Colorectal cancer is a common cancer worldwide, and chemotherapy is a mainstream approach for advanced and recurrent cases. Development of effective complementary drugs could help improve tumor suppression efficiency and control adverse effects from chemotherapy. The aqueous extract ofSolanum nigrumleaves (AE-SN) is an essential component in many traditional Chinese medicine formulas for treating cancer, but there is a lack of evidence verifying its tumor suppression efficacy in colorectal cancer. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the tumor suppression efficacy of AE-SN using DLD-1 and HT-29 human colorectal carcinoma cells and examine the combined drug effect when combined with the chemotherapeutic drugs cisplatin, doxorubicin, docetaxel, and 5-fluorouracil. The results indicated that AE-SN induced autophagy via microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 A/B II accumulation but not caspase-3-dependent apoptosis in both cell lines. The IC₅₀s after 48 hours of treatment were 0.541 and 0.948 mg/ml AE-SN in DLD-1 and HT-29, respectively. AE-SN also demonstrated a combined drug effect with all tested drugs by enhancing cytotoxicity in tumor cells. Our results suggest that AE-SN has potential in the development of complementary chemotherapy for colorectal cancer.

Chemotherapy is a major clinical treatment for managing patients with advanced and recurrent ovarian cancer. However, the clinical performance of chemotherapy is limited, and adverse effects have been observed. Integrating chemotherapy with current chemotherapeutic drugs and novel antitumor ingredients might improve the clinical performance of current chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. The aqueous extract of Solanum nigrum leaves (AE-SN), a key ingredient in many traditional Chinese medicine formulae, has exhibited tumor suppression efficacy in numerous human cancer cells but not in ovarian cancer cells. In this study, tumor suppression efficacy was determined using the ES-2, SKOV-3, and OVCAR-3 human ovarian cancer cell lines. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of the AE-SN in ES-2 and SKOV-3 cells were 1.052 and 1.779 mg/mL, respectively. AE-SN treatment increased the accumulation of mammalian microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 A/B, an autophagic cell marker, in all the tested cell lines; however, it activated the cleavage of caspase-3, an apoptotic marker, only in SKOV-3 cells. Furthermore, the AE-SN also promoted tumor suppression efficiency of cisplatin, doxorubicin, and docetaxel in the tested ovarian cancer cells. In addition, AE-SN-enhanced cell death was associated with AE-SN-induced caspase-3 cleavage in SKOV-3 cells. In conclusion, the AE-SN exhibited tumor suppression efficacy and improved the tumor suppression efficiency of cisplatin, doxorubicin, and docetaxel in human ovarian cancer cells. Therefore, the AE-SN is a candidate antitumor ingredient that can be used in developing future integrated chemotherapy for managing ovarian cancer.

Upon activation, specific CD4⁺ T cells up-regulate the expression of CD11a and CD49d, surrogate markers of pathogen-specific CD4⁺ T cells. However, using T-cell receptor transgenic mice specific for a Plasmodium antigen, termed PbT-II, we found that activated CD4⁺ T cells develop not only to CD11a^hiCD49d^hi cells, but also to CD11a^hiCD49d^lo cells during acute Plasmodium infection. CD49d^hi PbT-II cells, localized in the red pulp of spleens, expressed transcription factor T-bet and produced IFN-γ, indicating that they were type 1 helper T (Th1)-type cells. In contrast, CD49d^lo PbT-II cells resided in the white pulp/marginal zones and were a heterogeneous population, with approximately half of them expressing CXCR5 and a third expressing Bcl-6, a master regulator of follicular helper T (Tfh) cells. In adoptive transfer experiments, both CD49d^hi and CD49d^lo PbT-II cells differentiated into CD49d^hi Th1-type cells after stimulation with antigen-pulsed dendritic cells, while CD49d^hi and CD49d^lo phenotypes were generally maintained in mice infected with Plasmodium chabaudi. These results suggest that CD49d is expressed on Th1-type Plasmodium-specific CD4⁺ T cells, which are localized in the red pulp of the spleen, and can be used as a marker of antigen-specific Th1 CD4⁺ T cells, rather than that of all pathogen-specific CD4⁺ T cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Due to the difficulties of early diagnosis, curative treatments are not available for most patients. Palliative treatments such as chemotherapy are often associated with low response rate, strong adverse effects and limited clinical benefits for patients. The alternative approaches such as fermented wheat germ extract (FWGE) with anti-tumor efficacy may provide improvements in the clinical outcome of current therapy for HCC. This study aimed to clarify antitumor efficacy of FWGE and the combination drug effect of FWGE with chemotherapeutic agents, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) in human HCC cells, HepG2, Hep3B, and HepJ5. The present study indicated that FWGE exhibited potential to suppress HepG2, Hep3B, and HepJ5 cells, with the half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of FWGE were 0.494, 0.371 and 1.524mg/mL, respectively. FWGE also induced Poly (Adenosine diphosphate ribose) polymerase (PARP) associated cell death in Hep3B cells. Moreover, the FWGE treatment further enhanced the cytotoxicity of cisplatin in all tested HCC cells, and cytotoxicity of 5-Fu in a synergistic manner in HepJ5 cells. Collectively, the results identified the anti-tumor efficacy of FWGE in HCC cells and suggested that FWGE can be used as a supplement to effectively improve the tumor suppression efficiency of cisplatin and 5-Fu in HCC cells.

A parasitological survey of Schistosoma haematobium infection among primary schoolchildren in the remote areas of Hhohho and Manzini Provinces in northwestern Swaziland was undertaken. Presence of infection in subjects was confirmed on detection of S. haematobium ova in urine or the presence of hematuria. The intensity of the infection was estimated by calculating the total number of S. haematobium ova present in a 10-ml urine specimen and was expressed in terms of geometric mean intensity (GMI). The prevalence of S. haematobium infection in these populations was 5.3% (21/395) with a GMI of 46.5. Boys had higher prevalence (7.1%, 13/182) and GMI (50.4) than girls (3.8%, 8/213; 40.0) did (P > 0.05). Geographically, the prevalence in Manzini schoolchildren (14.6%, 12/82) was significantly higher than that in Hhohho schoolchildren (2.9%, 9/313; P < 0.001); however, Hhohho schoolchildren had a higher GMI (70.2) than that observed in Manzini schoolchildren (21.9). Children from schools located in Lowveld had a significantly higher prevalence (11.4%, 19/166) than that in children from schools located in Highveld (0.6%, 1/162) (P < 0.0001).