Maria Longas completed her PhD at New York University in 1978, and did her postdoctoral training at Columbia University School of Medicine with Dr. Karl Mayer. She has an MA in Organic Chemistry from New York University (1973) and a BA in Chemistry from Hunter College (1971). She is a full Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University Calumet in Hammond, IN. She has more than 24 papers published in reputable journals, and served as a reviewer for several journals.

Ultraviolet light B (UVB) is a technique used to investigate organic molecules. It was utilized in this study to analyze the content of vitamin D3 in face lifted female skin of subjects aged 43, 47, 51, 58, 60 and 66 years. The skin of these subjects had pigmentation of great similarity. It was kept at -40O C, defrosted to room temperature for 2 min and placed in an oven for another 2 min at 105o C. After these 2 min, we took the first UVB reading; a 2nd UVB run was done at room temperature. The amount of vitamin D3 was determined under standard conditions of 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-Dchol). The best temperature to measure D3 was when skin was at room temperature for 15 min. The D3 analysis of the UVB plots of human skin vs. the standard showed a linear decrease in human skin as compared to 7-Dchol. Because 7-Dchol is a direct precursor of vitamin D3, it appears from these results that as the skin ages, 7-Dchol concentration decreases which results in less production of vitamin D3. Conditions to increase vitamin D3 in the aged should be considered, to avoid problems of arthritis, tuberculosis and autoimmune disorders, etc.

Yves Durocher is a Research Officer at the National Research Council of Canada since 1995. He obtained his PhD in Biochemistry at the Université de Montréal in 1993. Yves manages the NRC’s Mammalian Mammalian Cell Expression Section which is composed of 33 scientists involved in protein expression and CHO cell line development for internal projects and external clients. His research activities have been focused on the development the of large-scale transient gene expression (LSTGE) platforms using HEK293 and CHO cells for protein production and on the development of stable CHO pool and clonal cell line platforms for the manufacturing of recombinant therapeutic proteins. He also contributed to ~100 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals.

The National Research Council Canada (NRC) has developed an inducible CHOBRI cell line platform, employing a generic approach for the fast development of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) or therapeutic proteins production processes. Starting from CHO pools that can produce gram quantities of mAbs, clones are selected and process conditions are optimized for scale-up to a pilot plant scale production (20-200L). The final process delivers material for toxicity studies and can seamlessly be transferred to a GMP production facility.

Nada Al-Hasawi graduated from the Faculty of Science at Kuwait University in 1995 with a degree of Biochemistry and subsequently an M. Sc. In 1999. She worked first as Scientific Assistant, then as Department Technician and then for 5 years as a Teaching Assistant in the Faculty of Pharmacy at Kuwait University before taking up a scholarship to study for a PhD at the Institute of Cancer Therapeutic at Bradford University, England. Following its completiion in 2008 she was appointed to her present position as Assistant Professor in Departmenmt of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy at Kuwait University. Dr Al Hasawi’s current interests focus on the role of polysialic acid in metastatic cancers.

It has been known for several decades that alterations in glycosylation patterns play an important role in the metastasis of cancer cells but thus far few drugs have been developed specifically targeting these molecules. Polysialic acid (PSA) is a developmentally regulated cell-surface glycan consisting of sialic acid monomers attached by α-2,8-glycosidic linkages which, in mammals, is mainly expressed on neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). Polysialylated NCAM is abundant in embryonic tissues, and limited to areas of persistence of neuronal plasticity in adults. Up-regulation of PSA has also been reported in highly metastatic cancers where it appears to be associated with tumour progression. In this study we tested the ability of crude extracts of the Ayurvedic medicinal plants, namely Withania somnifera (ashwaghanda) and Bacopa monnieri (Brahmi), to inhibit PSA expression in several human tumour cell lines including TE671 rhabdomyosarcoma, Kelly neuroblastoma, 1321N1 brain astrocytoma and HCT colorectal carcinoma. Highest PSA signals, determined by ELISA, were observed in Kelly cells. Hexane extracts of roots of Withania somnifera, at doses that did not cause any cytotoxicity as determined by MTT assay, were found to cause 20-30% inhibition of PSA expression. To exclude the effect of counteracting constituents, we intend to fractionate the herbal extract to purify and characterise the compounds responsible for this inhibitory activity. We propose a therapeutic approach in which expression of glycans associated with tumour progression and metastasis could be inhibited by prolonged treatment with relatively non-toxic agents that do not target cell survival processes.