AgNps-CN have shown potential in inhibiting HSC-4 cell lines. IC was low compared to few studies involving biosynthesized of silver nanoparticles. Apoptosis effects were shown towards HSC-4 cell lines by the increased in Bax/Bcl-2 protein ratio. Further study such as PCR or in vivo studies are required.

Apoptosis is one of markers considered in drug design including in treating cancers. Conventional treatments for cancer cause various side effects. One of possible alternatives is honey, an antioxidant driven by its phenolic and flavonoids content. This study aims to observe the effects of Malaysian Acacia honey in inhibiting breast cancer cell growth through apoptosis. Antioxidant properties of the honey were measured using total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC). Then, antiproliferative activity of the honey were observed using MTT assay. The honey exhibited IC50 at concentration of 5.5% (v/v). Further studies using TUNEL and live cell view revealed that Acacia honey induced apoptosis after 6 hours of treatment. Cell shrinkage, which is one of the apoptotic features, was observed as early as 2 hours, followed by the formation of apoptotic bodies within 6 hours of the honey treatment. Details of mechanism and actual compounds involved in displaying the results are being intensively studied.

Background Different strains of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) worldwide proved to have tumouricidal activity in several types of cancer cells. However, the possible anti-cancer activity of Malaysian NDV AF2240 strain and its mechanism of action remains unknown. The ability of cytokine-related apoptosis-inducing NDV AF2240 to treat breast cancer was investigated in the current study. Methods A total of 90 mice were used and divided into 15 groups, each group comprising of 6 mice. Tumour, body weight and mortality of the mice were determined throughout the experiment, to observe the effect of NDV and NDV + tamoxifen treatments on the mice. In addition, the toxic effect of the treatments was determined through liver function test. In order to elucidate the involvement of cytokine production induced by NDV, a total of six cytokines, i.e. IL-6, IFN-γ, MCP-1, IL-10, IL12p70 and TNF-α were measured using cytometric bead array assay (plasma) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot (isolated splenocytes). Results The results demonstrated that 4 T1 breast cancer cells in allotransplanted mice treated with AF2240 showed a noticeable inhibition of tumour growth and induce apoptotic-related cytokines. Conclusions NDV AF2240 suppression of breast tumour growth is associated with induction of apoptotic-related cytokines. It would be important to further investigate the molecular mechanism underlaying cytokines production by Newcastle disease virus. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12885-019-5516-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Stimuli responsive hydrogels have shown enormous potential as a carrier for targeted drug delivery. In this study we have developed novel pH responsive hydrogels for the delivery of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in order to alleviate its antitumor activity while reducing its toxicity. We used 2-(methacryloyloxyethyl) trimetylammonium chloride a positively charged monomer and methacrylic acid for fabricating the pH responsive hydrogels. The released 5-FU from all except hydrogel (GEL-5) remained biologically active against human colon cancer cell lines [HT29 (IC50 = 110-190 μg ml(-1)) and HCT116 (IC50 = 210-390 μg ml(-1))] but not human skin fibroblast cells [BJ (CRL2522); IC50 ≥ 1000 μg ml(-1)]. This implies that the copolymer hydrogels (1-4) were able to release 5-FU effectively to colon cancer cells but not normal human skin fibroblast cells. This is probably due to the shorter doubling time that results in reduced pH in colon cancer cells when compared to fibroblast cells. These pH sensitive hydrogels showed well defined cell apoptosis in HCT116 cells through series of events such as chromatin condensation, membrane blebbing, and formation of apoptotic bodies. No cell killing was observed in the case of blank hydrogels. The results showed the potential of these stimuli responsive polymer hydrogels as a carrier for colon cancer delivery.

