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C De Marco

Publications and source records attributed to C De Marco.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

In vivo protection by the xanthate tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate against amyloid beta-peptide (1-42)-induced oxidative stress.

Considerable evidence supports the role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. One hallmark of Alzheimer's disease is the accumulation of amyloid beta-peptide, which invokes a cascade of oxidative damage to neurons that can eventually result in neuronal death. Amyloid beta-peptide is the main component of senile plaques and generates free radicals ultimately leading to neuronal damage of membrane lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. Therefore, interest in the protective role of different antioxidant compounds has been growing for treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other oxidative stress-related disorders. Among different antioxidant drugs, much interest has been devoted to "thiol-delivering" compounds. Tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate is an inhibitor of phosphatidylcholine specific phospholipase C, and recent studies reported its ability to act as a glutathione-mimetic compound. In the present study, we investigate the in vivo ability of tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate to protect synaptosomes against amyloid beta-peptide-induced oxidative stress. Gerbils were injected i.p. with tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate or with saline solution, and synaptosomes were isolated from the brain. Synaptosomal preparations isolated from tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate injected gerbils and treated ex vivo with amyloid beta-peptide (1-42) showed a significant decrease of oxidative stress parameters: reactive oxygen species levels, protein oxidation (protein carbonyl and 3-nitrotyrosine levels) and lipid peroxidation (4-hydroxy-2-nonenal levels). Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that modulation of free radicals generated by amyloid beta-peptide might represent an efficient therapeutic strategy for treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other oxidative-stress related disorders. Based on the above data, we suggest that tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate is a potent antioxidant and could be of importance for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other oxidative stress-related disorders.

Aldehydes↗
PubMed2001

Interaction of enkephalin derivatives with reactive oxygen species.

The oxidation of opioid peptides by tyrosinase in the presence of an excess of a thiol gives rise to cysteinyldopa derivatives. The major products arising from the reaction between Leu-enkephalin and cysteine are represented by 5-S-cysteinyldopaenkephalin (5-CDenk) and 2-S-cysteinyldopaenkephalin (2-CDenk). The interaction of 5-CDenk and 2-CDenk with reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been studied. These compounds are able to scavenge superoxide anion, hydroxyl and peroxyl radicals as well as to reduce the lipid peroxidation rate induced by ABAP. The scavenging activities in all instances are dose-dependent. In some cases CDenks are more active than compounds recognized as strong radical scavengers, such as Trolox and mannitol. As a result of the action of the Fenton system, the CDenks (as well as the Enks) are oxidized into pigmented derivatives. The possible implications of the interaction of CDenks and Enks with ROS on melanization process in Parkinson's disease are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Cell growth inhibition, G2M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induced by the imidazoacridinone C1311 in human tumour cell lines.

The cytotoxic activity of the imidazoacridinone C1311 was assessed on two ovarian cancer cell lines (A2780, OAW42) and one osteogenic sarcoma cell line (U2-OS) and their sublines (A2780Cp8, OAW42-MER and U2-OS-R) with experimentally induced resistance to cisplatin. A 1-h exposure to C1311 significantly inhibited the growth of all cell lines, with IC50 values ranging from 0.50 +/-0.11 to 4.10+/-0.36 microM. No or only partial cross-resistance was found between C1311 and cisplatin in the different cell lines. Treatment with equitoxic (IC50) C1311 concentrations consistently induced accumulation of cells in the G2M phase. The cyclin B1-associated p34(cdc2) kinase activity in cells arrested in G2M was superimposable to that of control cells in the OAW42-MER and U2-OS cell lines, whereas a reduction of cdc2 catalytic activity was observed in OAW42 and U2-OS-R cells. Exposure to C1311 (IC50) induced apoptosis in the U2-OS and U2-OS-R cell lines, whereas in the OAW42 and OAW42-MER cell lines there was a negligible percentage of apoptotic cells. In U2-OS, U2-OS-R and OAW42 cells, C1311 induced an increase in p53 expression and an increase in p21waf1 protein, whereas p53 failed to transactivate p21waf1 in OAW42-MER cells. An almost complete abrogation of bcl-2 was observed in U2-OS-R cells in correspondence with the peak of apoptosis induction. Our results indicate that C1311 is active against human ovarian cancer and osteogenic sarcoma cells and is not cross-resistant with CDDP. Moreover, C1311 blocks cells in the G2M phase and induces apoptosis in a small percentage of osteogenic sarcoma cells.

Aminoacridines↗
PubMed2000

Attenuation of telomerase activity does not increase sensitivity of human melanoma cells to anticancer agents.

