Browsing by Author "Zari, Ali"

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Effects of uncaria tomentosa on the growth and survival of B16-BL6 mouse melanoma cells
(Laurentian University of Sudbury, 2014-11-05) Zari, Ali
Uncaria tomentosa is a medicinal plant native to Peru that has been traditionally used in the treatment of various disorders, including cancer. U. tomentosa is one of the best-selling herbs in the world and is used as an immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer remedy. This study assessed the effectiveness of U. tomentosa on the growth and survival of B16-BL6 mouse melanoma cells. Both ethanol and PBS extracts of U. tomentosa extracts were tested in vitro and in vivo in order to evaluate their potential anticancer activity. In addition, different methods to measure the effect of treatment were used, including MTT assay, immunofluorescence (Ki67 protein and TUNEL assay) and the isogenic tumour transplantation model. The present results showed that U. tomentosa significantly inhibited cell proliferation and induced morphological changes in vitro. Furthermore, U. tomentosa was able to increase the percentage of apoptotic cells in a concentration-dependent manner. There was also decrease in the expression of Ki-67 (cell proliferation marker). Two experiments were performed to assess the ability of U. tomentosa to inhibit B16-BL6 cell growth in vivo. Mice were injected subcutaneously (on the top of the muscle) with B16-BL6 cells and tumours were allowed to progress for two weeks. In some animals, U. tomentosa extracts were injected intraperitoneal and intratumour. The animals were sacrificed and tumour diameters and weights were measured. The results showed that U. tomentosa caused a significant reduction in tumour weight but the tumor size was not significantly affected when compared to the controls. Interestingly, there were no significant differences in mouse weight for all treated groups. Overall, U. tomentosa showed promising results and caused a marked reduction in B16-BL6 melanoma cell growth.
Uncovering the therapeutic potential of Uncaria tomentosa using B16-BL6 mouse melanoma and 4T1 mouse breast cancer cells
(2019-03-14) Zari, Ali
Uncaria tomentosa (Rubiaceae), a medicinal plant native to Peru, has been traditionally used for centuries as a treatment for a wide variety of diseases, as well as to maintain health. It grows primarily in the Amazon rainforest and throughout South and Central America. U. tomentosa extracts have been demonstrated to have anti-oxidant, anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. The goal of this study was to examine Uncaria tomentosa in both in vitro and in vivo models in order to evaluate its potential anti-cancer activity using the B16-BL6 mouse melanoma and 4T1 mouse breast cancer cell lines. Both ethanol and PBS extracts of U. tomentosa were prepared and used to measure the effects on cell growth and survival using several different methodologies. Treatment of cells with ethanol extracts was much more effective at inhibiting cancer cell growth than treatment with PBS extracts in vitro, but no significant differences in the cancer inhibitory effects were observed in vivo. The in vitro experiments showed that treatment with the U. tomentosa extract significantly inhibited the growth of both B16- BL6 and 4T1 cell lines. It also inhibited the expression of the Ki-67 proliferation marker and promoted cell death as measured by increased DNA fragmentation using TUNEL assays in cancer cells. Treatment with the ethanol extract of U. tomentosa caused a significant increase in the fraction of apoptotic cells in flow cytometry (i.e. sub G1 peaks). Furthermore, two animal experiments were performed in order to evaluate the effect of U. tomentosa treatment on B16-BL6 cells in C57BL/6 mice. The results of the in vivo experiments concluded that treatment with U. tomentosa reduced tumour weight and tumour size. Histochemical analysis of the B16-BL6 tumours showed a strong reduction in the Ki-67 cell proliferation marker and a small but not significant increase in DNA fragmentation in U. tomentosa-treated mice compared to the control. Further, U. tomentosa extracts reduced staining for Factor VIII, a marker for endothelial cells, indicating a decrease in angiogenesis in treated mice. Since U. tomentosa has been shown to affect immune system function, the infiltration of several different immune cells into the tumour was examined. No significant differences in the number of infiltrating T cells (including T helper and cytotoxic T cells), B cells, or platelets were found between the treated groups and the control. Collectively, the results in this study concluded that U. tomentosa has potent anticancer activity that significantly inhibited cancer cell growth both in vitro and in vivo. The discovery of new medicinal plants that are effective against cancer cells may provide a strategy to develop cancer therapy and requires more attention.