The Promoter of the Tnt1A Retrotransposon: A Biomarker to Monitor Ozone but not Formaldehyde and Benzene Pollution

Open top chambers (OTCs) are useful tools to assess the impact of atmospheric pollutants on plants in the natural environment. We have previously reported that, in tomato plants, the LTR-GUS construct derived from the Tnt1A promoter of tobacco was activated by a realistic level of ozone pollution. In this study, we used OTCs to fumigate tomato plants with benzene or formaldehyde in order to assess the impact of these pollutants on plant growth and development and evaluate the usefulness of the LTR-GUS construct as a biomarker in plants. Whereas the LTR-GUS construct could be used as an efficient biomarker of realistic levels of ozone pollution, it is to a lesser extent applicable to formaldehyde. Indeed, only unrealistic concentration of pollutant activated the construct though important injuries were observed at a lower concentration. For benzene, no activation could be demonstrated, however, we did not notice any visual impact on plant growth and health for this pollutant.     

Antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of heterofucans from the seaweed Sargassum filipendula

Fucan is a term used to denominate a type of polysaccharide which contains substantial percentages of l-fucose and sulfate ester groups. We obtained five heterofucans from Sargassum filipendula by proteolytic digestion followed by sequential acetone precipitation. These heterofucans are composed mainly of fucose, glucose, glucuronic acid, galactose and sulfate. These fucans did not show anticoagulant activity in PT and aPTT tests. Their antioxidant activity was evaluated using the follow tests; total antioxidant capacity, scavenging hydroxyl and superoxide radicals, reducing power and ferrous ion [Fe(II)] chelating. All heterofucans displayed considerable activity, especially SF-1.0v which showed the most significant antioxidant potential with 90.7 ascorbic acid equivalents in a total antioxidant capacity test and similar activity when compared with vitamin C in a reducing power assay. The fucan antiproliferative activity was performed with HeLa, PC3 and HepG2 cells using MTT test. In all tested conditions the heterofucans exhibited a dose-dependent effect. The strongest inhibition was observed in HeLa cells, where SF-1.0 and SF-1.5 exhibited considerable activity with an IC50 value of 15.69 and 13.83 μM, respectively. These results clearly indicate the beneficial effect of S. filipendula polysaccharides as antiproliferative and antioxidant. Further purification steps and additional studies on structural features as well as in vivo experiments are needed to test the viability of their use as therapeutic agents.     

Both wheat (Triticum aestivum) bran arabinoxylans and gut flora-mediated fermentation products protect human colon cells from genotoxic activities of 4-hydroxynonenal and hydrogen peroxide

Dietary fibers are fermented by the gut flora to yield short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which inhibit the growth of tumor cells, induce glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), and protect cells from the genotoxic activity of 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE). Here, we investigated effects of wheat bran-derived arabinoxylans and fermentation products on these parameters of chemoprevention. Newly isolated water extractable (WeAx) and alkali extractable arabinoxylans (AeAx) were fermented under anaerobic conditions with human feces. Resulting fermentation supernatants (FSs) were analyzed for SCFAs and used to treat HT29 colon cancer cells. Cell growth, cytotoxicity, antigenotoxicity against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or HNE, and GST activity were determined. Nonfermented WeAx decreased H2O2-induced DNA damage by 64%, thus demonstrating chemoprotective properties by this nonfermented wheat bran fiber. The fermentation of WeAx and AeAx resulted in 3-fold increases of SCFA, but all FSs (including the control without arabinoxylans) inhibited the growth of the HT29 cells, reduced the genotoxicity of HNE, and enhanced the activity of GSTs (FS WeAx, 2-fold; FS AeAx, 1.7-fold; and control FS, 1.4-fold), which detoxify HNE. Thus, increases in SCFAs were not reflected by enhanced functional effects. The conclusion is that fermentation mixtures contain modulatory compounds that arise from the feces and might add to the effectiveness of SCFAs.     

Chimpanzee reservoirs of pandemic and nonpandemic HIV-1

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the cause of human acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), is a zoonotic infection of staggering proportions and social impact. Yet uncertainty persists regarding its natural reservoir. The virus most closely related to HIV-1 is a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) thus far identified only in captive members of the chimpanzee subspecies Pan troglodytes troglodytes. Here we report the detection of SIVcpz antibodies and nucleic acids in fecal samples from wild-living P. t. troglodytes apes in southern Cameroon, where prevalence rates in some communities reached 29 to 35%. By sequence analysis of endemic SIVcpz strains, we could trace the origins of pandemic (group M) and nonpandemic (group N) HIV-1 to distinct, geographically isolated chimpanzee communities. These findings establish P. t. troglodytes as a natural reservoir of HIV-1.     

Pro-Apoptotic Activity of the Marine Sponge Dactylospongia elegans Metabolites Pelorol and 5-epi-Ilimaquinone on Human 501Mel Melanoma Cells

The natural environment represents an important source of drugs that originates from the terrestrial and, in minority, marine organisms. Indeed, the marine environment represents a largely untapped source in the process of drug discovery. Among all marine organisms, sponges with algae represent the richest source of compounds showing anticancer activity. In this study, the two secondary metabolites pelorol (PEL) and 5-epi-ilimaquinone (EPI), purified from Dactylospongia elegans were investigated for their anti-melanoma activity. PEL and EPI induced cell growth repression of 501Mel melanoma cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. A cell cycle block in the G1 phase by PEL and EPI was also observed. Furthermore, PEL and EPI induced significant accumulation of DNA histone fragments in the cytoplasmic fraction, indicating a pro-apoptotic effect of both compounds. At the molecular level, PEL and EPI induced apoptosis through the increase in pro-apoptotic BAX expression, confirmed by the decrease in its silencing miR-214-3p and the decrease in the anti-apoptotic BCL-2, MCL1, and BIRC-5 mRNA expression, attested by the increase in their silencing miRNAs, i.e., miR-193a-3p and miR-16-5p. In conclusion, our data indicate that PEL and EPI exert cytotoxicity activity against 501Mel melanoma cells promoting apoptotic signaling and inducing changes in miRNA expression and their downstream effectors. For these reasons could represent promising lead compounds in the anti-melanoma drug research.