Antitumor effect of blister beetles: An ethno-medicinal practice in Karbi community and its experimental evaluation against a murine malignant tumor model

Ethnopharmacological importance

The blister beetles Epicauta hirticornis and Mylabris cichorii are used as a folk medicine by the Karbi tribe in Karbi Anglong district of Assam, India for the treatment of different human ailments, including cancer cases.

Aim of the study

It includes field survey related to zoo-therapeutic aspects of two blister beetles in Karbi community, isolation of bio-active compound and evaluation of its antitumor potential with possible mode of action against murine Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC).

Materials and methods

The main bio-active compound of blister beetles was isolated from ethyl acetate extract and the structure was confirmed as cantharidin using NMR, IR, Mass and X-ray diffractometer. The effect of cantharidin on apoptosis, necrosis, autophagy and the apoptosis related signaling pathways were determined using different bioassays, including cell cycle analysis, mitochondrial membrane potential, western blot analysis of cytochrome c, caspases 9, 3/7 assays, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay.

Results

Cantharidin induced apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy cell death in EAC cells. The decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential was observed, which may help to release cytochrome c from mitochondria to cytosol. Cantharidin treatment caused up-regulation of caspases 9 and −3/7 and a decrease in LDH activity in EAC cells.

Conclusion

The major bioactive compound of these blister beetles is cantharidin which induces severe apoptosis in EAC cells involving mitochondrial intrinsic pathway. Cantharidin-mediated inhibition of LDH activity may lead to short supply of NAD⁺ and cut off energy and anabolic supply to cancer cells.     

肇庆市学龄前儿童单纯性肥胖发生率及营养干预效果观察

目的调查肇庆市区学龄前儿童的肥胖发生率并观察营养干预对改善儿童肥胖的效果。方法采用整群抽样的方法，抽取肇庆城区10间幼儿园913名儿童，进行幼儿的体格测量、幼儿园的膳食供给量调查和家长的问卷调查，针对有效影响因素进行家园结合的营养干预，半年后观察其对儿童肥胖的干预效果。结果肇庆市区学龄前儿童肥胖检出率7．67％，男童7．17％，女童8．35％。幼儿园膳食供给调查结果显示，高能量、高脂肪、低蔬菜量与儿童肥胖检出率有相关性（P〈0．05）。问卷调查中进餐看电视、有独立睡房、家庭高收入、家长肥胖、不爱吃蔬菜、放园后加餐过多等与肥胖的发生有一定相关性。通过家园结合的知、信、行的干预模式，半年后幼儿的肥胖发生率明显下降（P〈0．05）。结论儿童肥胖发生率有逐年上升的趋势，家园结合，对幼儿园的膳食干预和对家长喂养认知和行为干预可以有效改善幼儿的肥胖情况。     

In vitro and in vivo genotoxicity evaluation of hormonal drugs. I. Hydrocortisone

Genotoxic evaluation of a widely used glucocorticoid, hydrocortisone, was undertaken using a battery of in vitro and in vivo test systems. Human lymphocyte cultures and mouse bone marrow studies (micronuclei and sister chromatid exchange analyses) showed the drug to be very potent clastogen. However, the Ames/Salmonella assay both with and without S9 did not show an increase in the His+ revertants.     

Immunogenomics and systems biology of vaccines

Vaccines represent a potent tool to prevent or contain infectious diseases with high morbidity or mortality. However, despite their widespread use, we still have a limited understanding of the mechanisms underlying the effective elicitation of protective immune responses by vaccines. Recent research suggests that this represents the cooperative action of the innate and adaptive immune systems. Immunity is made of a multifaceted set of integrated responses involving a dynamic interaction of thousands of molecules, whose list is constantly updated to fill the several empty spaces of this puzzle. The recent development of new technologies and computational tools permits the comprehensive and quantitative analysis of the interactions between all of the components of immunity over time. Here, we review the role of the innate immunity in the host response to vaccine antigens and the potential of systems biology in providing relevant and novel insights in the mechanisms of action of vaccines to improve their design and effectiveness.     

Screening for pompe disease using a rapid dried blood spot method: Experience of a clinical diagnostic laboratory

Pompe disease (acid maltase deficiency; glycogen storage disease type II) is caused by deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme acid alpha‐glucosidase (GAA). Our clinical laboratory began to offer a fluorometric dried blood spot (DBS)‐based GAA activity assay for Pompe disease in 2006 after the FDA approved GAA enzyme replacement therapy in April of that year. The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of our clinical laboratory in using this assay. Over a 2‐year period, we received samples for the DBS GAA assay from 891 patients referred for possible Pompe disease, of whom 111 (12.5%) patients across the disease spectrum who had results in the affected range. The majority of the patients were referred by neurologists and geneticists. When available, we correlated the results obtained through DBS GAA activity assay with the results from a second DBS, or a second tissue (cultured skin fibroblasts or muscle biopsy). In our experience, the DBS GAA activity assay provides a robust, rapid, and reliable first tier test for screening patients suspected of having Pompe disease. Muscle Nerve 40: 32–36, 2009