BackgroundSilver nanoparticles (AgNP), the most popular nano-compounds, possess unique properties. Albizia adianthifolia (AA) is a plant of the Fabaceae family that is rich in saponins. The biological properties of a novel AgNP, synthesized from an aqueous leaf extract of AA (AAAgNP), were investigated on A549 lung cells. Cell viability was determined by the MTT assay. Cellular oxidative status (lipid peroxidation and glutathione (GSH) levels), ATP concentration, caspase-3/-7, -8 and −9 activities were determined. Apoptosis, mitochondrial (mt) membrane depolarization (flow cytometry) and DNA fragmentation (comet assay) were assessed. The expression of CD95 receptors, p53, bax, PARP-1 and smac/DIABLO was evaluated by flow cytometry and/or western blotting.ResultsSilver nanoparticles of AA caused a dose-dependent decrease in cell viability with a significant increase in lipid peroxidation (5-fold vs. control; p = 0.0098) and decreased intracellular GSH (p = 0.1184). A significant 2.5-fold decrease in cellular ATP was observed upon AAAgNP exposure (p = 0.0040) with a highly significant elevation in mt depolarization (3.3-fold vs. control; p < 0.0001). Apoptosis was also significantly higher (1.5-fold) in AAAgNP treated cells (p < 0.0001) with a significant decline in expression of CD95 receptors (p = 0.0416). Silver nanoparticles of AA caused a significant 2.5-fold reduction in caspase-8 activity (p = 0.0024) with contrasting increases in caspase-3/-7 (1.7-fold vs. control; p = 0.0180) and −9 activity (1.4-fold vs. control; p = 0.0117). Western blots showed increased expression of smac/DIABLO (4.1-fold) in treated cells (p = 0.0033). Furthermore, AAAgNP significantly increased the expression of p53, bax and PARP-1 (1.2-fold; p = 0.0498, 1.6-fold; p = 0.0083 and 1.1-fold; p = 0.0359 respectively).ConclusionData suggests that AAAgNP induces cell death in the A549 lung cells via the mt mediated intrinsic apoptotic program. Further investigation is required to potentiate the use of this novel compound in cancer therapy trials.

The incidence and mortality of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC) is an intractable public health problem in developing countries that is compounded by limited early detection and therapeutic options. Despite the early promise of utilizing the regulatory role of miRNA in liver cancer, this field remains largely in the work-in-progress phase. This exploratory review paper adopts a broad focus in order to collate evidence of the regulatory role of miRNA in each stage of the HBV-HCC continuum. This includes the regulatory role of miRNA in early HBV infection, chronic inflammation, fibrosis/cirrhosis, and the onset of HCC. The paper specifically investigates HBV dysregulated miRNA that influence the expression of the host/HBV genome in HBV-HCC pathogenesis and fully acknowledges that this does not cover the full spectrum of dysregulated miRNA. The sheer number of dysregulated miRNA in each phase support a hypothesis that future therapeutic interventions will need to consider incorporating multiple miRNA panels.An estimated 841,080 new liver cancers (LCs) were diagnosed worldwide in 2018, with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common histological subtype, accounting for 75% to 90% of LCs [1]. A 12.4% increase of LC was recorded between 2008 (696,000) to 2012 (782,000) [2] and [3] 7.6% between 2012 and 2018 (841,080) [1]. HCC is listed globally as a leading cancer in men and women [4], with a recent report indicating that 83% of new cases diagnosed occurred in less well

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SUMMARYThe increased accessibility of antiretroviral therapy continues to positively drive the reduction in viral load and survival of patients despite the attendant reproductive toxicities. We propose that testicular damage caused by highly active antiretroviral therapy (HA-ART) can be attenuated by antioxidant treatment by investigating the testicular histomorphologic and stereological effects of antiretroviral drugs and its interaction with antioxidants using an experimental animal model. Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into seven groups of six rats per group (A, B. . . G) using simple random sampling and treated orally with 0.9% normal saline as placebo, a HAART cocktail of stavudine, lamivudine and nevirapine using the adjusted human therapeutic doses of 200, 600 and 350-400 mg/ day, respectively, and antioxidants ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and I.M a-tocopherol (vitamin E). Animals were killed after 4 weeks and testicular tissue harvested and processed for light microscopy and stereological evaluations. The results were interpreted by a Veterinary pathologist blinded to the study. No animal died during the experimental period. The histopathological assessment of the testis of animals treated with placebo, ascorbic acid alone and a-tocopherol alone as well as vitamin E + HAART displayed normal testicular microanatomy. Groups treated with HAART alone, HAART + vitamin C + vitamin E and vitamins C + HAART showed extensive seminiferous tubular atrophy, necrosis and hypocellularity in the histoarchitectural patterns. While testicular cross-sectional area of seminiferous tubules remained unaffected by HAART, epithelial heights significantly decreased (p < 0.05) when compared with controls. There was marked (p < 0.05) increased in testicular-body weight ratio in HAART group. The results show that vitamin E could be useful in protecting testicular tissue from toxicities of HAART regimes as these results mirrors stereological data for the groups. HAART presents with deleterious histopathological changes in the testes causing tubular atrophy with altered morphometric indices. Supplementation with vitamin E appears to be a better adjuvant antioxidant that ameliorates these deleterious effects.

Eighty-two samples of dried food commodities from Cameroon were screened and quantified for different mycotoxins, including fumonisin B1 (FB1), zearalenone (ZEA), deoxynivalenol (DON), aflatoxin (AF) and ochratoxin A (OTA), by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively. The percentage of positive samples was as follows: FB1 41%, AF 51%, ZEA 57%, DON 65% and OTA 3%. High FB1 contents were found in maize, averaging 3,684 µg/kg (range: 37-24,225 µg/kg), whereas the highest average ZEA level was found in peanuts (70 µg/kg), followed by maize (69 µg/kg), rice (67 µg/kg) and beans (48 µg/kg) with no ZEA was detected in soybeans. DON contents were low, ranging from 13 to 273 µg/kg, and for AF the average content was 2.6 µg/kg with peanuts and maize as principal substrates. The incidence of OTA was low, with a mean level of 6.4 µg/kg recorded. The majority (79%) of samples contained more than one mycotoxin and the most frequent co-occurrence found was FB1 + ZEA + DON, detected in 21% of samples (mainly maize) analysed. Co-contamination with FB1 + ZEA + DON + AF was found in 11% of the samples. Although a large proportion of samples had fairly low levels of individual mycotoxins, this should be of concern as the co-occurrence of mycotoxins may generate additive or synergistic effect in humans, especially if the respective commodities are consumed almost on a daily basis.

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