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Ovarian cancer is the deadliest type of cancer in women. It is often presented at an advanced stage and has a poor prognosis. The current treatment methods for this tumor are not safe and have serious side effects. It has been suggested that the use of steroids for hormonal purposes is linked to the development of ovarian cancer. The current study aims to investigate the effects of cinnamaldehyde on these hormones. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of cinnamaldehyde on the reproductive hormones of rats after being induced to develop ovarian cancer. Cinnamaldehyde is an active compound that has been used in Asia for over 4000 years. Cinnamaldehyde has different biological activities including antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant, antitumor were reported by many investigators. In the present study, animals were randomly allocated into VI groups: Group -I served as a control with normal water and group-II was drug control (50 mg/kg b. w) rats received only cinnamaldehyde orally for 36 weeks. The rats in group III were given a single dose of 7,12 Dimethyl benzanthracene (100 µg/rat) dissolved in 10 µL of sesame oil to surgically exposed left ovary and maintained up to 36 weeks to initiate ovarian carcinogenesis. Group IV rats received DMBA + cinnamaldehyde 50 mg/kg b. w (before starting the experiment and continued up to 24 weeks). Group V rats received DMBA + cinnamaldehyde 50 mg/kg b. w (25-36 weeks). Group VI rats received DMBA + cinnamaldehyde 50 mg/kg b. w (1-36 weeks). Serum levels of Estrogen, progesterone, LH, FSH were estimated using ELISA. The results showed that significant increase in serum level of Estrogen, LH, FSH, and decreased progesterone in only DMBA treated group when compared with control groups. Also, there was a significant decrease in serum levels of Estrogen, LH, FSH, and increased progesterone in cinnamaldehyde treated groups (dose-dependent) when compared to only DMBA treated group. The results of the present study suggested that cinnamaldehyde has anticancer activity and further investigations are needed for evaluating the anticancer potential and mechanism of its action. Keywords: Cinnamaldehyde, DMBA, Ovarian cancer, Reproductive hormones.

In the present study, five NPs (containing ZnO, Au-ZnO, Cu-ZnO, TiO2, and Au-TiO2) were characterized using dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy, in order to observe their behavior under environmental change. The applicability of NPs for degradation of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), including benzo(a)pyrene, fluoranthene, and benzanthracene, using UV irradiation showed the high photocatalytic efficiency of doped NPs for the removal of the study pollutants. To predict the environmental impact and interaction between NPs and PAHs on marine organisms, Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels were exposed to concentrations of each chemical (50 and 100 μg/L) for 14 days. The mussel’s response was determined using the oxidative stress biomarker approach. Measured biomarkers in the mussel’s digestive gland showed possible oxidative mechanisms in a concentration-dependent manner occurring after exposure to PAHs and NPs separately. Overall, this finding provides an interesting combination to remove PAHs in water, and the incorporation of chemical element into the crystallographic structure of NPs and the combination of two different NPs to form a binary hybrid NPs are promising materials.

The reasons for the very high reactivity and variability of reactivity of two dienophiles, tetracyanoethylene (1) and 4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (2), in the Diels–Alder reactions were considered. The data on the rate of reactions with anthracene (3), benzanthracene (4) and dibenzanthracene (5) in 14 solvents over a range of temperatures and high pressures, data on the change in the enthalpy of solvation of reagents, transition state, and adducts in the forward and backward reactions, and the enthalpies of these reactions in solution were obtained. Strong π-acceptor dienophile 1 has sharply reduced reactivity in reactions in π-donor aromatic solvents. It was observed that the π-acceptor properties of dienophile 1 disappear upon passage to the transition state and adduct. Large solvent effects on the reaction rate can be predicted for all types of reactions involving tetracyanoethylene. Very high reactivity of dienophiles 1 and, especially, 2 can be useful to catch such carcinogenic impurities such as 3–5 and neutralize them by transformation into less dangerous adducts.

