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This study provides preliminary laboratory evidence indicating the ability of homeopathic medicines as anticancer agents. Further studies of the action of these homeopathic remedies are warranted.

Purpose: Recurrence and persistent side effects of present day treatment for urolithiasis restrict their use, so an alternate solution, using phytotherapy is being sought. The present study attempted to evaluate the antilithiatic properties of Tribulus terrestris commonly called as "gokhru" which is often used in ayurveda to treat various urinary diseases including urolithiasis. Materials and Methods:The activity of Tribulus terrestris was investigated on nucleation and the growth of the calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystals as well as on oxalate induced cell injury of NRK 52E renal epithelial cells. Results: Tribulus terrestris extract exhibited a concentration dependent inhibition of nucleation and the growth of CaOx crystals. When NRK-52E cells were injured by exposure to oxalate for 72 h, Tribulus terrestris extract prevented the injury in a dose-dependent manner. On treatment with the different concentrations of the plant, the cell viability increased and lactate dehydrogenase release decreased in a concentration dependent manner. Conclusion: The current data suggests that Tribulus terrestris extract not only has a potential to inhibit nucleation and the growth of the CaOx crystals but also has a cytoprotective role. Our results indicate that it could be a potential candidate for phytotherapy against urolithiasis.

In the present study, we investigated the anti-cancer effect of various potencies of Ruta graveolens (Ruta) on COLO-205 cell line, as evidenced by cytotoxicity, migration, clonogenecity, morphological and biochemical changes and modification in the levels of genes associated with apoptosis and cell cycle. On treatment of COLO-205 cells maximal effects were seen with mother tincture (MT) and 30C potencies, wherein decrease in cell viability along with reduced clonogenecity and migration capabilities were noted. In addition morphological and biochemical alterations such as nuclear changes (fragmented nuclei with condensed chromatin) and DNA ladder-like pattern (increased amount of fragmented DNA) in COLO-205 cells indicating apoptotic related cell death were seen. The expression of apoptosis and cell-cycle related regulatory genes assessed by reverse transcriptase-PCR revealed an up-regulation of caspase 9, caspase-3, Bax, p21 and p27 expression and down-regulation of Bcl-2 expression in treated cells. The mode of cell death was suggestive of intrinsic apoptotic pathway along with cell cycle arrest at the G2/M of the cell cycle. Our findings indicate that phytochemicals present in Ruta showed potential for natural therapeutic product development for colon carcinoma.

MicroRNAs as cancer biomarkers in serum, plasma, and other body fluids are often used but analysis of miRNA in urine is limited. We investigated the expression of selected miRNAs in the paired urine, serum, cervical scrape, and tumor tissue specimens from the women with cervical precancer and cancer with a view to identify if urine miRNAs could be used as reliable non-invasive biomarkers for an early diagnosis and prognosis of cervical cancer. Expression of three oncomiRs (miR-21, miR-199a, and miR-155-5p) and three tumor suppressors (miR-34a, miR-145, and miR-218) as selected by database search in cervical pre-cancer, cancer, and normal controls including cervical cancer cell lines were analyzed using qRT-PCR. The expression of miRNAs was correlated with various clinicopathological parameters, including HPV infection and survival outcome. We observed a significant overexpression of the oncomiRs and the downregulation of tumor suppressor miRNAs. A combination of miR-145-5p, miR-218-5p, and miR-34a-5p in urine yielded 100% sensitivity and 92.8% specificity in distinguishing precancer and cancer patients from healthy controls and it well correlates with those of serum and tumor tissues. The expression of miR-34a-5p and miR-218-5p were found to be independent prognostic factors for the overall survival of cervical cancer patients. We conclude that the evaluation of the above specific miRNA expression in non-invasive urine samples may serve as a reliable biomarker for early detection and prognosis of cervical cancer.

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Urolithiasis is a multifactorial disease and remains a public health problem around the world. Of all types of renal stones, calcium oxalate (CaOx) is the most common composition formed in the urinary system of the patients with urolithiasis. The present study is aimed at evaluating the antiurolithiatic properties of the Tris-Cl extract (TE) of Terminalia arjuna (T. arjuna). The antilithiatic activity of TE of T. arjuna was investigated on nucleation, aggregation, and growth of the CaOx crystals, as well as its protective potency was tested on oxalate-induced cell injury of NRK-52E renal epithelial cells. Also, in vitro antioxidant activity of TE T. arjuna bark was also determined. The TE of T. arjuna exhibited a concentration-dependent inhibition of nucleation and growth of CaOx crystals. Inhibition of aggregation of CaOx crystals remains constant. When NRK-52E cells were injured by exposure to oxalate for 48 h, the TE prevented the cells from injury and CaOx crystal adherence resulting in increased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. The TE also scavenged the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radicals with an IC50 at 51.72 µg/mL. The results indicated that T. arjuna is a potential candidate for phytotherapy against urolithiasis as it attains the ability to inhibit CaOx crystallization and scavenge DPPH free radicals in vitro along with a cytoprotective role.

BackgroundThe increasing number of patients suffering from urolithiasis represents one of the major challenges which nephrologists face worldwide today. For enhancing therapeutic outcomes of this disease, the pathogenic basis for the formation of renal stones is the need of hour. Proteins are found as major component in human renal stone matrix and are considered to have a potential role in crystal–membrane interaction, crystal growth and stone formation but their role in urolithiasis still remains obscure.MethodsProteins were isolated from the matrix of human CaOx containing kidney stones. Proteins having MW>3 kDa were subjected to anion exchange chromatography followed by molecular-sieve chromatography. The effect of these purified proteins was tested against CaOx nucleation and growth and on oxalate injured Madin–Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) renal epithelial cells for their activity. Proteins were identified by Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF MS) followed by database search with MASCOT server. In silico molecular interaction studies with CaOx crystals were also investigated.ResultsFive proteins were identified from the matrix of calcium oxalate kidney stones by MALDI-TOF MS followed by database search with MASCOT server with the competence to control the stone formation process. Out of which two proteins were promoters, two were inhibitors and one protein had a dual activity of both inhibition and promotion towards CaOx nucleation and growth. Further molecular modelling calculations revealed the mode of interaction of these proteins with CaOx at the molecular level.ConclusionsWe identified and characterized Ethanolamine-phosphate cytidylyltransferase, Ras GTPase-activating-like protein, UDP-glucose:glycoprotein glucosyltransferase 2, RIMS-binding protein 3A, Macrophage-capping protein as novel proteins from the matrix of human calcium oxalate stone which play a critical role in kidney stone formation. Thus, these proteins having potential to modulate calcium oxalate crystallization will throw light on understanding and controlling urolithiasis in humans.