A therapeutical insight into the correlation between circRNAs and signaling pathways involved in cancer pathogenesis

Pre-messenger RNA molecules are back-spliced to create circular RNAs, which are non-coding RNA molecules. After a thorough investigation, it was discovered that these circRNAs have critical biological roles. CircRNAs have a variety of biological functions, including their ability to operate as microRNA sponges, interact with proteins to alter their stabilities and activities, and provide templates for the translation of proteins. Evidence supports a link between the emergence of numerous diseases, including various cancer types, and dysregulated circRNA expression. It is commonly known that a significant contributing element to cancer development is the disruption of numerous molecular pathways essential for preserving cellular and tissue homeostasis. The dysregulation of multiple biological processes is one of the hallmarks of cancer, and the molecular pathways linked to these processes are thought to be promising targets for therapeutic intervention. The biological and carcinogenic effects of circRNAs in the context of cancer are thoroughly reviewed in this article. Specifically, we highlight circRNAs' involvement in signal transduction pathways and their possible use as novel biomarkers for the early identification and prognosis of human cancer.

A comprehensive review on Ellagic acid in breast cancer treatment: From cellular effects to molecular mechanisms of action

Globally, breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. Hence, developing a therapeutic plan to overcome the disease is crucial. Numerous factors such as endogenous hormones and environmental factors may play a role in the pathophysiology of BC. Regarding the multi-modality treatment of BC, natural compounds like ellagic acid (EA) received has received increased interest in antitumor efficacy with lower adverse effects. Based on the results of this comprehensive review, EA has multiple effects on BC cells including (1) suppresses the growth of BC cells by arresting the cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase, (2) suppresses migration, invasion, and metastatic, (3) stimulates apoptosis in MCF-7 cells via TGF-β/Smad3 signaling axis, (4) inhibits CDK6 that is important in cell cycle regulation, (5) binds to ACTN4 and induces its degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, inducing decreased cell motility and invasion in BC cells, (6) inhibits the PI3K/AKT pathway, and (7) inhibits angiogenesis-associated activities including proliferation (reduces VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase activity). In conclusion, EA exhibits anticancer activity through various molecular mechanisms that influence key cellular processes like apoptosis, cell cycle, angiogenesis, and metastasis in BC. However, further researches are essential to fully elucidate its molecular targets and implications for clinical applications.

Exosomes derived from adipose stem cells in combination with hyaluronic acid promote diabetic wound healing

Diabetic wound is one of the main challenges in dermatology. Although stem cell-based treatment has therapeutic benefits in wound repair, the clinical application is still limited. Herein we investigated whether adipose stem cells -derived exosomes (Exo) loaded on hyaluronic acid (HA) could promote healing in diabetic rats. Sixty diabetic rats were randomly planned into the control group, Exo group, HA group, and HA+Exo group. On days 7, 14, and 21, five rats from each group were sampled for stereological, molecular, and tensiometrical assessments. Our results indicated that the wound closure rate, the total volumes of new epidermis and dermis, the numerical densities of fibroblasts, the length density blood vessels, collagen density as well as tensiometrical parameters of the healed wounds were significantly higher in the treated groups than in the control group, and these changes were more obvious in the HA+Exo ones. Furthermore, the expression of TGF-β and VEGF genes were meaningfully upregulated in all treated groups compared to the control group and were greater in the HA+Exo group. This is while expression of TNF-α and IL-1β, as well as numerical densities of neutrophils decreased more considerably in the HA+Exo group in comparison to the other groups. Generally, it was found that using both HA injection and exosomes has more effect on diabetic wound healing.