In tumour cells, replicative immortality is attained through stabilisation of telomeres by telomerase. Recent evidence suggests that telomerase plays an anti-apoptotic role. Since apoptosis is the primary mode of cell death induced by several drugs, telomerase could be involved in determining the chemosensitivity profile of tumour cells. We investigated whether inhibition of telomerase activity through a hammerhead ribozyme targeting the RNA template of telomerase influences the susceptibility of human melanoma cells to a variety of anticancer agents (platinum compounds, taxanes, topoisomerase I inhibitors). The ribozyme sequence was inserted into an expression vector and the JR8 human melanoma cell line was transfected with it. The cell clones obtained showed a reduced telomerase activity. Growth inhibition curves generated after exposure of ribozyme-transfectant clones to individual drugs were superimposable to those obtained from parental cells. Moreover, telomerase inhibition did not promote apoptosis as a cellular response to drug treatment. Overall, our results indicate that downregulation of telomerase activity does not increase the sensitivity of melanoma cells to anticancer drugs.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed2000

Enzymatic assay for the determination of olive oil polyphenol content: assay conditions and validation of the method.

A new spectrophotometric assay for the determination of the polyphenolic content of olive oil is presented. It is a substrate-recycling assay for phenolic compounds that employs tyrosinase in the presence of excess NADH. The reaction of various phenols with the enzyme produces an o-quinone, which is detected by recycling between reactions with the enzyme and NADH. The method offers some advantages over the classical methods employed to determine the polyphenolic content of olive oil, that is, ease and reproducibility of the analysis, highly increased sensitivity, and selectivity toward phenolic compounds. The amount of total polyphenols was determined in virgin olive oils both with the Folin-Ciocalteu reagent and with the proposed enzymatic method. The results suggest a better estimation of the polyphenol content, as compared with the colorimetric method. This has to be attributed to the different reactivities of the two methods toward phenols and catechols. Finally, the enzymatic method demonstrates that there is a linear relationship between the olive oil phenolic content and the antioxidative capacity of oil extracts.

Flavonoids↗
PubMed1999

Fluorescence properties of melanins from opioid peptides.

Recently our group synthesized a new class of melanins obtained by the tyrosinase-catalyzed oxidation of opioid peptides (opiomelanins). Owing to the presence of the peptide moiety such pigments exhibit high solubility in hydrophilic solvents, which allows spectroscopic investigations. In particular, the absence of solid-state quenching effects enables the study of melanin fluorescence properties, till now poorly investigated due to the complete insolubility of melanins produced from tyrosine or Dopa. Opiomelanins dissolved in aqueous medium show a characteristic emission peaked at 440 and 520 nm when excited around 330 nm, where a maximum is observed in the absorption spectrum. Kinetic measurements performed on the tyrosinase-catalyzed oxidation of opioid peptides show that the 440-nm fluorescence band arises in the early stages of peptide oxidation, whereas the 520-nm band appears in later stages of oxidation, i.e., during the polymerization of indole-quinone units. Moreover, molecular sieve fractionation shows that in the opiomelanin fraction with a molecular weight lower than 10 kDa the 440-nm band is dominant in the fluorescence spectrum. The breakdown of the polymer induced by hydrogen peroxide and light (i.e., the photobleaching of melanin pigments) produces a marked enhancement of the 440-nm fluorescence band while the 520-nm band disappears. Hence, our findings suggest that the observed fluorescence contains contributions from both oligomeric units (440-nm band) and high-molecular-weight polymers (520-nm band).

Agaricales↗
PubMed1999

Lipoxygenase/H2O2-catalyzed oxidation of dihdroxyindoles: synthesis of melanin pigments and study of their antioxidant properties.

5,6-Dihydroxyindole (DHI) and 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA), which are important intermediates in melanogenesis, can be converted into the corresponding melanin pigments by the action of the lipoxygenase/H2O2 system. Kinetic and HPLC analyses indicate that both DHI and DHICA are good substrates for this enzymatic system. Enzyme activity on both substrates was measured in comparison with peroxidase and tyrosinase; the oxidizing behaviour of lipoxygenase is more similar to that of peroxidase rather than that of tyrosinase. The antioxidant properties of DHI- and DHICA-melanins have been investigated in comparison with other kinds of melanins. DHICA-melanin shows a more pronounced antioxidant effect than that of DHI-melanin and this behaviour can be ascribed to the different structure and solubility of the two pigments. The mixed polymer synthesized from DHI and DHICA is the most effective one. Some implications about the possible explanation of the above mentioned behaviour are discussed.