This study explores the antiskin cancer effect of formulated agar (FA) from Laminaria digitata on dimethyl benzanthracene- (DMBA-) induced skin cancer mice. The agar was extracted and formulated (emulgel), and FA was biochemically characterized. The in vitro cytotoxicity of FA was tested using NTT 3T3 mice fibroblast cells. The mice were divided into 5 groups: group 1 served as control mice, group 2 mice were considered as DMBA-induced cancer control, group 3 mice were FA pretreated (low dose) + DMBA-induced mice, group 4 mice were FA pretreated (high dose) + DMBA-induced mice, and group 5 were positive control + DMBA-induced mice. The behaviour and biochemical markers of cancer were significantly decreased in group 2 (DMBA-induced) mice, which were brought to near normalcy by FA pretreated mice (groups 3 and 4). The levels of p53 and keratin were significantly elevated in group 2 mice and these levels were decreased in 3 and 4 mice as well. The histopathological examination of DMBA-induced mice was shown degenerated cervical patches in the skin, cirrhosis in liver, oedema in the renal tissue, and swollen and damage in cardiac tissue, which were reduced for the mice applied with FA. This confirms that FA pretreatment offered potential antiskin cancer property.

In this study, DNA-functionalize-magnetic beads were investigated as sorbent materials for effective removing 1,2-benzanthracene (BaA) from water. In order to reveal the removal mechanism, the interaction mode between BaA and DNA was evaluated by using various characterization tools such as UV-visible and circular dichroism spectroscopy, fluorescence and resonance scattering spectroscopy, and agarose gel electrophoresis. In the presence of BaA, the melting temperature of DNA increased from 76.2 °C to 82.3 °C, which closely related to the intercalating of BaA. It was found that a part of the ethidium bromide (EB) binding sites to DNA were occupied by BaA in EB competing study. The results indicated that a new complex appeared between hsDNA and BaA, and the number of the binding sites (n) and the binding constants (K

The synthesis of the benz[a]anthracene skeleton of the angucyclines is described. Key steps involve the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction, isomerization of an aromatic allyl substituent to the corresponding styrene, and the use of the ring closing metathesis reaction to construct a benzene ring. For example, exposure of 3-allyl-2-bromo-1,4,5-trimethoxynaphthalene to (2-formyl-4-methoxyphenyl)boronic acid under palladium catalysis conditions resulted in the formation of 2-(3-allyl-1,4,5-trimethoxynaphthalen-2-yl)-5-methoxybenzaldehyde. This 2-naphthyl benzaldehyde then underwent a Wittig reaction to furnish 3-allyl-1,4,5-trimethoxy-2-(4-methoxy-2-vinylphenyl)naphthalene. Isomerization of the allyl group of this compound afforded the diene, (E)-1,4,5-trimethoxy-2-(4-methoxy-2-vinylphenyl)-3-(prop-1-en-1yl)naphthalene. Exposure of the formed diene to the Grubbs II catalyst resulted in the formation of the benzanthracene, 3,7,8,12-tetramethoxytetraphene, which was easily oxidized to the corresponding quinone.

The white light illumination effect has a large influence on charge carrier transport in organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs). In this work, an analytical model is presented for OTFTs using the variable range hopping (VRH) theory to discuss the Gaussian DOS distribution, the surface potential, the mobility and the Seebeck coefficient of the 2,3 benzanthracene thin-film transistor under dark and white light illuminations. This model explains the influence of illumination on the carrier density, the Gaussian DOS distribution effectively on the surface potential and the Seebeck coefficient. The White light illumination effect can remarkably enhance the surface potential at high gate voltages, as well as reduce the energetic disorder dependence of the Seebeck coefficient. Finally, according to the variable range hopping (VRH) model an analytical model has been also developed to simulate the transfer characteristics of organic phototransistor based on 2,3 benzanthracene and the obtained theoretical results show an excellent agreement with the experimental data.

Oil-contaminated zones of small-river watersheds of the Middle Ob region in the areas of the Sovetskoe, Maiskoe, and Festival’noe oilfields of Western Siberia have been investigated. The contamination level was 29–60 g/kg versus 1.8 g/kg for the background. The polluting oil has been found to contain acyclic and aromatic hydrocarbon entities, of which pyrenes, chrysenes, and benzanthracenes are the most toxic. The specific runoff of oil products and their total annual inflow to the river system have been calculated using data of laboratory research, Landsat satellite images, and the software suites ASTER GDEM and SRTM.