The potential role of interleukins and interferons in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer poses significant challenges and remains a highly lethal disease with limited treatment options. In the context of ovarian cancer, interleukins (ILs) and interferons (IFNs), important cytokines that play crucial roles in regulating the immune system, have emerged as significant factors influencing its development. This article provides a comprehensive review of the involvement of various ILs, including those from the IL-1 family, IL-2 family, IL-6 family, IL-8 family, IL-10 family, and IL-17 family, in ovarian cancer. The focus is on their impact on tumor growth, metastasis, and their role in evading immune responses within the tumor microenvironment. Additionally, the article conducts an in-depth examination of the oncogenic or antitumor roles of each IL in the context of ovarian cancer pathogenesis and progression. Besides, we elucidated the enhancements in the treatment of ovarian cancer through the utilization of type-I IFN and type-II IFN. Recent research has shed light on the intricate mechanisms through which specific ILs and IFNs contribute to the advancement of the disease. By incorporating recent findings, this review also seeks to inspire further investigations into unexplored mechanisms, fostering ongoing research to develop more effective therapeutic strategies for ovarian cancer. Moreover, through an in-depth analysis of IL- and IFN-associated clinical trials, we have highlighted their promising potential of in the treatment of ovarian cancer. These clinical trials serve to reinforce the significant outlook for utilizing ILs and IFNs as therapeutic agents in combating this disease.

Metabolic syndrome in relation to dietary acid load: a dose-response meta-analysis of observational studies

Background and aim

Several studies have identified that dietary acid load (DAL) may be associated with the odds of metabolic syndrome (MetS); however, the evidence is inconclusive. This dose-response meta-analysis aimed to examine the relation of DAL to MetS.

Methods

A systematic literature search was carried out in PubMed and Scopus up to April 2023 for pertinent studies evaluating the relation of DAL scores, including potential renal acid load (PRAL) and net endogenous acid production (NEAP), to the odds of MetS. The odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis to test the association.

Results

Eight studies, with an overall sample size of 31,351 participants, were included in this meta-analysis. Higher DAL scores were significantly related to the elevated odds of MetS (NEAP: OR = 1.42, 95%CI = 1.12-1.79; PRAL: OR = 1.76, 95%CI = 1.11-2.78), with significant evidence of heterogeneity across studies. The linear dose-response analysis proposed that a 10 mEq/day elevation in NEAP and PRAL was linked to a 2% (OR = 1.02, 95%CI = 1.001-1.05) and 28% (OR = 1.28, 95%CI = 1.11-1.47) increased odds of MetS, respectively. No non-linear association was observed between MetS and NEAP (P-non-linearity = 0.75) and PRAL (P-non-linearity = 0.92).

Conclusion

This study revealed a significant direct relationship between DAL and MetS. Therefore, lower acidogenic diets are suggested for the prevention of MetS.

miR-495-3p as a promising tumor suppressor in human cancers

Noncoding RNAs are a type of cellular RNA not having the ability to translate into proteins. As an important type of ncRNA with a length of about 22 nucleotides (nt), microRNAs were revealed to contribute to regulating the various cellular functions via regulating the protein translation of target genes. Among them, available studies proposed that miR-495-3p is a pivotal player in cancer pathogenesis. These studies showed that the expression level of miR-495-3p decreased in various cancer cells, suggesting its tumor suppressor role in cancer pathogenesis. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) are the important regulators of miR-495-3p via sponging it, leading to increased expression levels of its target genes. Moreover, miR-495-3p was shown to have a promising potential to be a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker in cancer. MiR-495-3p also could affect the resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy agents. Here, we discussed the molecular mechanisms of miR-495-3p in various cancer including breast cancer. In addition, we discussed the miR-495-3p potential as a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker as well as its activity in cancer chemotherapy. Finally, we discussed the current limitations regarding the use of microRNAs in clinics and the future prospects of microRNAs.

Double chelation of Iron through dimer formation of favipiravir: Density functional theory analysis

This work was performed to examine an idea about full chelation of Iron (Fe) by well-known favipiravir (Fav) as a possible mechanism of action for medication of COVID-19 patients. To this aim, formations of Fe- mediated dimers of Fav were investigated by performing density functional theory (DFT) computations of electronic and structural features for singular and dimer models. The results indicated that the models of dimers were suitable for formation, in which two cis (D1) and trans (D2) models were obtained regarding the configurations of two Fav counterparts towards each other. Energy results indicated that formation of D1 was slightly more favorable than formation of D2. Molecular orbital features affirmed hypothesized interacting sites of Fav for Fe-mediated dimers formations, in which atomic charges and other molecular orbital related representations affirmed such achievements. Moreover, detection of such dimer formation was also possible by monitoring variations of molecular orbitals features. As a consequence, formations of Fe-mediated dimers of Fav could be achievable for possible removal of excess of Fe as a proposed mechanism of action for Fav in medication of COVID-19 patients.