The recent study is the first report suggesting antiviral activities for saffron extract and its major ingredients. Crocin and picrocrocin could be a promising anti-HSV and anti-HIV agent for herbal therapy against viral infections.

No abstract

Our data suggested that the supercharge GFP is the most suitable transfection vehicle for DNA and protein delivery into TC-1 and A549 tumor cell lines compared to other carriers.

A series of tetrahydropyrimidine derivatives (2a - 2l) were designed, synthesized, and screened for anti-HIV-1 properties based on the structures of HIV-1 gp41 binding site inhibitors, NB-2 and NB-64. A computational study was performed to predict the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and drug-likeness features of the studied molecules. Docking studies revealed that the carboxylic acid group in the molecules forms salt bridges with either Lys574 or Arg579. Physiochemical properties (e.g., molecular weight, number of hydrogen bond donors, number of hydrogen bond acceptors, and number of rotatable bonds) of the synthesized compounds confirmed and exhibited that these compounds were within the range set by Lipinski's rule of five. Compounds 2e and 2k with 4-chlorophenyl substituent and 4-methylphenyl group at C(4) position of the tetrahydropyrimidine ring was the most potent one among the tested compounds. This suggests that these compounds may serve as leads for development of novel small-molecule HIV-1 inhibitors.

BackgroundAmong different types of human papillomavirus (HPV), types 16 and 18 were known to be high-risk agents causing mainly cervical cancer. Up to now, the potential of HPV E7 protein has been proved as a diagnostic marker of cervical cancer. Moreover, the levels of anti-heat shock protein (Hsp) and anti-high mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) antibodies in cancer patients have been useful in tumor diagnosis. The goal of the present study was to determine the efficiency of the potential serologic markers including HPV E7, Hsp20, Hsp27 proteins and Hp91 peptide in Iranian HPV-exposed women, for the first time.MethodsAt first, the recombinant HPV E7, Hsp20 and Hsp27 proteins were expressed in E. coli system, and purified by affinity chromatography under native conditions. Then, antibody responses were detected against the recombinant proteins as well as Hp91 peptide as potential markers in 49 Iranian women who were seropositive for HPV-16 and 18 L1 capsids (i.e., HPV-exposed women) and 49 controls using indirect ELISA.ResultsOur data indicated that the seroreactivities of women exposed to HPV16, HPV18 and both of them against the recombinant E7, Hsp20, Hsp27 proteins and Hp91 peptide were significantly higher than those in control group (p < 0.05 for HPV16 or HPV18; p < 0.01 for both of them versus all markers). HPV-exposed women with high antibody responses to HPV-16 and 18 L1 capsids as a commercial biomarker had significant seroreactivity to HPV-16 and 18 E7 and Hsp27 (p < 0.05). The recombinant E7 and Hsp27 proteins showed higher efficiency than Hsp20 and Hp91 for detection of individuals exposed to HPV infections (p < 0.05).ConclusionGenerally, the levels of serum E7 and Hsp27 were increased in HPV-16 and 18 L1- seropositive women suggesting their potential value as a diagnostic marker for HPV infections.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-019-3780-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Intracellular delivery of DNA is considered a challenge in biological research and treatment of diseases. The previously reported transfection rate by commercially available transfection reagents in cancer cell lines, such as the mouse lung tumor cell line (TC-1), is very low. The purpose of this study is to introduce and optimize an efficient gene transfection method by mechanical approaches. The combinatory transfection effect of mechanical treatments and conventional chemical carriers is also investigated on a formerly reported hard-to-transfect cell line (TC-1). To study the effect of mechanical loadings on transfection rate, TC-1 tumor cells are subjected to uniaxial cyclic stretch, equiaxial cyclic stretch, and shear stress. The TurboFect transfection reagent is exerted for chemical transfection purposes. The pEGFP-N1 vector encoding the green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression is utilized to determine gene delivery into the cells. The results show a significant DNA delivery rate (by ~30%) in mechanically transfected cells compared to the samples that were transfected with chemical carriers. Moreover, the simultaneous treatment of TC-1 tumor cells with chemical carriers and mechanical loadings significantly increases the gene transfection rate up to ~ 63% after 24 h post-transfection. Our results suggest that the simultaneous use of mechanical loading and chemical reagent can be a promising approach in delivering cargoes into cells with low transfection potentials and lead to efficient cancer treatments.

The development of an effective therapeutic vaccine to induce cancer-specific immunity remains problematic. Recently, a species of intracellular pathogen known as Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) has been used to transfer DNA, RNA and proteins into tumour cells as well as elicit an immune response against tumour-specific antigens. Areas covered: Herein, the authors provide the mechanisms of different Listeria monocytogenes strains, which are potential therapeutic cancer vaccine vectors, in addition to their preclinical and clinical development. They also speculate on the future of Lm-based tumour immunotherapies. The article is based on literature published on PubMed and data reported in clinical trials. Expert opinion: Attenuated strains of Listeria monocytogenes have safely been applied as therapeutic bacterial vectors for the delivery of cancer vaccines. These vectors stimulate MHCI and MHCII pathways as well as the proliferation of antigen-specific T lymphocytes. Several preclinical studies have demonstrated the potency of Lm in intracellular gene and protein delivery in vitro and in vivo. They have also indicated safety and efficiacy in clinical trials. Readers should be aware that the ability of attenuated Lm strains to induce potent immune responses depends on the type of deleted or inactivated Lm virulent gene or genes.

No abstract