Low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) has been an object of research since the 1970s because of its role in various cell functions. The LDLR family members include LRP5, LRP6, and LRP8. Even though LRP5, 6, and 8 are in the same family, intriguingly, these three proteins have various roles in physiological events, as well as in regulating different mechanisms in various kinds of cancers. LRP5, LRP6, and LRP8 have been shown to play important roles in a broad panel of cancers. LRP5 is highly expressed in many tissues and is involved in the modulation of glucose-induced insulin secretion, bone development, and cholesterol metabolism, as well as cancer progression. Recently, LRP5 has also been shown to play a role in chondroblastic subtype of osteosarcoma (OS) and prostate cancer and also in noncancer case such as osteoporosis. LRP6, which has been previously discovered to share the same structures as LRP5, has also been associated with many cancer progressions such as human triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), primary chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCL), lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In addition to its role in cancer progression, LRP8 (apolipoprotein E receptor 2 [APOER2]) has also been demonstrated to regulate canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway whereby this pathway plays a role in cell migration and development. Therefore, this review aimed to elucidate the role of LRP 5, 6, and 8 in regulating the cancer progression.

Dengue viruses, mosquito-borne members of the Flaviviridae family, are the causative agents of dengue fever and its associated complications, dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. To date, more than 2.5 billion people in over 100 countries are at risk of infection, and approximately 20 million infections were reported annually. There is currently no treatment or vaccine available for dengue infection. This study employed a whole-cell organism model or in vitro methods to study the inhibitory property of the flavanoid-derived compounds against DENV2 activity. Results showed that at concentration not exceeding the maximum non-toxic dose (MNTD), these compounds completely prevented DENV2 infection in HepG2 cells as indicated by the absence of cytophatic effects. The in vitro antiviral activity assessed in HepG2 cells employing virus inhibition assay showed high inhibitory activity in a dose dependent manner. At concentration below MNTD, compounds exhibited inhibitory activity against DENV2 with a range of potency strengths of 72% to 100%. The plaque forming unit per ml (pfu/ml) was reduced prominently with a maximum reduction of 98% when the infected HepG2 cells were treated with the highest non-toxic dose of compounds. The highly potent activity of the compounds against DENV2 infection strongly suggests their potential as a lead antiviral agent for dengue.

Plant extracts of Cissus hastata, indigenously known as Semperai, have been used as an effective traditional remedy against coughs. Recently, the leaf extract was potentially shown to have anti-hemorrhoid activity, although there is a lack of scientific data due to its folklore usage. Hence, the therapeutic properties of the phytochemicals and metabolites of Semperai remain elusive. Therefore, this study aims to determine the total phenolic content and phytochemical compounds of the plant leaf extract. Total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were determined by the Folin–Ciocalteau method and the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, respectively. Phytochemical compounds present in the leaf methanol extract were analyzed by a qualitative method. Results showed the extract comprised a total of 21.3 mg GAE/g of phenolic content with reference to gallic acid. The antioxidant activity was almost absence with an IC50 of 7.80 µg/mL when compared to trolox and gallic acid. Presence of the red to orange precipitate in reference to gallic acid indicate alkaloid content, while the appearance of black-blue/green color in reference to gallic acid are referred to as tannins. The steroids were represented by an upper red layer and a yellowish sulfuric acid with green fluorescence in comparison to cholesterol. Nonetheless, saponin was not detected in the extract, as indicated by the absence of the persisting foam in the test solution when compared with sodium dodecyl sulphate. In conclusion, despite not having an antioxidant property, the methanol extract of Semperai comprised a fair amount of phenolic compounds, including tannins, alkaloids, and steroids, which, potentially, are highly anti-inflammatory towards hemorrhoids.

Lapatinib, an orally administered small‐molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor (SM‐TKI), is an effective treatment for ErbB2‐positive breast cancer. However, its efficacy as one of the targeted cancer therapies has been hampered by several adverse effects, especially gastrointestinal toxicity, commonly manifested as diarrhoea. Although it can be generally tolerated, diarrhoea is reported as the most common and most impactful on a patient’s quality of life and associated with treatment interruption. Severe diarrhoea can result in malabsorption, leading to dehydration, fatigue, and even death. ErbB1 is an epidermal growth factor profoundly expressed in normal gut epithelium while lapatinib is a dual ErbB1/ErbB2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Thus, ErbB1 inhibition by lapatinib may affect gut homeostasis leading to diarrhoea. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This review article provides evidence of the possible mechanisms of lapatinib‐induced diarrhoea that may be related to/or modulated by ErbB1. Insight regarding the involvement of ErbB1 in the pathophysiological changes such as inflammation and intestinal permeability as the underlying cause of diarrhoea is covered in this article.

Objective: To investigate the antiviral property of a lead ligand, YK51 that was synthesized based on the flavanoid of a natural product toward dengue virus type-2 (DENV2) replication. Methods: cRNA was isolated from HepG2 cells inoculated with 1000 median tissue culture infective dose of DENV2 and treated with different doses of the ligand followed by RT-PCR to quantify the virus gene copies. Confocal microscopy of actin and tubulin redistribution was also performed. Results: The quantitative RT-PCR result showed reduction of the DENV2 gene copies as the ligand concentration was increased. The confocal microscopy result showed increase in the tubulin intensity (79.6%) of infected BHK21 cells treated with the ligand, compared with the non-treated cells (54.8%). The 1.5-fold increase in the intensity of tubulin suggested that the ligand inhibitory effect stabilized the cellular microtubule structure. Conclusions: The synthesized ligand YK51 reduced DENV2 viral load by inhibiting virus replication thus is highly potential to be developed as antiviral agent

Most acute gastroenteritis (AGE) outbreaks and sporadic cases in developing countries are attributable to infection by human norovirus (HuNoV), the enteric virus mainly transmitted via fecal-contaminated water. However, it has been challenging to study HuNoV due to the lack of suitable systems to cultivate and replicate the virus, hindering the development of treatments and vaccines. Researchers have been using virus-like particles (VLPs) and infectious viral clones to overcome this challenge as alternatives to fresh virus isolates in various in vitro and ex vivo models. VLPs are multiprotein structures that mimic the wild-type virus but cannot replicate in host cells due to the lack of genetic materials for replication, limiting downstream analysis of the virus life cycle and pathogenesis. The development of in vitro cloning systems has shown promise for HuNoV replication studies. This review discusses the approaches for constructing HuNoV-VLPs and infectious viral clones, the techniques involved, and the challenges faced. It also highlights the relationship between viral genes and their protein products and provides a perspective on technical considerations for producing efficient HuNoV-VLPs and infectious viral clones, which could substitute for native human noroviruses in future studies.