Antioxidants↗
PubMed1999

Involvement of bcl-2 and p21waf1 proteins in response of human breast cancer cell clones to Tomudex.

Mechanisms of resistance to Tomudex include increased thymidylate synthase activity, as well as reduced intracellular drug uptake and polyglutamation. However, little is known about other mechanisms of resistance, such as a possible protection against Tomudex-induced apoptosis mediated by bcl-2. We transfected the MDA-MB-435 human breast cancer cell line, which is characterized by a mutated p53 gene, with cDNA of the bcl-2 gene and generated two clones (MDA-bcl4 and MDA-bcl7) characterized by bcl-2 expression twofold and fourfold that observed in the control cell clone (MDAneo). A concomitant overexpression of p21wafl was also detected in the MDA-bcl7 clone. The MDA-bcl4 clone was three times more resistant to a 24-h Tomudex exposure than the MDAneo clone, whereas the MDA-bcl7 clone was as sensitive to Tomudex as the control cell clone. A lower sensitivity of the MDA-bcl4 clone than MDAneo and MDA-bcl7 clones to 5-fluorouracil and gemcitabine was also observed. No significant difference was noted in the susceptibility of clones to fludarabine and methothrexate. Basal levels of thymidylate synthase activity were superimposable in the three clones. Tomudex induced a marked accumulation of cells in the S phase in all the clones. However, an apoptotic hypodiploid DNA peak and the characteristic nuclear morphology of apoptosis were observed only in the MDA-bcl7 clone after exposure to Tomudex. No difference in the treatment-induced modulation of proteins involved in cell cycle progression (cyclin A, cdk2, pRB, E2F-1) and apoptosis (bcl-2, bax) was observed in the three clones. The only exception was that the expression of p21wafl in the MDA-bcl4 clone was inducible at a Tomudex concentration much higher than that required to induce the protein in the other clones. Overall, the results indicate that bcl-2 and p21wafl proteins concur in determining the cellular profile of sensitivity/resistance to Tomudex.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗
PubMed1999

Lack of p21waf1 and p27kip1 protein induction by interferon-alpha2a in human melanoma cell lines.

The ability of human recombinant interferon-alpha2a (IFNalpha2a) to induce the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21waf1 and p27kip1 consequent to signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) protein activation was investigated in six human melanoma cell lines with different susceptibilities to the antiproliferative effect of the cytokine. All the cell lines expressed IFNalpha and IFNalpha/beta receptors. Exposure for 24 h to IFNalpha2a markedly enhanced the nuclear expression of STAT1 and STAT2 proteins in all the cell lines. However, no induction of p21waf1 or p27kip1 was consistently observed. Overall, results from the study suggest that the induction of such cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors is not a major mechanism for the antiproliferative effect of IFNalpha2a, at least in human melanoma cell lines.

Blotting, Western↗
PubMed1998

Lonidamine as a modulator of taxol activity in human ovarian cancer cells: effects on cell cycle and induction of apoptosis.

The ability of lonidamine (LND), an energolytic derivative of indazole-carboxylic acid, to modulate the cytotoxicity of Taxol (TX) was investigated in the A2780 human ovarian cancer cell line. Different cytotoxicity results were obtained as a function of treatment schedule. Specifically, TX followed by LND produced synergistic effects. Conversely, antagonistic effects were recorded when drugs were given simultaneously or according to the opposite sequence. TX induced an oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation typical of the apoptotic process. The extent and the kinetics of DNA cleavage in samples treated with the taxane alone were similar to those of samples treated with the TX-LND sequence. Activation of Yama protease and degradation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase were not observed after individual or combined treatment. LND did not appreciably modify the effect exerted by TX on proteins involved in cell cycle progression (i.e., inhibition of p34cdc2 expression) and apoptosis (i.e., upregulation of wt p53 and transactivation of p21waf1), and only caused a slight induction of the Bax protein. LND alone did not affect tubulin polymerization in A2780 cells and, when administered after a 24 hr TX exposure, did not appreciably alter the extent of tubulin polymerization induced by the taxane. Although additional studies are needed to define the molecular basis of the TX-LND interaction, our results suggest that LND can positively modulate the antitumor activity of TX in ovarian cancer cells and indicate that the energolytic is potentially useful in combination therapy including the taxane in ovarian cancer patients.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1997

Modulation by lonidamine on the combined activity of cisplatin and epidoxorubicin in human breast cancer cells.

