Background: Breast cancer is the major cause of death from cancer among women around the world. Given the drug resistance in the treatment of this disease, it is very important to identify new therapies and anticancer drugs. Many studies demonstrated that hypericin could induce apoptosis in different cancer cell lines; however, the underlying mechanism is not well understood yet. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the anticancer effect of hypericin in two breast cancer cell lines, one with wild type P53 and the other with mutant P53. Methods: In this study, the MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-175-VII cell lines were treated with different concentrations of hypericin for 24 and 48 hours. The measurement of cell death was performed by MTT assay. The cell apoptosis rate was measured using annexin V/propidium iodide assay through flow cytometry. The level of expression in P21 and P53 genes was evaluated by real time PCR. Immunocytochemistry (ICC) analysis was performed for P21 (direct target for P53 protein) to confirm the results. Results: The results showed that hypericin could have dose-dependent cytotoxic effects on the MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-175-VII cell lines, and its cytotoxicity is much higher in the latter cells. According to flow cytometry results, 86% of MDA-MB-175-VII cells underwent apoptosis with IC50 dose of hypericin for MDA-MB-231 cells after 24 hours. Moreover, after 24 hours of exposure to hypericin with MDA-MB-231 IC50 concentration, the expression of P53 and P21 genes upregulated in MDA-MB-175-VII much more than MDA-MB-231 when both cell lines were treated with 24 hours IC50 dose of MDA-MB-231. The ICC analysis on P21 confirmed that by treating both cell lines with MDA-MB-231 IC50 dose of hypericin for 24 hours, this protein is overexpressed much more in MDA-MB-175-VII cells. Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrated that hypericin’ s apoptotic and cytotoxic effects on cancer cells may be mediated via P53 overexpression, cell cycle arrest and the subsequent apoptosis. Therefore, it is of great importance to consider that hypericin would have better impact on cells or tumors with wild type P53.

Introduction: Trastuzumab is a common treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer. Trastuzumab exerts its effect through inhibiting intracellular signaling pathway induced by HER2. This study aimed to specifically investigate the cytotoxic effect of trastuzumab against two different breast cell lines, MDA-MB-453 (HER2-high) and MDA-MB-468 (HER2-low). Materials and Methods: The breast cancer cell lines were subjected to various concentrations of trastuzumab (1-1000 ng/mL). The trastuzumab’ s effects were regularly monitored via direct observation by inverted microscopy. Effects of trastuzumab were determined on cytotoxicity, cell proliferation and apoptosis at 24 and 72 hours post-treatment via MTT colorimetric, cell cycle and apoptosis assays. Results: Microscopic observation demonstrated a dose-dependent increase in cell death at treated ones. The MTT assay showed that trastuzumab (1-1000 ng/mL) inhibited the growth of both cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. The findings of the present study revealed that trastuzumab induces a statistically higher cytotoxicity at all concentrations in MDA-MB-453 compared to MDA-MB-468 cells. It has been actually revealed that trastuzumab suppresses cell proliferation through inducing G1 phase arrest and triggers apoptosis in both cell lines. However, the effect of trastuzumab was found to be higher in MDA-MB-453, compared to MDA-MB-468. Conclusions: Trastuzumab could inhibit cell proliferation and trigger apoptosis in HER2-positive cells. Although Trastuzumab affected both cell lines, it significantly inhibited the cell growth of HER2-high cells.

Objective: The present study aimed at evaluating the effect of Panax Ginseng on malondialdehyde (MDA) serum levels during eustress on healthy volunteers. Method: In this study, 65 healthy volunteers were recruited from students of a medical school, with the mean age of 22. 61± 3. 63 years. The volunteers were divided into 2 groups: Group A included 35 participants who were treated by Panax Ginseng 500 mg/day, which was regarded as the treated group; group B included 30 participants treated by placebo 500 mg/day, which was regarded as the control group. Baseline data were obtained and then one month after the study, the participants were followed with respect to induction of psychological stress through daily psychomotor performance task and visual working memory accuracy testing. Stress was assessed by malondialdehyde (MDA) serum levels. Results: The participants in the control group showed significant increases in MDA serum levels (p = 0. 0004), which were related to significant increases in perceived stress scale from p<0. 0001, while Panax Ginseng led to significant reduction in MDA serum levels (p<0. 01), with significant increase in perceived stress scale (p = 0. 02). Conclusion: Panax Ginseng produced significant reduction in oxidative stress and augmented eustress level in healthy volunteers 1 month after therapy.