A colorful surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) sensor with the hue-based enhanced sensitivity has been developed by using sputtered AuAg alloy thin film as the sensing layer. The condition for optimizing the hue-based sensitivity of the SPRi sensor was achieved, that is, the initial resonance wavelength is in the range from 595 to 610 nm. Under this condition, the hue-based refractive index sensitivity of the SPRi sensor was measured as high as Δhue/Δnc=29879/RIU. This sensitivity is 8 times higher than that obtained with a gold-layer SPRi sensor (Δhue/Δnc=3658/RIU) and 7.7 times as high in magnitude as the spectral sensitivity of the same sensor (ΔλR/Δnc=3897.6 nm/RIU). After functionalization of the AuAg alloy film with the monoclonal antibody, the sensor was used for quantitative immunodetection of highly carcinogenic benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) in water. According to the experimental results, the average hue of the SPR color image (300 pixels×300 pixels) experiences an initial rapid increase and then stabilizes 15 min after exposure of the functionalized AuAg alloy film to an aqueous BaP solution sample. The variation of average hue obtained at the equilibrium of surface immunoreaction is a linear function of BaP concentration with the slope being Δhue/Δc=132.2/(μg·L−1). A cooled CCD camera is able to distinguish a change of Δhue=1, offering the colorful SPRi sensor the BaP detection limit of 0.01 μg·L−1. The comparative measurements of the sensor’s responses indicate that the hue variation obtained with 0.1 μg·L−1 of BaP is equal to that obtained either with 5 μg·L−1 of benzanthracene or with 5 μg·L−1 of benzofluoranthene, revealing the sensor’s excellent specificity to BaP. The work demonstrated that the AuAg alloy film-based colorful SPRi sensor can be used not only for visualized analysis of molecular interaction at the surface but also for quantitative trace detection of small-molecule analytes.

The paper discusses the transport functions of the main classes of blood plasma lipoproteins (LP) that are not associated with the metabolism of lipids that make up their composition. The aim of the study was to study the ability of various plasma LP fractions (very low (VLDL), low (LDL) and high density (HDL)) to interact with certain hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds and show the role of LP as transport forms of xenobiotics in the organs and tissues of the body. Material and methods . The studies were performed with tritium-labeled cytochalasin B, benzylpenicillin, benzanthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, ultracentrifugation of human plasma LP fractions, column chromatography; in vivo experiments with intravenous injection of LP complexes with tritium-labeled benzanthracene were conducted. Results. The ability of various classes of LP to form complexes with hydrophilic (cytochalasin B, benzylpenicillin) and hydrophobic (benzanthracene, benzo(a)pyrene) compounds is shown by the method of ultracentrifugation. More than 50 % of the radioactivity of hydrophilic compounds in human blood plasma was represented in the composition of the LDL and HDL fractions, and in the composition of the VLDL fractions it was minimal – 6.3 and 5.1 %, respectively. A significant part of cytochalasin and benzylpenicillin was also present in the protein infranatant – 43.6 and 40.9 %, respectively. The distribution in blood plasma for hydrophobic (benzanthracene, benzo(a)pyrene) compounds was different. More than 80 % of the radioactivity was represented in the composition of the LP fractions. The polar protein infranatant contained 16.1 % of the radioactivity of benzantracene and 13.6 % of benzo(a)pyrene. The features of the lipophilic xenobiotics uptake by organs and tissues were shown in vivo experiments with intravenous injection of complexes of LP with tritium-labeled benzanthracene to rats. The highest specific radioactivity was found in the liver and adrenal glands after the intravenous injection of 3H-benzanthracene in the composition of VLDL and LDL. Twice less uptake of the labeled drug was observed in the testis and kidneys. Radioactivity decreased in the series: lungs, adipose tissue, thymus, heart, and spleen. A feature of the use of HDL as a platform for 3H-enzanthracene is the intense accumulation of lipophilic xenobiotics in steroid-producing organs: the adrenal glands and testis. Conclusion . The results obtained allow us to consider the real possibility of using blood plasma PL as transport platforms for hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds into the cells of organs and tissues.

