Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), a cancer stem cell (CSC) marker is over expressed in epithelial cancers and in retinoblastoma (RB). We fabricated an EpCAM targeting aptamer-siRNA chimera and investigated its anti-tumor property and EpCAM intracellular domain (EpICD) mediated signaling in epithelial cancer. The anti-tumor efficacy of EpCAM aptamer-siEpCAM chimera (EpApt-siEp) was eval...

Insulin-like growth factor receptor 1 (IGFR1) plays a crucial role in oncogenic transformation [C. Sell et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 14: 3604-3612,1994]. Compared with the normal human mammary epithelial cell line MCF12A, MCF7 human mammary carcinoma cells overexpress IGFR1 on the cell surface. To measure the effects of IGFR1 inhibition on tumor cells, we tested two mouse neutralizing antibodies a...

Previously, we have reported that a multidrug-resistant, mitoxantrone (MX)-selected cell line, MCF7/MX, is highly cross-resistant to the antifolate methotrexate (MTX), because of enhanced ATP-dependent drug efflux (E. L. Volk et al., Cancer Res., 60: 3514–3521, 2000). These cells overexpress the breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), and resistance to MTX as well as to MX was reversible by th...

Overexpression of cyclin D1, a G1 cell cycle regulator, is often found in many different tumor types, such as breast carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. The overexpression of this protein is, in several cases, associated with a poor prognosis. In this study, the effect of cyclin D1 on radiosensitivity was investigated in a breast tumor cell line, MCF7, containing a cycli...

Ethnomedicinal knowledge of plant-derived bioactives could help us in discovering new therapeutic compounds of great potential. Certainly, dandelion has been used in traditional ethno-medicinal systems (i.e., Chinese, Arabian, Indian, and Native American) to treat different types of cancer. Though, dandelion is highly vigorous, but the potential mode of action is still unclear. In the current s...

Previously, we have reported that a multidrug-resistant, mitoxantrone (MX)-selected cell line, MCF7/MX, is highly cross-resistant to the antifolate methotrexate (MTX), because of enhanced ATP-dependent drug efflux (E. L. Volk et al., Cancer Res., 60: 3514-3521, 2000). These cells overexpress the breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP), and resistance to MTX as well as to MX was reversible by th...

objective: a number of studies have demonstrated the potential antitumor effects of saffron and its constituents on different malignant cells in vitro. it has been reported that a novel glycoconjugate isolated from corms and callus of saffron possesses cytotoxic activity against different tumor cellswith nitric oxide (no) production. these data suggest that the cytotoxic effect of saffron extra...

background: erythropoietin (epo) is a glycoprotein hormone function to regulate the production of red blood cells. deficiency of epo is known to cause anemia in chronically infected renal patients and they require regular blood transfusion. availability of recombinant epo has eliminated the need for blood transfusion and now it is extensively used for the treatment of anemia. glycosylation of e...

the p21 belongs to the cip/kip family of cdk inhibitors involved in cell cycle arrest at specific stages of the cell cycle progression. dna methylation is the best studied epigenetic mark that have been evidently associated to chromatin condensation, and repression of gene transcription. the cpg island hypermethylation in promoter region of certain genes occurs in cancer cells and affects tumor...

curcumin (cur) is the active curcuminoid with many physiological, biochemical, and pharmacological properties. solubility and stability of cur is the limiting factors for realizing its therapeutic potential. bovine β-casein is an abundant milk protein that is highly amphiphilic and self-assembles into stable micellar nanoparticles in aqueous solution. β-casein nanoparticle can solubilize cur mo...