resumo
The widespread practice of dromedary urinotherapy as a remedy for various illnesses, including cancer, is wellestablished in traditional dromedary countries. Researchers attempted to demonstrate anticancer properties of camel urine through in vitro experiments with debated outcomes. Notably, two critical aspects remained unexplored in those assays: (i) the osmolarity of tested urines, which can significantly influence in vitro results; (ii) the potential morphological changes of cells, following exposure to camel urines. In this study, we addressed these gaps by evaluating the osmolarity-dependent modulation of cell viability in human renal cell lines. In this regard, we assessed the impact of hyperosmolar mannitol-based solutions and dromedary urine on the viability and morphology of human non-tumor (HK2) and tumor renal cells (Caki-1). The results indicate that cell viability or morphology in both HK2 and Caki-1 cells are not significantly affected only if mannitol-induced hyperosmolarity is lower than 500 mOsm/L. Notably, when exposed to urine solution, diluted to <500 mOsm/L, statistically significant antiproliferative effects were observed primarily in Caki-1 cells (in presence of two out of ten tested urine samples). Conversely, alterations in cell morphology were observed exclusively in HK2 cells when exposed to the same diluted camel urines. In order to investigate, at molecular level, the observed antiproliferative effects, a preliminary metabolomics analysis of the tested urine samples was performed to identify potential bioactive compounds. The Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) metabolic profiling revealed the presence of three antioxidant compounds, namely trigonelline, pyruvic acid and N-acetylglucosamine. In conclusion, our results highlight the importance of considering the critical role of osmolarity when evaluating the bioactive properties of camel urine in vitro, which should not be used to treat any illness as it is. Conversely, it can be considered the possibility to use camel urines as a source of bioactive compounds.
palavras-chave
BREAST-CANCER CELLS; IN-VITRO; PROLIFERATION; ANTIPLATELET; GLUCOSAMINE; ANTICANCER; MECHANISM; MANNITOL; DRUGS; HK-2
categoria
Veterinary Sciences
autores
Pastrana, CI; Sgobba, MN; González, FJN; Bermejo, JVD; Pierri, CL; Lentini, G; Musio, B; Osman, TKS; Gallo, V; Duarte, IF; Guerra, L; Ciani, E
nossos autores
Iola Melissa Fernandes Duarte
Investigador PrincipalProjectos
Nano-argilas para remoção/captura de fosfatos (P) e sua reutilização como fertilizante (NATURAL)
CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020)
CICECO - Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDP/50011/2020)
Associated Laboratory CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (LA/P/0006/2020)
agradecimentos
This research did not receive any dedicated grant. However, the study was carried out in the framework of the EU-funded projects CA. RA.VA.N-'Toward a Camel Transnational Value Chain' (Reference APCIN-2016-00011-00-00) and CAMEL-SHIELD (Camel breeding systems: actors in the sustainable economic development of the northern Sahara territories through innovative strategies for natural resource management and marketing) , that assured human, instrumental and biological resources necessary for this work. C.I.P. is granted with a predoctoral contract (FPU Fellowship) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and M.N.S. holds a PhD fellowship granted to the University of Bari (Italy) by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) , XXXVII cycle (https:// www.uniba.it/it/ricerca/dottorati/37-ciclo) . Further acknowledgment is due to the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (UIDB/50011/2020, UIDP/50011/2020 & LA/P/0006/2020) , financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC (PIDDAC) . The NMR spectrometer is part of the National NMR Network (PTNMR) , partially supported by Infrastructure Project N degrees 022161 (co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE 2020, POCI and PORL and FCT through PIDDAC) . The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.