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ABSTRACT: Introduction & Objective: Cisplatin is a potent antineoplastic drug. The beneficial effects of the drug are limited by its nephrotoxicity. The purpose of this study is to introduce sterological meothds (Estimation of mean glomerular volume) to determine the toxicity of drug & examine the Galium aparine (a traditional herbal plant) as a protective agent. Materials & Methods: This experimental study was done in histology department in Ahwaz University of medical sciences in 1380. 70 Spraque–Dwally male rats were iselected randomly and divided into 7 groups as below: two control groups (one for drug & one for plant), five experimental groups one treated by acute dose of drug (7.5 mg/kg, IP) and other groups treated with 4 doses of hydroalcholic extract of plants (4, 8, 16, 32 mg/kg) half an hour before receiving drug orally. Animals were sacrified 96 hour after receiving the drugs and their right kidneys were processed for stereological assessment based on cavalier method. Statistical analysis of data from calculation of mean glomerular volume was done by ANOVA and two sided-dunet test, using SPSS software. Results: The results based on cavalier method, showed an increase in mean glomerular volume in all the groups that were treated with drug, whereas lower grade of glomerulomegaly was seen in those groups which received higher doses (16 & 32 mg/kg) of plant’s extract (p<0.05). Conclusion: Nephrotoxicity induced by cisplatin was even observed in quantitative parameters of kidney (e.g. increasing the mean glomerular volume) but by using Galim apain’s extract this side effect can be reduced significantly. Moreover stereological techniques are valuable tools for studying the drug effects in all organs of the body.

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Background & aim: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Today, compounds derived from medicinal plants are used in the treatment of various cancers. Despite reports of antitumor effects on some Stachys species, the activity of Stachys setifera extract on breast cancer cell lines has not been studied. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Stachys setifera on MCF-7 cancer cell proliferation.
 
Methods: In the present experimental study conducted in 2019, after culturing MCF-7 cancer cells, the cells were incubated with different concentrations Stachys setifera extract and cisplatin (as positive control) for 24 hours. Cancer cell survival and inhibitory concentration of 50% (IC50) were assessed using MTT colorimetric method. The effects of extract and cisplatin on cell survival and cell cycle were evaluated by flow cytometry. The collected data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test. The significance level was considered p <0.05.
 
Results: The IC50 results of hydroalcoholic extract of Stachys setifera and cisplatin on MCF-7 cells after 24 hours were 827.52 and 4.34 μg / ml, respectively. Flow cytometry results showed that Stachys setifera extract and cisplatin stopped the growth of MCF-7 cells in G0 / G1 phase and the percentage of cells in control cells, extract and cisplatin (42.94, 50.68 and 59.11), respectively. The Stachys setifera extract also caused some morphological changes such as granulation of the cytoplasm and rounding and enlargement of cells in the MCF-7 cancer cell
 
Conclusion: The results indicated that Stachys setifera hydroalcoholic extract inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells and was able to exert its cytotoxic effects by affecting cell cycle and induce morphological changes. Therefore, this plant can be a suitable candidate to purify its main compounds for further study on proliferation of breast cancer cells. The results also revealed that the hydroalcoholic extract of Stachys setifera inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells and was able to enter the cells in the apoptotic phase. Therefore, this plant can be a suitable candidate for further study to prevent the proliferation of breast cancer.
 

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Background & aim: Oak placenta(Jaft) extract has potent antioxidant, anti-proliferative, anti-cancer activity, and other therapeutic properties. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Jaft extract and its combination with Cisplatin on gastric cancer adenocarcinoma cell line (AGS).

Methods: In the present experimental study conducted at Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in 2022, the AGS cell line was cultured in 1640-RPMI medium and treated with Jaft extract and cisplatin. Cell viability and combination index(CI) were measured using the MTT assay and Compucyn software(respectively). Moreover, the expression of the CDK2 gene as an important gene involved in the cell cycle was evaluated by Real-Time PCR. The collected data were analyzed using Graph Pad Prism 6 software and one-way ANOVA.

Results: The findings of the present study indicated that Jaft extract and cisplatin cause decreased cell viability of AGS (p< 0.0001). The analysis of compusyn data indicated that these two substances together have synergistic properties (CI<1), in addition to simultaneous usage of Jaft extract increases the cytotoxicity of cisplatin drug. In the simultaneous treatment, it was observed that the expression of CDK2 decreased and led to an increase in the anticancer effect of cisplatin (p<0.001).

Conclusion: The present study revealed that placenta extract had anti-proliferative and anti-cancer properties. According to the synergistic effects of these two drugs, Jaft can change the gene expression of CDK2 in the cell cycle and introduce a possible approach for the treatment of gastric cancer with more potency and less dose of administered cisplatin to induce toxicity. The results of the present study indicated that Jaft extract is a proper selection to sensitize cancer cells to cisplatin.