The ability of lonidamine (LND), an energolytic derivative of indazole-carboxylic acid, to modulate the cytotoxic activity of cisplatin (CDDP) and epidoxorubicin (EPI), singly or in combination, was investigated in two human breast cancer cell lines (MCF7 and T47D). A 72-hr post-incubation with a non-cytotoxic concentration of LND (75 microM) increased the activity of a 1-hr CDDP treatment as well as that of a 1 to 16-hr EPI treatment. A different pattern of interaction among the drugs and modulator was observed as a function of the sequence of drug treatment. Specifically, supra-additive or additive effects of the combination were obtained in the two cell lines according to the different treatment schemes. In particular, the maximum potentiation was observed in MCF7 cells simultaneously exposed to CDDP, EPI and LND for 1 hr and then post-incubated with LND for 72 hr, and in T47 first exposed to EPI and LND, then to CDDP and LND, and finally post-incubated with LND. Flow cytometric analysis of MCF7 cell distribution in the different cycle phases showed that combined treatment with EPI/CDDP/LND was able to stabilize cell cycle perturbations (mainly G2M accumulation) induced by individual agents. The ability of LND to potentiate CDDP and EPI cytotoxicity, and the consideration that LND causes side effects different from those caused by alkylating agents and anthracyclines, make this compound an attractive candidate for multidrug combination therapy in breast cancer.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1997

Cysteamine oxidation by lentil seedling amine oxidase.

Cysteamine is oxidatively deaminated by lentil amine oxidase. It shows saturation kinetic K(m) = 9 x 10(-4) M like other substrates, but the aldehyde produced leads to loss of enzyme activity, which is restored by dialysis. When putrescine is the substrate of the amine oxidase cysteamine behaves like a competitive inhibitor, and shows Ki = 5 x 10(-5) M. The possible involvement of the oxidation of cysteamine and the inhibitory effects of thioacetaldehyde in the cystamine oxidation by amine oxidase is discussed.

Amine Oxidase (Copper-Containing)↗
PubMed1997

Modulation of melphalan and cisplatin cytotoxicity in human ovarian cancer cells resistant to alkylating drugs.

We investigated the effect of pharmacological modulators on the cytotoxic activity of melphalan and cisplatin in human ovarian cystadenocarcinoma cells sensitive (OAW42) or resistant (OAW42MER) to bifunctional alkylating agents. By filter elution experiments we observed a reduced accumulation and a faster repair of melphalan-induced DNA interstrand cross-links in the OAW42MER resistant cells than in the OAW42 parental, sensitive cells. Moreover, resistant cells were characterized by an increased level of mRNA encoding enzymes involved in the nucleotide excision repair pathway, such as ERCC (excision repair cross complementing)1 and ERCC2. Among the modulators used, the topoisomerase I inhibitor topotecan was able to increase melphalan cytotoxic activity in sensitive and resistant cell lines. Topotecan also positively modulated cisplatin activity, although to a variable extent in the two cell lines, as a function of treatment schedule. The energolytic compound lonidamine markedly enhanced the cytotoxicity of melphalan and cisplatin, with a potentiating effect in the OAW42MER resistant cells almost 2-fold that of in the OAW42 sensitive cells. No significant potentiation was observed by using calcium channel blockers, such as verapamil and nimodipine. Conversely, an increase in melphalan cytotoxic activity was determined by flunarizine in OAW42MER resistant cells and, to a lesser extent, in OAW42 sensitive cells. However, the calcium blocker failed to modulate cisplatin activity in both cell lines.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1997

[New possible pathways for melanogenesis: opiomelanins].

Opioid peptides and other Tyr-NH2-terminal peptides are substrates in vitro for mushroom and sepia tyrosinase giving rise to synthetic melanins retaining the peptide moiety (opiomelanins). The melanopeptides are characterized by a total solubility in hydrophilic solvents at neutral and basic pH. Opioid peptides (enkephalins, endorphins, esorphins), if oxidized by tyrosinase in the presence of Dopa are easily incorporated into Dopa-melanin, producing mixed-type pigments which can also be solubilized in hydrophilic solvents. Melanins deriving from opioid peptides exhibit paramagnetism as evidenced by an EPR spectrum identical to that of Dopa-melanin. However the presence of the linked peptide chain is able to influence dramatically the electron transfer properties and the oxidizing behaviour of the melanopeptides, so that whereas Tyr-Gly-melanin appears to behave as Dopa-melanin, Enk-melanin does not exhibit any oxidizing activity. Opiomelanins are characterized by a peculiar UV-VIS spectrum i.e. by the presence of a well distinct peak (330 nm) disappearing upon chemical treatment by acid hydrolysis. Opiomelanins are stable pigments at neutral and basic pH in the dark, whereas H2O2 addition leads to a 15% degradation. Under simulated solar illumination opiomelanins are more easily destroyed with respect to Dopa-melanin with increasing degradation of exposed to increased hydrogen peroxide concentrations and more alkaline pH. Some speculations on the possible existence and role of opiomelanins have been outlined.

