Bioprospection of natural and synthetic products in cell models of cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, apoptosis and cancer chemoprevention

• Grant number: 10/12579-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Effective date (Start): December 01, 2010
• Effective date (End): April 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy - Pharmacognosy
• Principal Investigator: Christiane Pienna Soares
• Grantee: Mauro César Cafundó de Morais
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCFAR). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil has the largest biodiversity in the world and through the FAPESP BIOprospecTA program we can find and better characterize bioactive molecules of economic interest. Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide and affects quality of life of millions of people worldwide. Cancer chemoprevention is the use of natural or synthetic products aiming to prevent, delay or reverse the process of carcinogenesis. The transcription factor NF-kB is responsible for regulation of genes that encode proteins required for cell cycle control, apoptosis, and also inflammatory processes, such as COX-2 and iNOS. Thus inhibition of NF-kB activity and assessment of gene expression controlled by NF-kB is a good strategy to elucidate mechanisms of chemoprevention. Apoptosis is a programmed cell death process controlled by molecular mechanisms. Thus, to find compounds able to induce apoptosis in tumor cells is another way of exploring promising compounds for cancer treatment or prevention. The present research project has the objective to prospect isolated or synthetic compounds, assessing its cytotoxic activity through the MTT assay. Define a genotoxic profile through the comet assay, and assess apoptosis induction or chemopreventive potential of these compunds. (AU)