In this work, bottom-contact p-type organic thin-film transistors based on small-molecule benzanthracene with various channel lengths were fabricated, characterized, and theoretically investigated. The fabricated devices showed a pronounced shift for threshold voltage as the function of channel length. Electrical parameters characterizing fabricated devices have been systematically evaluated as a function of channel length with and without contact resistance in the calculation. Contact resistance (Rc) and channel resistance (Rch) are extracted individually using the transfer line method (TLM) for output characteristic curves that were done only at low drain voltage (linear regime). The effect of contact resistance on the values of various OTFTs parameters is more pronounced in short channel length devices. The obtained results revealed that the linear regime's corrected mobilities of short channel devices are about 15% smaller than uncorrected mobility. Comparatively, the corrected threshold voltage values were found to be nearly close to uncorrected values for all channel lengths. The analytical model was also applied to reproduce output characteristics in the linear regime of different channel lengths devices with or without contact resistance. It was found that the calculated results were in good agreement with the measured results (when considering the effect of contact resistance), which confirms that the used model can correctly describe the charge transport in these kinds of devices.

The need to include alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in human health risks assessments for oil contaminated seafood after crude oil spills is set forth. This is placed within the context of a brief review of the literature for PAHs and human health risk assessments after oil spills. The example of human health risk assessments for oil contaminated seafood after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is reviewed with the conclusion that PAHs such as alkylated chrysenes/triphenylenes/benzanthracenes should have been included in the human health risk assessment and not dismissed as present in very low concentrations relative to their parent PAHs.

A novel PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)-degrading strain, TAYx3 was isolated from mineral oil and heavy metal contaminated soil. Strain identification and characterization showed that TAYx3 wasYarrowia lipolytica.Tests forYarrowia lipolyticaTAYx3 growth on different substances are also described. The strain could use all PAHs tasted as sole carbon source, and showed synergistic interaction with humic acid (HA). With the existence of HA, the degradation rate of TAYx3 was naphthalene 90.7%, phenanthrene91.0%, fluoranthene74.7%, pyrene 86.9%, benzanthracene 84.7%, benzopyrene 74.7%, respectively.

The etched stainless steel powder was prepared and explored as sorbent material for solid-phase extraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for determination of trace polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in environmental matrices. The etched stainless steel powder was shown to be promising for solid-phase extraction of PAHs in environmental samples with subsequent HPLC separation and UV detection. This paper explored different factors that affected the adsorption efficiency of etched stainless steel powder, including the etched time of stainless steel powder, the mass of sorbent, and the volume of water sample, and so on. In the optimum conditions, nine kinds of PAHs, including trace naphthalene, acenaphthylene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, benzanthracene and benzopyrene, were extracted by etched stainless powder and the extraction efficiency is satisfactory.

Urban life has created man‐made extreme environments like carwashes. These environments have, however, not been sufficiently explored for mycobiota that can be sources of biotechnologically useful products, as has been the case with natural extreme environments. Using a combination of culture and molecular techniques, fungi from carwash effluents was characterized for production of lipase and cellulase enzymes, nonpolar and polar biotechnologically relevant secondary metabolites and hydrocarbon utilization. The isolated fungal strains belonged to the genera Alternaria, Cladosporium, Penicillium, Peyronellaea, Rhizopus, Spegazzinia, Trichoderma, Ulocladium and Yarrowia. Sixty‐six percent (66%) of the fungal isolates were found to be able to metabolize naphthalene and benzanthracene, showing potential for application in bioremediation of hydrocarbon polluted sites. Lipase production by the isolates Penicillium sp. BPS3 (2.61 U/ml), Trichoderma sp. BPS9 (2.01 U/ml), Rhizopus sp. CAL1 (2.05 U/ml), Penicillium sp. PCW1 (2.99 U/ml) and Penicillium sp. SAS1 (2.16 U/ml) compared well with previously recorded lipase production levels by other fungi. The highest producers of cellulase were Penicillium sp. SAS1 (12.10 U/ml), Peyronella sp. CAW5 (4.49 U/ml) and Cladosporium sp. SAS3 (4.07 U/ml), although these activities were lower than previously reported levels. GC‐MS analysis of the fungal secondary metabolites resulted in identification of 572 compounds, including azulene, methanamine, N‐pentylidene, metoclopramide, and mepivacaine while compounds determined by UHPLC‐MS included 10‐undecen‐1‐ol, piquerol A, 10‐undecyn‐1‐ol, cyclo(leucylprolyl) and rac‐etomidate. These compounds were previously determined to have various activities including anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, antihypertensive, antidiabetic and anti‐inflammatory properties. The study demonstrated that fungi from carwash effluents are natural sources of some biotechnologically important products.