Culture Media↗
PubMed1996

Fludarabine as a modulator of cisplatin activity in human tumour primary cultures and established cell lines.

The potential of the purine analogue fludarabine (9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl-2-fluoroadenine-5' monophosphate) as a modulator of cisplatin cytotoxicity was investigated in four established cell lines and 20 primary cultures of human melanoma and ovarian cancer. Tumour cells were exposed to fludarabine and cisplatin, alone or in combination, for 4 h. Fludarabine did not affect the growth of ovarian cancer cell lines, whereas it induced a marked and dose-dependent inhibition of proliferation in melanoma cell lines. In primary cultures of both histotypes, the purine analogue did not induce appreciable antiproliferative effects. Combined cisplatin-fludarabine treatment caused additive effects in all established cell lines. Conversely, a synergistic effect of the combination was seen in 5 of 10 melanoma and 4 of 10 ovarian cancer primary cultures, with a dose-modifying factor ranging from 2.1 to 3.9 for melanomas and from 4.0 to 7.5 for ovarian cancers, respectively. In the remaining cultures, the interaction between fludarabine and cisplatin was additive. The alkaline filter elution analysis performed on primary cultures showed that the synergistic interaction between the two drugs was paralleled by an increase in the extent and persistence of the cisplatin-induced DNA interstrand crosslinks. Our results indicate that fludarabine can enhance cisplatin cytotoxic activity in human tumour primary cultures from ovarian cancer and malignant melanoma. Such an effect may be partially due to an interference by fludarabine on cisplatin-induced DNA adduct metabolism and repair.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1995

Spectroscopic features of native and bleached opio-melanins.

Opioid peptides can be converted by tyrosinase into melanin-like compounds, in which the peptide moiety is retained. Such pigments, named opio-melanins, exhibit a characteristic absorption spectrum with a maximum at about 330 nm and a different solubility behaviour with respect to dopa-melanin, being completely soluble in hydrophylic solvents at neutral and basic pH. Opio-melanins precipitate in aqueous solutions below pH 5.0, and show apparent pKa values of 3.1, 3.6 and 4.4 for Tyr-Gly-melanin, Tyr-Gly-Gly-melanin and leuenk-melanin, respectively. The concomitant oxidation of dopa and opioid peptides by tyrosinase produces mixed polymers, showing the distinctive absorption peak at 330 nm. In the dark, in the pH range 5.5-7.0 the pigments are completely stable, whereas H2O2 addition provokes a slight degradation. At higher pH values or under simulated solar illumination with or without hydrogen peroxide, bleaching occurs more rapidly than in dopa-melanin. Upon photoirradiation the absorption spectrum of opio-melanins undergoes a marked variation, the peak at 330 nm being replaced by a broad shoulder in the range 280-350 nm. The absorption spectra of native and bleached pigments and the extent of opio-melanins degradation by bleaching agents, confirm the hypothesis that the different initial structure of the precursors accounts for a final diverse polymeric architecture of these pigments with respect to dopa-melanin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Some biochemical properties of melanins from opioid peptides.

Opioid peptides are converted by mushroom tyrosinase into melanin-like compounds retaining the peptide moiety (opio-melanins). Opio-melanins, owing to the presence of the linked aminoacids and in contrast with DOPA-melanin, are soluble compounds. The enkephalin-generated melanins are cleaved by carboxypeptidase A and pronase whereas aminopeptidase M cannot remove aminoacids from the pigment. Enkephalins, as well as other opioid peptides, (alpha-endorphin, kyotorphin, esorphins) if oxidized in presence of DOPA and tyrosinase are readily incorporated into DOPA-melanin. The resulting mixed-melanins (opio-melanin + DOPA-melanin) can be solubilized in hydrophilic solvents. Melanin from leu-enkephalin exhibits paramagnetism as evidenced by an EPR spectrum identical to that of DOPA-melanin, but unlike the latter pigment, it does not appear to oxidize NADH, probably for the presence of the peptide moiety that exerts a hampering effect on the oxidizing capacity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