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  Background & objectives: Cancer is one of the most causes of mortality in worldwide. Components derived from natural plants that induce apoptosis are used for cancer treatment. Therefore investigation of different herbal components for new anti-cancer drug is one of the main research activities throughout the world. According to low cost, oral consumption and easy access to the public extracts of Urtica dioica, in this study we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of this herb on MDA-MB-468 breast cancer cells.

  Methods: Cytotoxic effect of Urtica dioica extract was measured using MTT assays. To show induction of apoptosis by this plant TUNEL and DNA Fragmentation test were performed.

  Results: In the present study dichloromethane extracts noticeably killed cancer cells. IC50 values related to human breast adenocarcinoma cell line MDA-MB-468 were 29.46±1.05 µg/ml in 24 hours and 15.54±1.04 µg/ml in 48 hours. TUNEL test and DNA Fragmentation assay showed apoptotic characteristic in the extract treated cells.

  Conclusion: The results showed that MDA-MB-468 cells after treatment with dichloromethane extract of Urtica dioica, induces apoptosis in MDA-MB-468 cancer cells which may be useful in the treatment of cancer.

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Background & objectives: Prostate cancer is one of the main reasons of death between men. Although there are many methods for treatment of this cancer but most of the patients still are died of the postoperative recurrence and metastasis of disease. Over expression of HMGA2 gene was observed in many human malignancies such as colorectal cancer, thyroid, pancreatic carcinoma and lung cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of HMGA2 specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) on viability and apoptosis in PC3 prostate adenocarcinoma cell line. 

Methods: siRNA transfection was performed with liposome approach. The cytotoxic effects of siRNA were determined using MTT assay on the PC3 cells and apoptosis was quantified using TUNEL assay.

Results: Transfection with siRNA significantly suppressed the expression of HMGA2 gene in dose dependent manner after 48 hours resulting in spontaneous apoptosis. Moreover, siRNA transfection had effects on prostate cancer cells viability.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that the HMGA2 specific siRNA effectively decreases prostate cancer cells viability and induces apoptosis in this cell line. Therefore it can be considered as a potent adjuvant in prostate cancer therapy.

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Background & objectives: Among gynecologic malignancies, endometrial cancer is the fourth most frequent cause of cancer death all over the world. Paclitaxel is one of the chemotherapy regimens that is used against this cancer. Treatment of tumor with Paclitaxel induces apoptosis, but it is also associated with serious side effects. Thus, it is imperative to search for more effective and safer chemotherapeutic regimens. Silibinin is a milk thistle plant extract that its antioxidant effects against some cancers have been studied. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of Paclitaxel and Silibinin combination on endometrial cancer cell line (Hela).

Methods: Hela cell line was cultured in 25cm² flask in RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS). Then the numbers of live cells were calculated with trypan blue staining method and then the cells were seeded in to 96-well flat-bottomed culture plates and treated with Silibilin, Paclitaxel and Paclitaxel plus Silibilin together with the control without treatment. MTT assay was used to evaluate cytotoxicity of different treatments.

Results: After 48 hours of treatment, Paclitaxel and Silibilin combination inhibited cell growth significantly compared with the other groups (p<0.05).

Conclusions: It is indicated that combination of Paclitaxel and Silibilin can affect the growth arrest of Hela cancer cell line more  effective than other treatments and is needed to be examined in vitro.

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Background & objectives: Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Much attention has been given to nutritional supplements that can alter intestinal flora as factors preventing colon cancer. Research has shown that lactic acid bacteria in foods are potentially capable of inducing apoptosis. In this regard, the most focus has been on Lactobacillus genus. This study, investigated the cytotoxic effect of metabolites of isolated strain from Azerbaijan traditional cheeses on HCT116 colorectal cancer cells.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, after collecting samples of traditional "Lighvan" and "jug" cheeses in the region of Azerbaijan, MRS medium was used for isolation of lactobacilli. The isolates were identified by biochemical and molecular approaches after primary confirmation. The metabolites were produced in MRS broth, and their supernatants were separated. The inhibitory effect of the supernatants of the isolates on HCT116 cancer cells was studied and their effects were evaluated by microscopy and MTT assay.
Results: In this study, three isolates of "Lighvan" and sixteen isolates of "jug" cheeses were obtained. The results of anticancer activity showed that the supernatants of the isolates CT2 and JT1 had a significant anticancer effect on HCT116 cancer cells (p˂0.05). Identification of the isolates CT2 and JT1 showed 99% and 96% similarity with Lactobacillus brevis, respectively.
Conclusion: Lactobacilli in Azerbaijan traditional dairy products have a significant value in terms of anticancer properties.
 