Vitrification is an important tool to store surplus embryos in assisted reproductive technology (ART). However, vitrification increases oxidative damage and results in decreased viability. Studies have reported that L-glutathione (GSH) supplementation improves the preimplantation development of murine embryos. Glutathione constitutes the major non-protein sulphydryl compound in mammalian cells, which confers protection against oxidative damage. However, the effect of GSH supplementation on embryonic vitrification outcomes has yet to be reported. This study aims to determine whether GSH supplementation in culture media improves in vitro culture and vitrification outcomes, as observed through embryo morphology and preimplantation development. Female BALB/c mice aged 6–8 weeks were superovulated through an intraperitoneal injection of 10 IU of pregnant mare serum gonadotrophin (PMSG), followed by 10 IU of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) 48 h later. The mated mice were euthanized by cervical dislocation 48 h after hCG to harvest embryos. Two-cell embryos were randomly assigned to be cultured in either Group 1 (GSH-free medium), Group 2 (GSH-free medium with vitrification), Group 3 (0.01 mM GSH-supplemented medium), or Group 4 (0.01 mM GSH-supplemented medium with vitrification). Non-vitrified (Groups 1 and 3) and vitrified (Groups 2 and 4) embryos were observed for morphological quality and preimplantation development at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. In the non-vitrified groups, there were significant increases in the number of Grade-1 blastocysts in GSH cultures (p < 0.05). Similarly, in the vitrified groups, GSH supplementation was also seen to significantly increase blastocyst formation. Exogenous GSH supplementation resulted in a significant increase in intracellular GSH, a release of cytochrome c from mitochondria, and a parallel decrease in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in vitrified eight-cell embryos (p < 0.05). GSH supplementation was shown to upregulate Bcl2 expression and downregulate Bax expression in the vitrified preimplantation embryo group. The action of exogenous GSH was concomitant with an increase in the relative abundance of Gpx1 and Sod1. In conclusion, our study demonstrated the novel use and practical applicability of GSH supplementation for improving embryonic cryotolerance via a decrease in ROS levels and the inhibition of apoptotic events by improvement in oxidative status.

To assess the interfacial adaptation and penetration depth of three different bioceramic‐based sealers (CeraSeal, EndoSeal MTA, Nishika Canal Sealer BG) compared to an epoxy resin‐based sealer (AH Plus) in oval root canals. Fourty extracted single‐rooted mandibular premolar with oval canal were prepared and randomly allocated according to the obturation into; CeraSeal, EndoSeal MTA, Nishika Canal Sealer BG and AH Plus. The roots were sectioned at 3, 6 and 9 mm from the apex. The sealer adaptation and the penetration depth were evaluated under confocal laser scanning microscope. One‐way ANOVA and Repeated measure ANOVA were used to statistically analyze the data. Nishika Canal Sealer BG showed significantly higher sealer adaptation than EndoSeal MTA (P < .001) at apical and middle thirds. Meanwhile, AH Plus showed significantly higher sealer adaptation than EndoSeal MTA (P = 0.011) at middle third. For sealer penetration, Nishika Canal Sealer BG showed the longest sealer penetration that was significant compared to AH Plus (P < .001) and EndoSeal MTA (P < .001) whereas CeraSeal was significantly higher than EndoSeal MTA (P = 0.029) at coronal third. For AH Plus, there was a significant less sealer penetration at coronal third compared to apical and middle thirds (P < .05). Whereas for EndoSeal MTA, the coronal third has significant less penetration compared to the middle third (P = 0.032). Endoseal has the lowest adaptation and penetration depth. Nishika Canal Sealer BG has better adaptation and penetration depth using single cone obturation technique in oval canal. Research Highlights All the tested root canal sealers have some percentage of gaps and vary in their penetration capability into dentinal tubules. Nishika Canal Sealer BG has significantly better sealer adaptation to root dentinal walls than that of EndoSeal MTA at the apical and middle third but not significantly different from other type of sealers used. Nishika Canal Sealer BG has significantly better penetration depth than AH Plus and EndoSeal MTA at the coronal third of radicular dentin.

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In the last several years, the interest on hydrophobic and hydrophilic solid subtract was increased due to many applications in daily life, agriculture and industry. The continuous effort has been made to fabricate suitable material with more efficient fabrication method. In this research, physical blending method have been used by mixing four components of modifying agent with organic beeswax varnish at different weight percentage. Those modifying agents consists of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D5), Silica nanoparticles (R812S), Polydimethylsiloxane (BP-9400) and non-ionic surfactant (Triton X-100) were mixed in the mass ratio of 52:3:34:1. The modified varnish produced was coated on Pineapple peel fiber (PAPF) biocomposite and were characterized using Water Contact Angle (WCA) instrument, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Based on the wettability index analysis; the value of water contact angle was reduced when increasing weight percent of modifying agents from 101.87 to 22.98°. The morphology of the surface was observed to have more silica nanoparticles, along with the increasing concentration of modifying agent. It also supported by FTIR which shows the presence of Si-O peak at 1030.88 cm-1. These results proved that the modifying agent and organic beeswax varnish had successfully produced hydrophilic coated on the PAPF surface.