Taxol, the most exciting new anticancer agent developed in the past two decades, obtained from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree, Taxus brevifolia, has a broad antitumor spectrum with impressive activity against solid tumors. Even though Taxol is effectively used against a wide variety of tumors, it has many toxic side effects such as myelotoxicty and neurotoxicity, at the same time being very costly. Curcumin, the colouring matter of turmeric (Curcuma longa), has been reported to have chemo preventive as well as anticancer properties against various tumors. Previous studies from our lab have found that curcumin when used in combination with Taxol, brings down the amount of Taxol being used in inducing apoptosis of cervical cancer cell lines (Bava et al, 2005) .As the data observed are very promising, the synergistic effect obtained in the in vitro conditions is being tested in the in vivo conditions. The synergistic effect of Taxol and curcumin against cervical carcinogenesis is assessed by Swiss albino mouse model. Tumors are induced in the test animals and different combinations of Taxol and curcumin standardized by in vitro studies are administered. At the end of the experiment the animals are sacrificed and the excised tissue samples are evaluated for various stages of cancer by histopathology and the apoptotic parameters are assessed by EMSA, RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry etc.
email :sreekanth@rgcb.res.in

Several potent antineoplastic agents are used in treatment of cancer. In spite of their strong antitumor activity, most of them are very costly and all of them have certain side effects. Hence there is a need for more economical and less toxic treatment modalities. We are investigating for an effective chemosensitizer which can be used in combination with conventional chemotherapeutic agents used for breast cancer treatment so that the same therapeutic effect can be achieved with minimum toxicity. Various breast cancer cell lines are screened for their sensitivity towards the conventional chemotherapeutic agents and chemosensitizers, individually and in combination. The signal transduction pathways regulating the synergistic effect are also analyzed.
email : vinodbs@rgcb.res.in

Wrighia tinctoria, a small tree belonging to the family Apocyanaceae is used in several ayurvedic and siddha preparations used against skin diseases, especially psoriasis. The powdered leaf is also used for the treatment of piles, fever, diarrhoea, toothache, roundworm and colic. But till this date no study has been reported on the anticancer effect of this plant. Our preliminary studies showed a cytotoxic effect for the ethanolic extract of the leaf of this plant, against cancer cells growing in culture. We intend to isolate and identify the anticancer principle from the extract. If it is a novel anticancer agent, it will be characterized and its mode of action and the signal transduction pathways regulating its action will also be studied at the molecular level.
email : jayeshanto@gmail.com

The molecular mechanism(s) by which Notch signaling induce tumor growth has not been fully elucidated. A few Notch target genes have been identified, some of which are dependent on Notch signaling in multiple tissues, while others are tissue specific. Notch target genes include Hes family, Hey, NF-?B, VEGF, cyclin D1, p21, p27, Akt, etc. Reports indicate that several chemopreventive agents can inhibit Notch-1 activation in various cancer cells leading to apoptotic cell death. These findings suggest that Notch-1 down-regulation could be a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of human malignancies by targeting the inactivation of Notch signaling. Here we would like to address how Notch signaling is regulated in various cancers. The mechanism of Notch signaling in these cancers also will be a subject of evaluation. We are also in search of chemopreventives which can prevent cancer progression by specifically interacting with Notch signaling
Email:arunkumartt@rgcb.res.in

Natural products in general and medicinal plants in particular, are believed to be an important source of new chemical substances with potential therapeutic efficacy. Utilization of potential medicinal plants with application of sophisticated assays and scientific research methodologies can help in the identification of new effective drugs. My present interests lies in identifying novel anticancer principles with potential activity from plants. It involves studying the cytotoxic effect of crude extracts from selected plants in cancer cells followed by purification of the biologically active component from the crude extracts; explore the anticancer effect of the active principle and the signal transduction pathways regulating its anticancer activity.
Email: lekshmiraghunath@rgcb.res.in

One of the most popular and effective ways of early detection and screening for infectious diseases is detecting the presence of antibody that appears against the infection (bacterial and viral antigens). One of the key reagents for the development of immunodiagnostics for infectious diseases is the high specific and high affinity antibody. We are trying to produce stable hybridoma clones, secreting high specific and high affinity antibodies against infectious diseases
email : vinootc@rgcb.res.in