Contamination of the environment with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is one of the major problems facing the industrialized nations today. In this work, Pseudomonas stutzeri CET 930 was studied for the first time as bioremediation agent for the degradation of effluents containing phenanthrene, pyrene and benzanthracene, both individually and mixed. The promising results of degradation obtained at flask scale (92, 63 and 94 % in 7 days, respectively) marks the onset of the operation at bench scale bioreactor. The overall biotransformation of phenanthrene, pyrene and benzanthracene in batch operation mode was 95, 78 and 82 % when present individually, and 100, 98 and 100 % when carrying out the biological process in cometabolic conditions, respectively. We have demonstrated the great versatility of this strain for the degradation of structurally different contaminants, such as metal working fluids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or insecticides such as chlorpyrifos, which makes it a suitable candidate to be applied at industrial scale. In all cases, the experimental data were successfully fitted to models, which turned out to be valuable tools to classify the metabolites involved in the biodegradation process as biomass-related. Since a complete mineralization was pursued, the metabolic pathways of the studied contaminants have been proposed based on gas chromatography–mass spectrometry data.

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Alarmingly, the incidence of breast cancer is rising rapidly in India. Aim: The present research was focused to assess the role of myricetin; a bioflavonoid in 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA)-induced breast cancer in female Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: A total of 36 female Wistar rats (total 6 groups, n = 6 per group) 6 - 8 weeks old, weighing 150 gm were used in the study. DMBA was given at the dose of 7.5 mg/kg subcutaneously in the mammary region once a week for 4 consecutive weeks in group 2. Vincristine was given in the dose of 500 μg/kg intraperitonially every week for 4 consecutive weeks in group 3. Myricetin was given orally in a dose of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg in group 4, 5, and 6 respectively. The statistical significance of the data was determined using one way analysis of variance and Duncan’s multiple range test. Results: The result showed that myricetin increased the antioxidant levels in plasma, erythrocyte lysate, and breast tissue and was effective in preventing the oxidative damage induced by the carcinogen DMBA. Myricetin 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg/oral for 120 days treated animal resulted comparable results to that of standard vincristine and control groups. Conclusions: Myricetin was found to be either equieffective or more effective than vincristine in all the parameters studied. Myricetin proved the capacity of flavonols to act as antioxidant in cells represents a potential treatment in the field of oncology.

Among the molecular signals underlying cutaneous inflammation is the transcription complex NF-κB, its upstream modulators, and cytokines and chemokines that are the downstream proinflammatory effectors. Central to NF-κB activation is IκB kinase (IKK), which phosphorylates IκBα, releasing NF-κB to the nucleus. In a screening of a kinase inhibitor library, we identified two IKK inhibitors that were high-affinity substrates for p-glycoprotein (ABCB1), the multidrug resistance protein known to facilitate transdermal drug delivery. ACHP (2-amino-6-[2-(cyclopropylmethoxy)-6-hydroxyphenyl]-4-(4-piperidinyl)-3-pyridinecarbonitrile) and IKK 16 prevented both nuclear translocation of NF-κB and activation of a NF-κB reporter and reduced the induction of cytokine and chemokine transcripts in human or mouse keratinocytes by IL-1α, tumor necrosis factor-α, and phorbol myristate acetate. ACHP, but not IKK 16, was nontoxic to mouse or human keratinocytes at any dose tested. In mice, topical ACHP prevented the cutaneous inflammation induced by topical phorbol myristate acetate or imiquimod, reduced the inflammation from erythema doses of artificial sunlight, and lowered the tumor incidence of mice treated with 7,12-dimethyl benzanthracene when applied before phorbol myristate acetate. Topical ACHP also reduced the NF-κB and IL-17 inflammatory signature after multiple doses of imiquimod. Thus, ACHP and IKK 16 hit their NF-κB target in mouse and human keratinocytes, and ACHP is an effective topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory in mice.