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Background & objectives: Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. In this study, the cytotoxic effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Colutea persica leaf and its synergic effect with doxorubicin were investigated on MCF-7, LNCaP and SKM (as control) cell lines.
Methods: Hydroalcoholic leaf extract of Colutea persica was prepared using maceration method and ethanol 70%. Breast cancer (MCF7), prostate (LNCaP) and fibroblast (SKM) cell lines were cultured in microplates (96 wells) and exposed to various concentrations (10, 7.5, 5, 2.5, 1.25, 0.625, 0.312 and 0.156 mg/ml) of plant extract and doxorubicin (20, 80, 320 and 640 nM) solution. The synergistic effect of 20 nanomol of drug and 0.156 mg / ml of the plant extract was investigated. MTT assay was employed to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of the extract on cell lines at different time intervals (24, 48 and 72 hours). Staining with annexin V and propidium iodide (PI) was used to identify different types of cell death either necrosis or apoptosis.
Results: The plant extracts had cytotoxic effect and cell viability rate was lower than fibroblasts. At different times, the concentration of 10 mg /ml of the extract showed the most growth inhibition of breast and prostate cell lines. The combination effect of plant extract with doxorubicin on cells was not significant (p<0.01). The Annexin V/PI flow cytometry results showed that the percentage of initial apoptosis, delayed apoptosis and necrosis in treated cells increased compared to untreated cell.
Conclusion: Hydroalcoholic extract of Colutea persica leaf inhibits the growth of cancer cells and induce apoptosis in breast and prostate cancer cells.

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Introduction & objectives: Application of traditional medicine and identification of herbs to treat cancer are being on the rise. Little information is available on the anticancer effects of Smyrnium cordifolium bioss species. For this purpose, the present study investigated the cytotoxic and apoptotic effects of the alcoholic extract of S. cordifulium.
Methods: After preparing the plant and its alcoholic extract, different concentrations of the extract (0, 2, 10, 50 and 250 μg/ml) were added to the culture medium of MCF-7 cells. MTT assay was used to evaluate cytotoxicity of different extract concentrations. In addition, acridine orange-ethidium bromide staining was used to assess apoptosis rates. Data was analyzed by SPSS software at the significance level of 5%.
Results: the results of this study showed that S. cordifolium extract at 250μg/ml concentration had a more inhibitory effect on proliferation compared to other treatment groups. Moreover, this concentration (250μg/ml) had a significant effect on apoptosis in comparison with other concentrations.
Conclusion: In conclusion, it seems that alcoholic extract of S. cordifolium can partially reduce proliferation of cancer cells.
 

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Background & objectives: Toluene as a systemic toxin and industrial solvents has different effects on vital organs of the body. There is little mechanistic study of the interactions between toluene and human lymphocytes. In this study, the direct toxicity of toluene and the potential of agents with antioxidant, mitochondrial/lysosomal protective effects to reduce its possible toxicity in human lymphocytes were studied.
Methods: Blood lymphocytes were isolated from healthy male volunteer's blood, using Ficoll Paque Plus followed by gradient centrifugation. In this study, cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, lipid peroxidation (LPO), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), lysosomal membrane damage, glutathione (GSH) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG) levels, were determined in blood lymphocytes after incubation with toluene and antioxidant, mitochondrial and lysosomal protective compounds.
 Results: Results showed that toluene reduced lymphocyte viability, increased ROS levels, LPO content, damage to lysosomal membranes, mitochondrial damages and GSH depletion, which these damages were significantly inhibited by dibutyl hydroxytoluene (BHT) as a synthetic antioxidant, cyclosporine A (Cs. A) as an inhibitor of mitochondrial pores, and chloroquine as a lysosomotropic agent.
Conclusion: Results of our study suggest that using of antioxidants, mitochondrial and lysosomal protective agents can be effective in reducing toluene-induced toxicity in exposed individuals.