Osteocytes play an important role as regulators of both osteoclasts and osteoblasts, and some proteins that are secreted from them play a role in bone remodeling and modeling. LPS affects bone structure because it is an inflammatory factor, despite verbascoside’s potential for bone preservation and healing. Osteocytes may also be involved in the control of the bone’s response to immunological changes in inflammatory situations. MLO-Y4 cells were cultured in either supplemented -MEM alone with a low serum to inhibit cell growth or media with LPS (10 ng/mL) and/or verbascoside (50 g/mL) to show the LPS effect. In our research, LPS treatment increased RANKL levels while decreasing OPG and RUNX2 expression. Treatment with verbascoside reduced RANKL expression. In our work, verbascoside increased the expression of OPG and RUNX2. In MLO-Y4 cells exposed to verbascoside, SOD, CAT, and GSH activities as well as the expression levels of bone mineralization proteins like PHEX, RUNX2, and OPG were all elevated.

Bleomycin is commonly used in the treatment of testicular cancer. Bleomycin generates oxygen radicals, induces the oxidative cleavage of DNA strands and induces cancer cell apoptosis. Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a potent antioxidant and chief component of the spice turmeric. No study investigating the effects of curcumin on intrinsic and bleomycin-induced oxidative stress in testicular germ cell tumors has been reported in the literature. For this reason, the present study aimed to examine the effects of curcumin on oxidative stress produced in wild-type NTera-2 and p53-mutant NCCIT testicular cancer cells incubated with bleomycin and the results were compared with cells treated with H2O2 which directly produces oxidative stress. The protein carbonyl content, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), glutathione (GSH), 8-isoprostane, lipid hydroperoxide (LPO) levels and total antioxidant capacity in the two testicular cancer cell lines were determined. Results showed that bleomycin and H2O2 significantly increased protein carbonyl, TBARS, 8-isoprostane and LPO levels in the NTera-2 and NCCIT cell lines. Bleomycin and H2O2 significantly decreased the antioxidant capacity and GSH levels in NTera-2 cells. Curcumin significantly decreased LPO, 8-isoprostane and protein carbonyl content, and TBARS levels increased in cells treated with bleomycin and H2O2. Curcumin enhanced GSH levels and the antioxidant capacity of NTera-2 cells. In conclusion, curcumin inhibits bleomycin and H2O2-induced oxidative stress in human testicular cancer cells.

Verbascoside (Verb) may exhibit potential antitumour activities in leukaemia. The present study investigated the effect of Verb, in combination with imatinib (IM), dasatinib (Das), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and TNF, on cell survival, Abl expression, apoptosis, oxidative stress and the MAPK pathway in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) cells. Cell viability was determined using the WST‑8 assay in K562 and R‑K562 cells treated with Verb and/or IM, Das, LPS and TNF. Apoptosis and DNA damage in CML cells was detected by caspase‑3 and comet analysis. The protein levels of Abl (Phospho‑Tyr412), and total/phosphorylated p38, JNK and ERK in CML cells were analysed using a Colorimetric Cell‑Based Assay. Oxidative stress was examined using total antioxidant and oxidant status assays. Treatment with Verb and/or tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), LPS and TNF resulted in a significant decrease in the Tyr‑412 phosphorylation of Abl in K562 and R‑K562 cells. In addition, cotreatment with Verb and IM or Das additively induced apoptosis by activating caspase‑3 levels in both cell lines. Activation of p38 and JNK can result in growth arrest and cell death, whereas ERK stimulation results in cell division and differentiation. The present study demonstrated that cotreatment with Verb and TKIs suppressed phosphorylated‑ERK1/2, whereas the levels of phosphorylated‑p‑38 and phosphorylated‑JNK were significantly elevated by Verb and/or IM, Das, LPS and TNF, thus suggesting that Abl and Src inhibition could be involved in the effects of Verb on MAPK signalling in R‑K562 cells. Furthermore, Verb elevated reactive oxygen species levels additively with TKIs in both cell lines by increasing the oxidant capacity and decreasing the antioxidant capacity. In conclusion, anti‑leukemic mechanisms of Verb may be mediated by Abl protein and regulation of its downstream p38-MAPK/JNK pathway, caspase‑3 and oxidative stress in CML cells.

Introduction: Despite the numerous studies demonstrating gut microbiota dysbiosis in obese subjects, there is no data on the association between obesity and gastric microbiota. The aim of this study was to address this gap in literature by comparing the composition of gastric microbiota in obese patients and a control group which included normal weight volunteers diagnosed with functional dyspepsia (FD). Methodology: A total of 19 obese patients, and 18 normal weight subjects with FD and normal endoscopy results were included in the study. The gastric tissue samples were collected from participants in both groups by bariatric surgery and endoscopy, respectively, and profiled using 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. Results: There was no significant difference in the α-diversity scores, while distinct gastric microbial compositions were detected in both groups. Significantly lower levels of Bacteroidetes and Fusobacteria, and higher Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio were recorded in the obese patients. A total of 15 bacterial genera exhibited significant difference in gastric abundance with Prevotella_7, Veillonella, Cupriavidus, and Acinetobacter, present in frequencies higher than 3% in at least one subject group. Conclusions: Our study suggests a significant association between obesity and gastric microbiome composition. Future studies with larger sample size and gastric samples from subjects without any gastrointestinal complications are required to confirm our conclusions.

Purpose: The present study evaluates the levels of oxidative stress and DNA damage in patients diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML; newly diagnosed patients and patients in remission) compared to healthy controls. Materials and methods: A total of 96 participants were enrolled into this study in three groups: 32 newly diagnosed AML patients, 32 patients in remission, and 32 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals. Various laboratory analyses were conducted to measure biochemical parameters, total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), oxidative stress index (OSI), and DNA damage using the comet assay. Results: We showed that while TOS levels did not differ significantly between the groups, both the newly diagnosed and remission groups exhibited higher OSI levels compared to controls. TAS levels were notably lower in the remission group, suggesting decreased antioxidant capacity. The comet assay demonstrated significantly elevated DNA damage in the newly diagnosed AML group, followed by the remission group, relative to healthy controls. These findings highlight an increased oxidative stress burden and genotoxicity in AML patients, which may contribute to disease pathophysiology. Furthermore, the results suggest that the oxidative stress and DNA damage are more pronounced in newly diagnosed patients compared to those in remission. Conclusion: The study showed that the oxidative stress and DNA damage observed in AML patients, particularly at diagnosis, could play a role in the progression and recurrence of the disease, suggesting potential prognostic value for oxidative stress markers in AML management.