Context: Sulforaphane (SFN) [1-isothiocyanato-4-(methylsulfinyl)butane] is a naturally occurring isothiocyanate found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli [Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck. (Brassicaceae)]. Since it is among the most potent bioactive components with antioxidant and antitumor properties, it has received intense attention in the recent years for its chemopreventive properties. Objective: The present work determined the rehabilitating role in alleviating the oxidative damage caused by benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P] to biomolecules and the apoptotic cascade mediated by orally administered isothiocyanate-SFN (9 mmol/mouse/day) against B(a)P (100 mg/kg body weight, i.p.) induced pulmonary carcinogenesis in Swiss albino mice. Materials and methods: Oxidative damage was assessed by measuring lipid peroxidation, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) production, glycoprotein components, protein carbonyl levels and DNA-protein crosslinks. DNA fragmentation by agarose gel electrophoresis and caspase-3 activity by ELISA proved apoptotic induction by SFN along with the protein expression of Bcl-2, Bax and Cyt c. Results: SFN treatment was found to decrease the H 2 O 2 production (p50.001) in cancer induced animals, proving its antioxidant potential. Apoptosis was induced by increasing the release of Cyt c (p50.001) from mitochondria, decreasing and increasing the expression of Bcl-2 (p50.01) and Bax (p50.001), respectively. Caspase-3 activity was also enhanced (p50.001) which leads to DNA fragmentation in SFN treated groups. Conclusion: Our results reflect the rehabilitating role of SFN in B(a)P induced lung carcinogenesis.

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Mouse embryonic stem cells were caused to differentiate into insulin-producing cells by 2 methods: Stem cells were cultured with or without feeder cells. In both cases, after confirmation of their differentiation into the insulin producing cells, the effects of the addition of 10 µl of 50 mM glucose, 10 µl of glycated fetal bovine serum (GFBS) and 10 µl of GFBS + 20 mM iron on the differentiated stem cells were examined. The addition of GFBS or GFBS + iron to the cultures with or without the feeder cells caused them to produce a significantly higher amount of insulin than did the addition of glucose. However, this enhancement by GFBS or GFBS + iron stopped after 12 hr of addition; and the culture medium was turned yellow after 15 hr and at that time the cells died, which may be due to the cytotoxicity of GFBS or GFBS + iron.

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