Continue reading “The Redhead’s Natural Defense Against Melanoma”
apoptosis
Could the Next Chemotherapy be Derived from a Weed?
As much as I may complain about weeds, one that I enjoy (in moderation and not among my vegetables) is dandelions. The bright yellow flowers herald spring, and the seed puffballs, while not as visually interesting, offer entertainment as I watch birds landing on the shaft, bending it and eating the seeds. When I am pulling out the taproots with my dandelion weeding tool, I like to leave them on my lawn to break down because the roots are known to draw up nutrients. As it turns out, dandelion root is more than a nutrient source for other plants; it has been used for medicinal purposes. And now Ovadje, Hamm and Pandey have published research showing that dandelion root extract is able to induce apoptosis of leukemia cell lines while leaving normal blood cells untouched. Continue reading “Could the Next Chemotherapy be Derived from a Weed?”
Considerations for Successful Cell-Based Assays 3: Treatment Parameters
Welcome to the third installment of our series on cell-based assays. Designed for the newbie to the world of cell-based assays, we have covered the topics of choosing your cell type and basic cell culture tips in the previous posts. In this post, we will discuss how decisions about test compound treatment: how much and how long can affect assay results and interpretation. Continue reading “Considerations for Successful Cell-Based Assays 3: Treatment Parameters”
Black Raspberry Extract May Lead to Tomorrow’s Cancer Preventative
When deciding which varieties of fruit to cultivate, I chose to plant black raspberries on my small suburban lot. They grow wild in Wisconsin, but fighting through swarms of mosquitos, brush and thorns to pick berries was not my idea of fun. For the last two years, I have received a large crop of juicy black berries that I enjoy eating fresh or process into black raspberry jam to spread on toast. Therefore, I was interested to learn that black raspberries have demonstrated cancer preventative properties in animal models of chemically induced oral and colon cancers as well as cultured oral cancer cells. Due to similarities between oral and cervical cancers, researchers recently tested if the beneficial effects of this berry could extend to human cervical cancer cells. Continue reading “Black Raspberry Extract May Lead to Tomorrow’s Cancer Preventative”
Tips for Multiplex Cell-Based Assay Success
The ability to analyze more than one cellular biomarker in a single sample is advantageous for a number of reasons. Multiplexing allows researchers to save money and time, while conserving precious samples. In addition, understanding the relationship between cell biomarkers can provide a more complete picture of cell health that can lead to improved predictive models for drug discovery. Understanding biomarker relationships can also minimize ambiguity in the data set and validate if a treatment effect is real or an artifact of the system. To avoid repeat experiments and extract the most biologically relevant data from multiplex assays, consider these tips when performing multiplex cell-based assays.
Continue reading “Tips for Multiplex Cell-Based Assay Success”
Sirtuins and Marathon Running: No Pain No Gain?
On Saturday I ran 12 miles. “Well, at least I have staved off apoptosis in my peripheral blood mononuclear cells” I thought as I hobbled down the stairs on Sunday morning. Normally I don’t think about mononuclear cells on Sunday mornings, only of coffee. However, a paper published last week in BMC Physiology changed that for me, at least temporarily.
The paper, by Marfe et al, investigated whether the physiological stress associated with strenuous exercise may cause apoptosis and contribute to loss of lymphocytes. This paper investigated whether apoptosis is increased in cells of the immune system after running a marathon. The authors studied the expression of various stress-related proteins in peripheral blood lymphocytes in 10 male amateur runners, examining the expression of various antioxidants, stress proteins and apoptotic markers before and after (2-hours post-race) running a marathon. They found that expression of the apoptotic marker bax was decreased significantly after the marathon, while levels of antiapoptotic bcl-2 RNA increased. The amount of propcaspase 9 did not change pre and post race, indicating that there was no change in levels of apoptosis before and after the race.
Continue reading “Sirtuins and Marathon Running: No Pain No Gain?”Describing Life and Death in the Cell
Life is complicated. So is death. And when the cells in your multiwell plate die after compound treatment, it’s not enough to know that they died. You need to know how they died: apoptosis or necrosis? Or, have you really just reduced viability, rather than induced death? Is the cytotoxicity you see dose-dependent? If you look earlier during drug treatment of your cells, do you see markers of apoptosis? If you wait longer, do you observe necrosis? If you reduce the dosage of your test compound, is it still cytotoxic? Continue reading “Describing Life and Death in the Cell”
