The Antiviral Efficacy of <i>Withania somnifera</i>(Ashwagandha) against Hepatitis C Virus Activity: <i>In Vitro</i>and <i>in Silico</i>Study

Objective: Evaluation antiviral effects of Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) leaf extract against HCV. Methods: cell proliferation was assessed using MTT assay after isolation of lymphocyte cells and treated with Ashwagandha water extract (ASH-WX) (6.25 mg/ml - 100 mg/ml). Assessment of quantitative Real-time PCR, Colony forming assay, TNF-α and molecular docking studies after infection of normal lymphocyte cells with 1 ml (1.5 × 106 HCV) serum then incubated with ASH-WX at concentration 25 mg/ml & 50 mg/ml. Results: MTT assay revealed a significant increase (p < 0.001) in normal lymphocyte proliferation at all concentration’s particularity at 25 mg/ml with SI (6.06) and at 50 mg/ml with (5.8). While TNF-α significantly decreased following ASH-WX treatment compared with control untreated infected cells (p < 0.05). PCR results showed a marked viral load reduction after treatment by ASH-WX at concentration 25 mg/ml to 6.241 × 103 IU/mL. Colony formation assay test revealed colony formation reduction compared to positive untreated control. Molecular docking analysis revealed good prediction of binding between Ashwagandha and NS5B and PKN2 compared to Sovaldi. Conclusion: ASH-WX may be a powerful antiviral against HCV infection.

Prognostic Clinico-Pathological Features of 99 Cases Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer—Egyptian National Cancer Institute

Background: Worldwide, lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and causes more deaths than any other cancer. In Egypt;it accounts for 7% of male cancer & 3% in females. It is considered to be 3rd most common cancer in Egyptian males & 6th most common of both sexes. Materials and Methods: A total of 99 advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients who underwent first line platinum containing chemotherapy in our institute were included in this study. All clinical and pathological data were collected from patient’s files retrospectively between 2012-2014. Results: All 99 cases were diagnosed at late stage IIIB-IV (59 cases were IIIB).The median age was 54 years (range: 30 - 70) with 53% of cases are ≥ 54 years. 71% were males with male: female ratio of 2.4:1. All male patients were chronic smokers. The most frequent symptom was coughing (68%). Most of the patients had primary lung cancer in the right lung (77%). The most common histological subtype was squamous cell carcinoma (35.4%) with 54 cases present with PS-I, the remain was PS-II. All cases received platinum containing chemotherapy. The majority of cases experienced a progressive disease 60.6%. The median progression free survival (PFS) was 6 months & median overall survival (OS) was 18 months. We found that PS, disease stage, pathological subtypes and response to treatment statistically affect both median OS & PFS. Age affects only OS. Conclusions: Our analysis suggests that some of clinico-pathological factors & response to first line platinum containing regimens affect both OS & PFS of advanced NSCLC. This may be beneficial as prognostic markers and further studies were needed to aid in identification and treatment of these patients.