The aim of the current study is to present a strategy to improve the efficiency of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), which is widely used as antineoplastic agent against solid tumors-based on the use of gold nanocarriers to overcome the resistance of colorectal cancer cells. 5-FU was loaded on gold nanoparticles (AuNP) coated with anti-EGFR antibodies in order to target them towards colorectal cancer cells that overexpress epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR). Physicochemical characterization has shown that AuNP size was approximately 20 nm and that AuNP functionalization led to spherical nanoparticles. Flow cytometry allowed observing that some compounds synthesized by our research group have induced apoptosis/necrosis and impaired the proliferation of colon cancer cell lines ‘HCT-116′ and ‘HT-29′. The antibody/drug combination in AuNP (AuNP 5FU EGFR) has improved the apoptosis rate and impaired cell proliferation in both cell lines, regardless of the exposure time. Overall, these results have shown that AuNP functionalization with monoclonal antibodies focused on delivering 5-FU to tumor cells is an exciting strategy against colorectal cancer.

Several approaches have been adopted to assess the evolutionary patterns and life history of different animal and plant species worldwide. Quantitative analysis application to assess genome size (GS) or nuclear DNA content, based on flow cytometry, is a new tool used to investigate evolutionary patterns in several animal species. However, it remains relatively poorly explored when it comes to invertebrates. The “c-value” enigma requires building an effective and robust DNA picogram database about as many species as possible, since conclusive hypotheses are only possible when accurate data are available in the literature. Therefore, the current study aims to provide new information about both the genome size and the biology of the sponge-dwelling shrimp species Typton distinctus Chace, 1972, which is a symbiotic/parasite to sea sponges and provides the accuracy of flow cytometry technique in registering DNA and cell cycle division. All GS estimates were based on analyses of more than 1k propidium iodide-stained nuclei per sample. The mean genome size (c-value) of the herein investigated species reached 10.79 ± 0.008 pg DNA. We were able to estimate the G2 phase information in cell division visually. This GS value is acknowledged as the mean value of all other Caribbean shrimp in tropical regions. The current study has suggested and addressed the hypothesis that caridean shrimp’s genome size can directly correlate to species’ latitudinal distribution and life history adaptation to each location. Thus, registering these new findings about this typical tropical Palaemonidae species is essential.

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Propolis is a beekeeping product used for centuries by different civilizations. Propolis immunomodulatory/anti-inflammatory action has been well documented and exhibits a huge potential in the pharmaceutical industry. Aim of the study: Propolis effects were investigated on dendritic cells (DCs) stimulated with a tumor antigen (MAGE-1) and retinoic acid (RA) and on Th1 and T regulatory (Treg) cells to observe a possible differential activation of T lymphocytes.Materials and methodsCell viability, lymphocytes proliferation, gene expression (T-bet and FoxP3), and cytokine production by DCs (TNF-α, IL-10, IL-6 and IL-1β) and lymphocytes (IFN-γ and TGF-β) were analyzed. Results: MAGE-1 and RA alone or in combination with propolis inhibited TNF-α production and induced a higher lymphoproliferation compared to control, while MAGE-1 + propolis induced IL-6 production. Propolis in combination with RA induced FoxP3 expression. MAGE-1 induced IFN-γ production while propolis inhibited it, returning to basal levels. RA inhibited TGF-β production, what was counteracted by propolis. Conclusions: Propolis affected immunological parameters inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines and favoring the regulatory profile. Our findings open perspectives to assess biological events that may be modulated by propolis, aiming an immunoregulatory response or the control of inflammatory conditions.