Taken together, these results suggest that NA20 may be a potential candidate for gastric cancer therapy.Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects almost 70 million people worldwide of all socioeconomic groups. The currently available medications aim to restore the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters by acting on ion channels, receptors, transporters, and enzymes, thus providing symptomatic relief. Though most of the patients receive a lasting remission however, 30% of patients are still pharmacoresistant. The incidence of adverse effects and associated comorbidities are also common. To overcome these challenges, researchers are focusing on the development of drugs based on novel targets and signaling cascades. This review summarizes several experimental findings that could be explored to identify potential targets for anti-epileptic drug discovery.MS-275 (Entinostat), is an oral histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor with a high specificity for class 1 HDACs. As single agent, MS-275 exerts only modest antitumor activity against most solid malignancies. The use of MS-275 in combination with other anticancer agents is currently being evaluated to determine whether this approach can achieve superior therapeutic efficacy. Tetrandrine, a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid isolated from the root of a Chinese medicinal herb, is safe and exhibits low toxicity, showing great potential to enhance chemotherapeutic efficacy. In the present study, we investigated the synergistic antitumor effects of MS-275 in combination with tetrandrine. Based on the results of in vitro experiments, the application of MS-275 in combination with tetrandrine induced selective apoptotic death in various cancer cells but spared normal cells. Mechanistically, the combination treatment induced a dramatic accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and a pretreatment with the ROS scavenger N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) significantly prevented the cellular apoptosis induced by MS-275/tetrandrine. Moreover, molecular assays indicated that Bax and p53 were the key regulators of MS-275/tetrandrine induced apoptosis. The results of the in vivo studies were consistent with the results of the in vitro studies. Based on our findings, tetrandrine enhanced the antitumor effects of MS-275 in a Bax- and p53-dependent manner. The combination of MS-275 and tetrandrine may represent a novel and promising therapeutic strategy for cancer.Gastric ulcer is a prevalent disease with various etiologies, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), stress conditions, and alcohol, resulting in an inflammatory condition in the gastric mucosa. The aim of this study was to explore the protective effects of modafinil on gastric erosions induced by indomethacin, water-immersion stress, and alcohol in rats and to evaluate the role of nitric oxide (NO) pathway. Animals were allocated to the three experimental models of gastric ulcer - indomethacin (30 mg/kg PO), water-immersion stress, and ethanol (5 ml/kg PO). Induction of gastric ulcer in all models caused an increase in J-score (macroscopic assessment), biochemical markers, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1beta (IL-1β), and myeloperoxidase (MPO), and microscopic destructions. Administration of modafinil (50 and 100 mg/kg i. p) significantly improved J-score in the indomethacin (P less then 0.05) and stress models (P less then 0.001). Selleck BSJ-4-116 Moreover, the level of TNF-α IL-1β, and MPO was deceased after modafinil administration (P less then 0.001). However, modafinil did not have any effects on gastric injury induced by ethanol. In addition, co-administration of L-NAME (a non-specific NO synthase inhibitor) and aminoguanidine (an inducible NO synthase inhibitor) with modafinil significantly neutralized the gastroprotective effect of modafinil in the indomethacin and water-immersion stress groups (P less then 0.05, and P less then 0.01; respectively), while 7-nitroindazole (a neuronal NO synthase inhibitor) did not show such reversing effects. In conclusion, modafinil possesses gastroprotective effects on the gastric lesions induced by indomethacin and stress, which are probably mediated via the inflammation inhibition and NO pathway modulation.In this study we have developed a new aptasensor for cadmium (Cd2+) detection in water. Gold electrode surface has been chemically modified by electrochemical reduction of diazonium salt (CMA) with carboxylic acid outward from the surface. This was used for amino-modified cadmium aptamer immobilization through carbodiimide reaction. Chemical surface modification was characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). This latter was also used for Cd2+ detection. The aptasensor has exhibited a good linear relationship between the logarithm of the Cd2+ concentration and the impedance changes in the range from 10-3 to 10-9 M with a correlation R2 of 0.9954. A high sensitivity was obtained with a low limit of detection (LOD) of 2.75*10-10 M. Moreover, the developed aptasensor showed a high selectivity towards Cd2+ when compared to other interferences such as Hg2+, Pb2+ and Zn2+. The developed aptasensor presents a simple and sensitive approach for Cd2+detection in aqueous solutions with application for trace Cd2+ detection in spring water samples.Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major leading cause of kidney failure. So, early detection of DN by assessing urinary microRNAs (miRNAs) expression may be of clinical value. In this study, the diagnostic value of two urinary miRNAs (miR-210 & miR-34a) as biomarkers for diagnosis of DN was assessed using a simple colorimetric gold nanoparticle (AuNP) assay and real-time PCR. MiR-(210 & 34a) were markedly up-regulated in DN groups (micro-albuminuric and macro-albuminuric groups) compared to the non-albuminuric group and healthy controls. The sensitivity and specificity for the qualitative detection of urinary miR-(210 & 34a) using the AuNP assay were (78% and 72%) & (81% and 69%), respectively, which were consistent with the results of real-time PCR. There was a highly significant correlation between urinary miR-(210 & 34a) detected by either qRT-PCR or qualitative AuNP assay. Accordingly, this simple AuNP assay may be considered a valid test for the detection of these two urinary miRNAs as potential biomarkers that can aid in the noninvasive diagnosis of DN.