In Ayurveda, Withania somnifera is commonly known as Ashwagandha, its roots are specifically used in medicinal and clinical applications. It possesses numerous therapeutic actions which include anti-inflammatory, sedative, hypnotic and narcotic. Extracts from this plant have been reported for its anticancer properties. In this study we evaluated for the first time, the cytotoxic effect of Witha...

MicroRNA (miR)-203 has been demonstrated to function as a suppressor in tumorigenesis. Recently, miR-203 was reported to play a role in malignant melanoma (MM); however, the detailed function of miR-203 in MM remains unclear. In the present study, the expression of miR-203 was shown to be significantly downregulated in MM tissues when compared with normal adjacent tissues. Based on a bioinforma...

Cell-mediated antitumor effects have, in part, been attributed to the production of NO. Compounds which generate NO might, therefore, be useful in attenuating the growth of tumor cells. Six nitric oxide/nucleophile adducts that release NO spontaneously in solution were tested for their effectiveness in inhibiting DNA synthesis in A375 human melanoma cells. The complexes of NO with spermine, 3-(...

CD147 plays a critical role in the invasive and metastatic activity of malignant melanoma cells by stimulating the surrounding fibroblasts to express matrix metalloproteinases and vascular endothelial growth factor. We developed a system that blocks CD147 in the human malignant melanoma cell line, A375, using RNA interference. By transfecting melanoma cells with the small interfering RNA (siRNA...

The Raf/mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling pathway is involved in cellular responses relevant to tumorigenesis, including cell proliferation, invasion, survival, and angiogenesis. 2-[4-[(1E)-1-(Hydroxyimino)-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-5-yl]-3-(pyridine-4-yl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl]ethan-1-ol (GDC-0879) is a novel, potent, and selective B-Raf inhibit...

INTRODUCTION Benzamide can specifically bind to melanoma cells. A 18F-labeled benzamide derivative, [18F]N-(2-diethylaminoethyl)-4-[2-(2-(2-fluoroethoxy) ethoxy)ethoxy]benzamide ([18F]FPBZA), was developed as a promising PET probe for primary and metastatic melanoma. METHODS [18F]FPBZA was synthesized via a one-step radiofluorination in this study. The specific uptake of [18F]FPBZA was studie...

Synthesis of a new series of pyrimidinyl-imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole derivatives is described. Their antiproliferative activity against A375 human melanoma cell line was tested and the effect of substituents on the pyrimidinyl ring side chain was investigated. The biological results indicated that most of the newly synthesized compounds showed moderate activity against A375, compared with Sorafenib....

Nitric oxide (·NO) was originally identified as an innate cytotoxin. However, in tumors it can enhance resistance to chemotherapy and exacerbate cancer progression. Our previous studies indicated that (·NO/·NO-derived species react with etoposide (VP-16) in vitro and form products that show significantly reduced activity toward HL60 cells and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced macrophages. Here, ...

Bufalin was obtained from the skin and parotid venom glands of toad and has been shown to induce cytotoxic effects in various types of cancer cell lines, but there is no report to show that whether bufalin affects human skin cancer cells. The aim of this investigation was to study the effects of bufalin on human malignant melanoma A375.S2 cells and to elucidate possible mechanisms involved in i...

MiR-106b is overexpressed in various types of cancers and is associated with the regulation of the carcinogenic processes. Using RT-PCR, we have identified overexpression of miRNA-106b in various melanoma cell lines (A375, Hs294t, SK-Mel28, SK-Mel 119, Mel 1241, Mel 1011 and Mel 928) as compared to its expression in normal human epidermal melanocytes (NHEM). The overexpression of miR-106b in me...