Using pyrene as a sole carbon, a new polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)-degrading bacterial strain was isolated from the active sewage sludge. This strain was identified as Pseudomonas sp. Jpyr-1 by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The maximum degradation rate of pyrene was 3.07 mg L(-1)h(-1) in 48 h incubation with initial pyrene concentration of 200 mg L(-1). Moreover, in binary system consisting of pyrene and another PAH, the enzyme system of Jpyr-1 showed a preference toward pyrene. Furthermore, competitive inhibition of pyrene degradation by other PAH compounds occurred in the binary system. Jpyr-1 could also rapidly degrade other PAHs, such as benzanthracene, chrysene and benzo[a]pyrene. Moreover, several metabolites were detected during pyrene degradation which indicated that Jpyr-1 degraded pyrene through the o-phthalate pathway. Taken together, these results indicated that Pseudomonas sp. Jpyr-1 was a new PAHs-degrading strain that might be useful in the bioremediation of sites contaminated with PAHs.

International audience; Co-exposure to environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and interleukin (IL)-1β induces expression of the tumor-promoting cytokine IL-6 in cancer cells. The present study was designed to determine whether such an IL-6 up-regulation also occurs in response to co-treatment by PAHs and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, an inflammatory cytokine commonly found in tumor microenvironment. Co-exposure to the prototypical PAH benzanthracene (BZA) and TNF-α was found to markedly induce mRNA expression and secretion of IL-6 in human breast cancer cells MCF-7, whereas exposure to either BZA or TNF-α alone was without significant effect. Co-treatment by BZA and TNF-α-containing conditioned media from human inflammatory macrophages similarly up-regulated IL-6 expression in MCF-7 cells. BZA/TNF-α-mediated IL-6 induction in MCF-7 cells was counteracted by silencing aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), known to mediates most of PAH effects. IL-6 up-regulation was moreover associated with NF-κB activation and was abolished by using chemical NF-κB inhibitors or knocking-down expression of the p65/RelA NF-κB subunit. Taken together, these data indicate that co-exposure to BZA/TNF-α induces IL-6 expression by AhR- and NF-κB-dependent pathways in MCF-7 cancer cells. This regulation of IL-6 by environmental PAHs, that is dependent of inflammatory cytokine microenvironment, may contribute to the well-known carcinogenic properties of these organic pollutants.

Single-layer organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are highly desired due to their potential advantages such as simplifying the fabrication process and lowering the cost. However, high-performance single-layer OLEDs are rare in the literature as they require bipolar transporting materials with balanced electron and hole mobilities, high fluorescent quantum yields, and good energy levels matching both electrodes. In this work, a bipolar transporting benzanthracene derivative, namely 7,12-bis-[4-(2,2-diphenylvinyl)-phenyl] benzanthracene (BDPBan), is designed and synthesized without any structural motifs for hole and electron transport. As electrons and holes can perform intermolecular hopping to similar spatial extents between the adjacent benzanthracene moieties, well-balanced hole and electron mobilities higher than 10−3 cm2/Vs are achieved. Though the strong intermolecular interactions facilitate the formation of excimers in concentrated solutions and thin films of BDPBan, efficient undoped single-layer OLEDs are fabricated with strong green emission from the excimers. A device with 90 nm BDPBan as the emitting layer shows a peak current efficiency of 11.4 cd/A: beyond the conventional upper limit calculated based on the photoluminescence quantum yield.

