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M Sentjurc

Publications and source records attributed to M Sentjurc.

50 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Influence of vinblastine containing chemotherapy on tumor tissue membrane fluidity; an EPR study. A case report.

The influence of vinblastine (VLB) in combined chemotherapy on tumor cell membrane fluidity of a patient with exulcerated soft tissue sarcoma was studied by the electron paramagnetic resonance method (EPR). Tissue samples were taken before and after applications of VLB, Cis-Platinum (CDP) and combined intraarterial chemotherapy (IAC) and incubated with the spin probe, the palmitic acid methylester spin label analog, MeFasl (10, 3) incorporating into the cell membranes. EPR spectra of the labelled tissue samples were measured. Within few days after application of the chemotherapeutic drugs some oscillations of the membrane fluidity in the tissue were observed, while after a longer period of few weeks the relative amount of cells with greater membrane fluidity was found to decrease. Furthermore, an unexpected gradual increase in the EPR signal intensity after incubation of the tissue with the spin probe, probably due to an oxidative process in this particular sarcoma tissue was observed. These data could be useful for understanding of drug induced changes in cell membranes and for future timing of drug treatments in combined schedules.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1986

Cellular metabolism of water-soluble nitroxides: effect on rate of reduction of cell/nitroxide ratio, oxygen concentrations and permeability of nitroxides.

In order to interpret more accurately studies that have used nitroxides and to improve the efficacy of the use of nitroxides in both basic studies of cells and as contrast agents for in vivo NMR, we have initiated a systematic study of the distribution and metabolism of nitroxides in biological systems. Overall, the results provide a reasonably coherent picture of some aspects of the interactions between nitroxides and cells. Reduction of the nitroxides appears to be an intracellular process, so that one of the principal variables that affects the rate of reduction is the ability of a nitroxide to enter cells. The entrance of nitroxides into cells shows considerable variability and ranges from essentially no penetration (e.g., 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl-4-trimethylamine), through rates that are comparable to rates of reduction (e.g., 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-pyrrolidine-N-oxyl-3-carboxylic acid), to rates that are so fast that there is complete equilibrium between intracellular and extracellular compartments (e.g., Tempone). The presence of a charged group on the nitroxide appears to be the important variable that affects their ability to enter cells. Once a nitroxides enters the cell, the structure of the nitroxide, e.g., piperidine vs. pyrrolidine ring, is major factor that affects the rate of reduction. The rates of reduction increase with increasing concentrations of nitroxides. This indicates that the principal mechanism(s) of reduction do not saturate in the concentration range we studied. We observed no abrupt changes in the rates of reduction over the entire concentration range of cells and nitroxides that we studied, which suggests that the mechanism(s) of nitroxide reduction did not change. The presence of oxygen decreased the observed rate of reduction of many of the nitroxides and this effect was independent of the concentration of nitroxide.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Hypoxia-sensitive NMR contrast agents.

The rate of reduction of nitroxides is shown to be more rapid in hypoxic cells. The rate of reduction and the effect of hypoxia on the reduction rate vary for different nitroxides. These findings indicate that it may be feasible to develop in vivo NMR contrast agents that selectively will indicate areas of hypoxia and thereby aid in the detection of disease processes such as neoplasia, ischemia, and inflammation.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Effect of temperature on Ca-ATPase from sarcoplasmic reticulum membranes: ESR studies.

Using spin-labeled fatty acid derivatives and maleimide, the effect of temperature on the structural state of various parts of the lipid bilayer of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) membranes and the segmental motion of the Ca-ATPase molecule were investigated. The mobility of the spin probes localized in the hydrophobic zone and the outer part of the SR membrane was shown to increase with a rise in temperature from 4 to 44 degrees C, the temperature of 20 degrees C being critical for these changes. In the presence of ATP, critical changes in the spin probe mobility occur at lower temperatures, while in the presence of ATP and Ca2+ they are observed at 20 degrees C for a spin probe localized in the outer part of the SR membrane. The mobility of a spin probe localized in the hydrophobic part of the membrane increases linearly with a rise in temperature. In the absence of ligands, the segmental motion of Ca-ATPase changes linearly within a temperature range of 10-30 degrees C. However, when ATP alone or ATP and Ca2+ are simultaneously added to the incubation mixture, the protein mobility undergoes critical changes at 20 degrees C. The Arrhenius plots for ATPase activity and Ca2+ uptake rate in SR membrane preparations also have a break at 20 degrees C. It is assumed that changes in the structural state of membrane lipids produce conformational changes in the Ca-ATPase molecule; the enzyme seems to be unsensitive to the structural state of the membrane lipid matrix in the absence of the ligands.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Proton magnetic resonance characterization of brain tumours.

A series of different human brain tumours have been characterized with respect to the proton spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) and the water content. In malignant tumour tissue the mean T1 values are significantly larger than in benign ones. The tumours of different histological types showed notable differences in the relationship between proton relaxation rate (1/T1) and the corresponding water content (r). Malignant tumours exhibited a large variation in the water content in the presence of relatively small changes in relaxation rates, whilst just the opposite was true of the benign tumours and normal tissue. Taking into consideration the fast exchange between the intracellular and extracellular fluid, the (1/T1)/r relationship observed in malignant tissue is explainable by the variation in water content in the extracellular fluid due to oedema, which is most pronounced in malignant tumours. The individual response of patients to the malignant growth seems to determine the tissue water content and hence the measured relaxation time, whilst it appears that the relaxation rate and the water content of the malignant cells of the same tumour type do not vary appreciably from one patient to another. On the other hand, benign and non-tumourous tissue cells from different patients show larger variations in T1, whilst the variations in the extracellular water content are obviously smaller than in malignant tissues.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMed1983

Free radicals in tetanic activity of isolated skeletal muscle.

