Objectives MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as biomarkers that showed strong diagnostic potential in various diseases, including cancer. This study aimed to estimate the expression and diagnostic potential of miRNAs (miR-200a, miR-21, miR-210, miR-126, and miR-130a) in endometrial cancer samples. The DICER1 and AGO2 genes were also analysed. Methods The expression of miRNAs, DICER1, and AGO2 was quantified using the quantitative real-time PCR method in 40 tissue samples with early-stage endometrial cancer and 16 normal controls. Results All tested miRNAs showed significantly higher expression in endometrial cancer compared with the control group, while DICER1 was significantly downregulated. The expression levels of miR-200a, miR-21, and miR-210 were negatively correlated with DICER1 expression. Individually, miR-200a, miR-21, miR-210, and DICER1 showed the best diagnostic performance in distinguishing patients with endometrial cancer from normal controls, whereas a combination of all biomarkers resulted in an even higher area under the curve. Conclusions Our study showed that a panel of selected biomarkers (miR-200a, miR-21, miR-210, miR-126, miR-130a, DICER1, and AGO2) may be candidates for the detection of early-stage endometrial cancer.

The insect silk protects the larvae that produce it. This implies that it may contain biologically active substances that can be used in medicine. In this paper, the cytotoxic and proapoptotic potential of Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella) silk extract was examined after 72 h of exposure to the SW-480 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line. Apoptosis was examined by monitoring the cell morphological changes by fluorescent staining, acridine orange/ethidium bromide, and DAPI, as well as by flow cytometry. The results showed that silk extract has a very good cytotoxic and proapoptotic activity. The selective effect of silk indicates the presence of a high level of biocompatibility with normal human cells. Based on the results of increased gene expression for caspase 8 and 9 in silk extract-treated cells compared to control, apoptosis was induced by a caspase-dependent pathway.

Preclinical in vitro/in vivo testing is the first step in discovery of anticancer medicines, among others evaluation of cytotoxic activity of bioactive substances (BAS) on various human normal and cancer cell lines. Cytotoxicity expressed as IC50 value (a dose that inhibits 50% of cell growth) is one of the most commonly used parameter for comparable analysis of activity between different substances. This study includes examination of number of BAS and their results for cytotoxic activity obtained in the Laboratory for cell and molecular biology (LCMB) that require various statistical and computational techniques for proper effective analysis. In order to improve experimental data analysis, make it faster, more effective, error proof with secure online data repository, a Web application with LCMB IC50 database was developed as a useful research tool acting as a leverage for scientific data processing requirements. Analysis includes cytotoxic effects of chemical and natural BAS (IC50 values) on HCT-116, SW-480, MDA-MB-231, and MRC-5 cell lines. Generally, it can be concluded that BAS of different origin, chemical or natural, have various cytotoxic effects and cause different cell line sensitivity, which is presented and discussed. This paper presents developed SQL database-centric Web application with remote user-friendly data management for a biology researcher user type profile. Data processing in this article can be useful for a further overlook and testing of cytotoxic substances.