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Objective(s): The purpose of this study was to investigate cytotoxicity and membrane toxicity effects induced by Mesobuthus eupeus venom (MEV) on the HT-29 cell line. Materials and Methods: To determine the in vitro cytotoxicity via MTT assays, HT-29 (as cancer cell line) and Hek-293T (as normal cell) were treated through different concentrations of MEV, and cytotoxicity effects were then measured through assessment of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and apoptosis induction. The colony formation assay was performed to measure the antiproliferative effect of MEV on HT-29 cells. Nuclei alterations were also observed during apoptosis following DAPI staining. Besides, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to detect alterations in morphology and ultrastructure of the cells at a nanoscale level. Results: According to MTT and clonogenic assays, MEV caused a significant decrease in cell viability and proliferation of HT-29 cells while it did not have any impact on normal cells and the IC50 value was found to be 10 μg/ml. Induction of apoptosis was also confirmed by flowcytometric analysis in HT-29 cells. Moreover, the results indicated that MEV had led to a suppression of proliferation and induction of apoptosis through increased ROS and depolarization of mitochondria. Furthermore, AFM imaging demonstrated apoptosis cell death after being treated with MEV in HT-29 cells. Conclusion: This study showed that MEV had an antiproliferative effect on HT-29 cells by inducing apoptosis through the mitochondria signaling pathway. These findings suggested that MEV could be used as a promising natural remedy for cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s) Nonenzymatic glycosylation (glycation) occurs in many macromolecules in aging and diabetes due to exposure of biomolecules to high level of glucose. Glycation can changes function, activities and structure of many biomolecules. Considering this important role of transferrin (Trf) in iron transport and antioxidant activity in plasma this study was carried out to investigate the effect of glycation in these processes. Materials and Methods In this study, human apo-Trf (5 mg/ml in sodium phosphate buffer pH= 7.4) was treated with different concentrations of glucose in different period of times (10 days and 20 days). Rate of glycation was measured using thiobarbituric acid method. The effect of glycation on iron binding antioxidant capacity of apo-Trf was investigated using two methods (RBC hemolysis and fluorescent). Results Result showed that rate of glycation of apo-Trf was increased with increase in glucose concentration and time of incubation (P< 0.05). Lower iron binding antioxidant capacity was observed for glycted Trf as compared to native Trf (P< 0.05). Conclusion Impairment of antioxidant capacity of glycated Trf can suggest a relationship between glycation of Trf and oxidative stress that occurs due to hyperglycemia in diabetic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]