, anti-tumor, and neuroprotection. Today, many researching papers are published on the LBP in physiology and pathology; however, the review of the LBP taking part in the signal transduction pathway in physiology and pathology is rear searched. Therefore, this research topic is a collection of reviews and original research articles that focus on the methods of the LBP extraction and its effects on the signal transduction pathway. The aim of this study is to provide theoretical evidence for in-depth analysis of the mechanisms of LBP in clinical clinical research studies.

PAX9 functions as a tumor suppressor gene for cervical cancer via modulating cell proliferation and apoptosis

To investigate the effect of PAX9 on the progression of cervical cancer (CC). PAX9 expression was quantified in CC tissues and adjacent normal tissues, as well as human CC cell lines and human cervical epithelial cells (HCerEpiC). PAX9-overexpression lentiviral vectors were transfected into CC cell lines, followed by the measurement of proliferation and apoptosis and the quantification of apoptosis-related proteins. In vivo, mice were subcutaneously injected with CaSki cells transfected with PAX9-overexpression lentiviral vectors and control vectors. Then, the volume and weight of tumors were measured followed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining, and immunohistochemistry. PAX9 expression in the CC tissues was lower than that in the adjacent normal tissues, which was correlated with the FIGO stage, tumor size, infiltration depth, parametrium invasion, lympho-vascular space invasion tumor-positive lymph nodes, and prognosis. Furthermore, PAX9 in CC cell lines was also lower than in HCerEpiC. PAX9 inhibits the CC cell proliferation and promotes the apoptosis, with the up-regulations of caspase-3, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), and Bax and the down-regulation of Bcl-2. In vivo experiments demonstrated that in the PAX9 group, the tumor weight and volume were lower than those in the vector group accompanying the decreased Ki-67, cleaved-caspase-3, and Bax expressions and the increased TUNEL and Bcl-2 expression. PAX9 was lowly expressed in the CC tissues and associated with the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. PAX9 could inhibit proliferation of CC cell lines and promote the apoptosis, thus suppressing the tumor growth in vivo, indicating its potential therapeutic role for CC treatment.

In vitro and in vivo therapeutic potentials of 6-gingerol in combination with amphotericin B for treatment of Leishmania major infection: Powerful synergistic and multifunctional effects

The ongoing conventional drugs for leishmaniasis treatment are insufficient. The present study aimed to assess 6-gingerol alone and in combination with amphotericin B on Leishmania major stages using experimental and in vivo murine models. Here, arrays of experimental approaches were designed to monitor and evaluate the 6-gingerol potential therapeutic outcomes. The binding affinity of 6-gingerol and IFN-γ was the basis for docking conformations. 6-Gingerol combined with amphotericin B represented a safe mixture, extremely leishmanicidal, a potent antioxidant, induced a remarkable apoptotic index, significantly increased the expression of the Th1-related cytokines (IL-12p40, IFN-γ, and TNF- α), iNOS, and transcription factors (STAT1, c-Fos, and Elk-1). In contrast, the expression of the Th2-related cytokines was significantly downregulated (p < 0.001). This combination was also potent when the lesion appearance was evaluated following three weeks of treatment. The histopathological and immunohistochemical patterns of the murine model represented clusters of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes which compressed and deteriorated the macrophages harboring Leishman bodies. The primary mode of action of 6-gingerol and amphotericin B involved broad mechanistic insights providing a coherent basis for further clinical study as a potential drug candidate for CL. In conclusion, 6-gingerol with amphotericin B synergistically exerted anti-leishmanial activity in vitro and in vivo and potentiated macrophages' leishmanicidal activity, modulated Th1- and Th2-related phenotypes improved the histopathological changes in the BALB/c mice infected with L. major. They elevated the leukocyte infiltration into the lesions. Therefore, this combination should be considered for treating volunteer patients with CL in clinical studies.

Therapeutic indications, chemical composition and biological activity of native Brazilian species from Psidium genus (Myrtaceae): A review

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE

Brazilian medicinal species of the Psidium genus are rich in secondary metabolites such as terpenes and phenolic compounds and present biological activities for several human diseases. For the native Psidium species, there are no specific research reports for any member of the genus about ethnobotanical research, hindering the joint analysis of its therapeutic indications together with the scientific evidence already investigated.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

Analyze the therapeutic indications, the main chemical constituents, and the biological activities of native species of the Psidium to Brazil.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Systematic research was carried out in the Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Web of Science databases over a period of ten years. Articles in English, Portuguese and Spanish were used. The research was divided into three phases, seeking information on ethnobotany, chemical composition and biological activities. The words were combined to structure the descriptors used in the search.

RESULTS

A total of 13 native species belonging to the Psidium genus were identified in this analysis, Psidium acutangulum DC., Psidium brownianum Mart. ex DC., Psidium cattleyanum Sabine, Psidium densicomum Mart. ex DC., Psidium grandifolium Mart. ex DC., Psidium guineense Sw., Psidium laruotteanum Cambess., Psidium myrsinites DC, Psidium myrtoides O. Berg, Psidium salutare (Kunth) O. Berg, Psidium schenckianum Kiaersk., Psidium sobralianum Proença & Landrum, Psidium striatulum Mart. ex DC. Of these, six were indicated in folk medicine, digestive system disorders being their main therapeutic indication. Most species presented an investigation of chemical composition and biological activity. They are rich in phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and terpenes and have antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiproliferative, and repellent activities.

CONCLUSIONS

Native species of the Psidium genus are important sources of active ingredients in combating adversities that affect the human health, especially regarding the digestive system. They have a rich chemical composition, responsible for the biological activities demonstrated for the species.