Background Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has clinical approval for use as a minimally invasive therapeutic procedure that is able to exert selective cytotoxic activity toward malignant cells. The dye selected for our study, symmetrical diiodinated squaraine, is one of the newly developed photosensitizers. The study is designed to determine the efficacy of PDT mediated by symmetrical diiodinated squaraine in skin tumor induced Swiss albino mice. Methods Skin tumor was induced in mice with dimethyl benzanthracene (DMBA) and croton oil. After squaraine administration to the tumor mice, photodynamic treatment of tumors was performed using a 1000 W halogen lamp corresponding to the light dose of 100 J/cm2. The mice were euthanized and skin flaps and tumor tissues from the back of mice were excised for biochemical studies. The biochemical parameters analyzed include some relevant tumor markers for epithelial tissues, inflammatory markers and markers of apoptosis. The gene expression studies were done by RT-PCR. Results After two weeks of the treatment, there was significant inflammation. However at 90 days after PDT, the parameters reverted to near-normal values. All marker parameters of tumor progression brought back to normal levels by PDT. Increased caspase-3 activity in PDT treated group shows that cell death might have occurred by apoptosis. The gene expression profile confirms the results. Conclusions The results of the whole study show the therapeutic efficacy and apoptosis mediated tumor destruction by squaraine PDT.

Summary Synthetic extreme environments like carwash effluent tanks and drains are potential sources of biotechnologically important microorganisms and molecules which have, however, remained unexplored. Using culture‐ and molecular‐based methods, a total of 17 bacterial isolates belonging to the genera Shewanella, Proteus, Paenibacillus, Enterobacter and Citrobacter, Aeromonas, Pseudomonas and Pantoea were identified. Hydrocarbon utilization and enzyme production screening assays showed that Aeromonas sp. CAC11, Paenibacillus sp. CAC12 and Paenibacillus sp. CAC13 and Citrobacter sp. PCW7 were able to degrade benzanthracene, naphthalene and diesel oil, Paenibacillus sp. CAC12 and Paenibacillus sp. CAC13 could produce cellulase enzyme, while Proteus sp. BPS2, Pseudomonas sp. SAS8 and Proteus sp. CAL3 could produce lipase. GC‐MS analysis of bacterial secondary metabolites resulted in identification of 107 different compounds produced by Proteus sp. BPS2, Paenibacillus sp. CAC12, Pseudomonas sp. SAS8, Proteus sp. CAL3 and Paenibacillus sp. CAC13. Most of the compounds identified by both GC‐MS and LC‐MS have previously been determined to have antibacterial, antifungal and/or anticancer properties. Further, microbial metabolites which have previously been known to be produced only by plants or microorganisms found in natural extreme environments were also identified in this study. This research has revealed the immense bioresource potential of microorganisms inhabiting synthetic extreme environments.

Inadequate dietary Zn consumption increases susceptibility to esophageal and other cancers in humans and model organisms. Since Zn supplementation can prevent cancers in rodent squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) models, we were interested in determining if it could have a preventive effect in a rodent skin cancer model, as a preclinical basis for considering a role for Zn in prevention of human nonmelanoma skin cancers, the most frequent cancers in humans. We used the 7,12‐dimethyl benzanthracene carcinogen/phorbol myristate acetate tumor promoter treatment method to induce skin tumors in Zn‐sufficient wild‐type and Fhit (human or mouse protein) knockout mice. Fhit protein expression is lost in >50% of human cancers, including skin SCCs, and Fhit‐deficient mice show increased sensitivity to carcinogen induction of tumors. We hypothesized that: (1) the skin cancer burdens would be reduced by Zn supplementation; (2) Fhit −/−(Fhit, murine fragile histidine triad gene) mice would show increased susceptibility to skin tumor induction versus wild‐type mice. 30 weeks after initiating treatment, the tumor burden was increased ~2‐fold in Fhit −/− versus wild‐type mice (16.2 versus 7.6 tumors, P

