Anti-Human CASP9 (Cleaved-Asp315) polyclonal antibody

Curcumin is an anti-cancerous agent, but its low-solubility limits its clinical use. The relationship between deregulation of miRNAs and their targets suggested that miRNAs can be interest targets of curcumin in treatment of different cancers. In this study, to overcome essential defects of the clinical usage of this golden drug, curcumin-encapsulated polymersome nanoparticles (CPNs) have been developed, and the cytotoxicity effects were studied on MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The expression level of miR-182/125b and the expression pattern of some potential targets in apoptotic pathway, predicted byin silicoapproaches, were analyzed by RT-qPCR in CPNs-treated and untreated cells. Moreover, the amount of CASP9 and CASP8 proteins were determined by Western blotting. The effect of CPNs on cell migration were studied by scratch test and the level of EGFR, E-cadherin, and beta-catenin proteins were monitored in CPNs-treated and untreated cells by western blotting. RT-qPCR analysis identified the downregulation of miR-125b and miR-182 in CPNs-treated cells and the upregulation of some predicted apoptotic target genes such asP53, CASP9andBAXafter 24 hours. Western blotting confirmed the effects of curcumin on the increase of cleaved CASP9 protein. Based on data from the current experiment, the migration of MDA-MB-231 cells was decreased after CPNs treatment. According to the results, CPNs, as suitable and compatible nanocarriers, can deliver curcumin into cancerous cells more effectively and can increase the therapeutic effects of curcumin on MDA-MB-231 cells partly by suppression of miR-125b and miR-182 as well as induction of apoptosis and inhibition of metastatic progression.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common types of cancer seen in the world. 5-Fluorouracil (5-Fu) plus Oxaliplatin (1-OHP) remains the backbone of CRC chemotherapeutics, but with limited success. Phenoxodiol (Pxd) is an isoflavone analog with antitumor activity against various types of cancers, and sensitizes chemoresistant cancer cells to chemotherapeutics including platinum and taxanes. This study was, therefore, undertaken to examine whether Pxd pre-treatment with conventional chemotherapeutic agent(s) 5-Fu and 1-OHP co-administration be a therapeutic strategy for CRC. Cell viability and cytotoxicity were evaluated using dimethyl-thiazolyl diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and lactate dehydrogenase assays. The percentage of apoptotic and necrotic cells were determined by fluorescence microscopy analysis. Besides, active Caspase-3 levels by ELISA and relative mRNA levels of Caspase 3 (CASP3), CASP8 and CASP9 genes were determined by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis. The pre-treatment of Pxd followed by 5-Fu and 1-OHP co-administration was more effective at inhibiting cell viability than either chemotherapeutic agents treatment alone. When compared to 5 -Fu with 1-OHP alone treatment, Pxd pre-treatment overwhelmingly increased apoptotic Caspase-3 activity levels in CRC cells. Moreover, qPCR analyses showed that CASP3 and CASP9 mRNA levels significantly increased after pretreatment with Pxd followed by 5-Fu and 1-OHP treatments, compared to 5-Fu with 1-OHP alone. Our results suggested that Pxd enhanced the in vitro antitumor activity of 5-Fu and 1-OHP. Our study also suggested that Pxd may be a potential candidate agent in advanced CRC and inclusion of Pxd to the conventional chemotherapeutic agent(s) could be an effective therapeutic strategy for CRC.