Heat sensitivity between human normal liver (WRL68) and breast cancer (MCF7) cell lines

Hyperthermia is an innovative method for various types of cancer treatments which has potential to increase cytotoxic effect within the tumor volume, without increase normal tissue toxicity. In the present study, it was aimed to investigate temperature and duration of heat shock on viability of human normal liver (WRL-68) and breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cell lines using MTT and methylene blue assay. These cells were exposed to heat at three different temperatures (38, 40 and 42°C) for five different duration of heat exposure (0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4 hrs.). Viability of WRL-68 and MCF-7 cell lines is highly influenced by temperature and duration of hyperthermic exposure. After increasing temperature from 38 to 42°C, more cancer cells were killed during the same period of heat exposure compare to normal cells. This was due to MCF-7 cells do not have defense system against heat, as do WRL-68 cells. There was a great variation of thermo sensitivity among normal cell and cancer cell. In this study, it was clearly observed that WRL-68 cells were killed at 42°C for 3 hrs. meanwhile MCF-7 cells need temperature of 38°C for 0.5 hrs. In future, more synergistic effects of combining hyperthermia with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy or gene therapy must be study in order to develop better therapeutic effects in breast cancer treatment

In silico molecular modeling and docking studies on novel mutants (E229V, H225P and D230C) of the Nucleotide-Binding domain of Homo sapiens Hsp70

In this study, we explored the possibility of determining the synergistic interactions between nucleotide-binding domain (NBD) of Homo sapiens heat-shock 70 kDa protein (Hsp70) and E1A 32 kDa of adenovirus serotype 5 motif (PNLVP) in the efficiency of killing of tumor cells in cancer treatment. At present, the protein interaction between NBD and PNLVP motif is still unknown, but believed to enhance the rate of virus replication in tumor cells. Three mutant models (E229V, H225P and D230C) were built and simulated, and their interactions with PNLVP motif were studied. The PNLVP motif showed the binding energy and intermolecular energy values with the novel E229V mutant at −7.32 and −11.2 kcal/mol. The E229V mutant had the highest number of hydrogen bonds (7). Based on the root mean square deviation, root mean square fluctuation, hydrogen bonds, salt bridge, secondary structure, surface-accessible solvent area, potential energy and distance matrices analyses, it was proved that the E229V had the strongest and most stable interaction with the PNLVP motif among all the four protein–ligand complex structures. The knowledge of this protein–ligand complex model would help in designing Hsp70 structure-based drug for cancer therapy

Dimocarpus Longan Phytocompounds Possess Anticancer Activity by Specifically Targeting Breast Cancer Biomarkers Via Computational Biology Tools

Worldwide, breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among women. Natural plant compounds with anticancer potential can block BC biomarkers, but they must be chosen carefully to avoid adverse side effects. In this research, the interaction between the BC biomarkers and plant compounds from Dimocarpus Longan was studied using a molecular docking approach. Twenty plant constituents from longan and two target proteins considered involved in BC (1ERR: Estrogen receptor and 3D90: Progesterone receptor) were obtained from the PubChem database and RCSB Protein Data Bank (PDB) respectively. They were docked using the SwissDock server. Then, the drug-likeness of the plant compounds that demonstrated interaction was evaluated. The results show that 1ERR and 3D90 had the lowest binding affinity with the L-epicatechin at the value of -9.5 and -8.3 kcal/mol respectively. These proteins had the most stable interaction with their plant compounds. The toxicity prediction analysis revealed that L-epicatechin is not safe to use as a drug due to AMES toxicity. All of the ten compounds had low binding scores, indicating that they had good interactions. Therefore, α-terpineol was chosen to use as a safe drug. The findings of this study should aid pharmaceutical researchers in identifying longan-based medications

Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding COVID-19 among the Turkish and Malaysian general populations during lockdown: A cross-sectional online survey

AbstractBackground: COVID-19 is public health threat across the globe. The aim of the study is to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the Turkish and Malaysian general populations regarding COVID-19 during the lockdown. Methods and materials: A cross-sectional quick survey was conducted online on 01-07 April 2020. Data were collected from samples of the general public in both Turkey and Malaysia. Results: A total of 1,320 people from the two countries participated in the study. In Turkey, only gender and education were demonstrated to have an association with overall knowledge (p˂0.001), while in Malaysia it was shown that age and marital status (p˂0.001) were statistically significant. In Turkey, those who had a good attitude towards COVID-19 were mostly male, married and postgraduates; in Malaysia, females, married those who had completed a middle-school education, and postgraduates demonstrated a good attitude towards COVID-19. In Turkey, 55.3% of study participants wore masks and 90.9% avoided crowded places; in Malaysia, 87.1% wore masks and 93.4% avoided crowded places. Conclusions: Participants had good knowledge about COVID-19, however they also showed misconceptions about COVID-19, especially in relation to its transmission. Participants’ confidence was high and they believe that their country can win the battle against the COVID-19 virus. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2020; 34(4):243-252] Key words: COVID-19; knowledge, attitudes and practices; Turkish community; Malaysian community; pandemi