The effects of halogen-light-irradiated and non-irradiated PAHs on the grouper Epinephelus marginatus were assessed through biomarkers including morphometric parameters, liver histopathology, biliary PAH concentration, genetic alterations, and enzyme activity modulation. E. marginatus juveniles were divided into three groups: control (C), non-irradiated PAHs (PAHs1), and irradiated PAHs (PAHs2). Test groups were exposed for 14 days to a 0.5 ppm PAH solution in the semi-static system. After this period, fish were anesthetized with benzocaine (2%) and peripheric blood was collected by caudal puncture. Blood smears were prepared and stained with propidium iodide. Fish livers were collected, fixed in McDowell's solution, embedded in paraplast, thin-sectioned, and stained with hematoxylin-eosin (H&E). For biochemical analyses including superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione S-transferase activities, fish livers were collected and preserved in liquid nitrogen. Water samples were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and bile synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy. Fish in the PAHs2 group had micronuclei (MN) in blood cells, as well as significant differences in nuclear morphology (NMA). Significant morphological alterations were observed in the livers from fish exposed to PAHs as well as inhibition of the catalase activity. Our results show that irradiation altered the bioavailability of PAHs, especially benzanthracene, which has great impact in aquatic ecosystems. Among the consequences of physical and chemical changes to PAHs, we observed a significant increase in NMA and MN incidence in E. marginatus erythrocytes, indicating the potential initiation of mutagenic and carcinogenic processes.

International audience; Aryl hydrocarbon receptor-dependent genomic effects of environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been shown to be modulated by non-genomic protein kinase C (PKC)-related pathways. The present study was designed to determine whether PKC activation may also impair estrogenic genomic response triggered by PAHs. Treatment by the PKC activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) was found to markedly and differentially impair the up-regulation of estrogenic markers triggered by the estrogenic PAH benzanthracene (BZA) in cultured human mammary cells; BZA-mediated mRNA up-regulation of pS2 and amphiregulin was thus increased, whereas that of progesterone receptor and CXCL12 was repressed. BZA/PMA cotreatment however failed to alter BZA-mediated increase of activity of a luciferase gene reporter construct driven by an estrogen response element, thus discarding any global effect of PMA toward BZA-triggered estrogen receptor activation. Various chemicals inhibiting PKCs or extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) as well as the knock-down of PKCδ expression counteracted the PMA-mediated increase of pS2 mRNA up-regulation triggered by BZA, demonstrating that it was dependent on PKCs, including PKCδ isoform, and ERKs. This non-genomic modulation of estrogenic effects of PAHs by PKC activation may have to be considered when considering the deleterious effects of these environmental contaminants towards the endocrine system.

Breast cancer is one of the most serious problems in oncology. We investigated the antitumor potential of lycopene (Lyco) alone or combined with tocopherol (Lyco + Toco) for 90 days against a single oral dose of (50 mg/kg body weight) 7,12-dimethyl[ a]benzanthracene (DMBA)-induced oxidative stress and mammary carcinogenesis in female rats. The treatment protocol started from the day immediately after DMBA administration. Results obtained indicated that there was a significant elevation in the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) in serum and breast tissues of DMBA-injected rats. The combined treatment (Lyco + Toco) group showed a potential reduction of these parameters more than Lyco alone group. The activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase were found to be significantly higher when compared to rats treated with Lyco alone. In DMBA group, a positive significant correlation between NO and MDA ( r = 0.92) was observed. Histopathological examination revealed the formation of tumor and angiogenesis in DMBA-induced rats and these abnormal changes were ameliorated by combined treatment with Lyco + Toco. In conclusion, these results suggested that supplementation of diet with Lyco and Toco provided antioxidant defense, with strong chemopreventive activity against DMBA-induced mammary tumors.

The manganese(III) acetate-mediated free radical cyclization of diarylmethylenecyclopropa[b]naphthalenes with nucleophiles such as carboxylic acid and sulfonic acid provides an efficient method for the synthesis of 1,2-benzanthracenes in moderate to good yields under mild conditions. In addition, after several steps of simple and routine operations, the obtained 1,2-benzanthracenes bearing an acetoxy group could be easily converted to structurally more sophisticated 1,2-benzanthracene derivatives, which are not easily accessible yet potentially useful candidates for materials science.