1. The concentration of the free radicals in muscle tissue mitochondria changes with the phase of muscle contraction. 2. Potassium cyanide (KCN) influences the shape of the isotonic tetani mechanograms; the contraction is still strong and qualitatively comparable in amplitude to untreated controls. 3. On the other hand, the correlation between the free radical concentration and muscle contraction is lost. 4. The free radical concentration in isolated mitochondria is influenced by KCN and potassium ferricyanide. 5. The free radical concentration changes due to the electron flow in the respiratory chain. 6. Inhibition of the respiratory phosphorylation by KCN could affect the free radical level.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Spin-labeled phorbol esters and their interaction with cellular membranes.

A series of homologous spin-labeled fatty acid analogs of the type 12-O-FASL (n,m)-phorbol-13-acetate [(n,m)PA] of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) with variable chain length N of the fatty acid moiety and various positions of the nitroxide group were synthesized. Their irritant doses 50 (ID50) on the ear and their initiation-promoting activities on the back skin of NMRI mice were determined. The irritancy 1/ID50 of the (n,m)PA follows the simple linear relation ln(1/ID50) = alpha N + beta. In an "equilibrium" approach, the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra measured in absence and in presence of erythrocytes (E) were used to determine the partition coefficients KM,0 between the erythrocyte membrane (M) and the extracellular solution (o). The KM,0 depend on the chain length N of the fatty acid moieties following the equation ln KM,0 = aN + b and show that the (n,m)PA are accumulated preferentially in the erythrocyte membrane. In a "kinetic" approach, the decay rate J(t)/J(o) of the EPR signal intensity of (n,m)PA molecules in absence and in presence of equilibrated E was measured during oxidation with ferricyanide and reduction with ascorbate, respectively. From the data obtained by the "kinetic" approach, a "two-compartmental model" is shown to be the most simple approximation to describe the system, in which finite concentrations of the (n,m)PA are postulated for the extracellular and the membrane compartment only. EPR data indicate that generally the (n,m)PA are buried with their acyl chain in the E membrane with the phorbol moiety close to the outer membrane surface. Apparently only in case of (1,12)PA is the acyl chain long enough to be anchored in the lipid layer of the membrane in a way similar to the tetradecanoyl residue of TPA. A possible relationship with biological activities is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

An ESR study of the postsynatpic membrane acetylcholinesterase of Torpedo marmorata electric organ.

The effect of the cholinergic activator, phenyltrimethylammonium, on the ESR spectra of spin-labeled membrane bound acetylcholinesterase was studied; a reduction of maximal hyperfine splitting of the anisotropic ESR spectrum by 2 G was observed. The influence of phenyltrimethylammonium was prevented by the two cholinergic blocking agents d-tubocurarine and alpha-cobratoxine. The present results indicate that the conformation change of the esteratic site of membrane acetylcholinesterase is triggered by the binding of phenyltrimethylammonium to the cholinoreceptor site.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1976

On the location of active serines of membrane acetylcholinesterase studied by the ESR method.

1. An attempt was made to find out the causes of the discrepancy between the ESR spectra of membrane acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7) obtained by Morrisett and co-workers and those obtained by the present authors. 2. In order to see whether the discrepancy was due to the different spin-labeling procedures, the same membrane acetylcholinesterase preparations were spin-labeled with the same compound, using the two different spin-labeling procedures. The enzyme activity was determined with pH-static titration and the ESR spectra recorded. 3. It was found that after spin-labeling according to Morrisett and co-workers, there were from 10-100 times more spin-label molecules bound to the enzyme preparations than there were active serines in them. 4. Using the method of Morrisett and co-workers, the majority of spin-label molecules was found to be bound to sites outside the active serines whereas the spin-labeling procedures of the present authors proved to be selective for active serines; the discrepancy in ESR spectra is explained.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMed1976

An ESR study of the influence of some physico-chemical factors on the conformation of a postsynaptic acetylcholinesterase.

1. In a previous ESR study of a membrane acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7) we found, contrary to observations by other authors, spectra indicating that the active serine might be located in a pocket of the enzyme surface. In order to inquire into this possibility, ESR spectra were studied under the influence of different physico-chemical factors known to cause an unfolding of proteins. 2. The active serine of the postsynaptic membrane acetylcholinesterase of Torpedo marmorata electric organ was spin labeled using 1-oxyl-2, 2, 6, 6-tetramethyl-4-piperidinyletoxyphosphonofluoridate. 3. The effect of the chosen physico-chemical factors was an increase in the rotational freedom of spin labels; this result corroborates the suggestion that the active center of our acetylcholinesterase preparation is located in a pocket.

Acetylcholinesterase↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Melatonin and oxidative damage in mice liver induced by the prooxidant antitumor drug, adriamycin.

Antioxidant properties have been attributed to melatonin; it seemed therefore worthwhile to determine its effects in relation to the prooxidant action of adriamycin, which contributes to its toxic and therapeutic effects. Melatonin effectively acts as a direct free radical scavenger in the concentration range of 20-100 microM as determined in vitro, using Fenton reaction as a source of free radicals that were determined by EPR using spin trapping method. Following the administration of a single i.v. dose of 28 mg/Kg or of 3 repeated i. p. doses of 5 mg/Kg adriamycin to CBA mice, glutathione levels in the liver cells were significantly reduced. When the treatment with adriamycin was preceded by the s.c. administration of 2 mg/Kg melatonin, the decrease in total and reduced glutathione concentrations was significantly prevented. A significant increase in lipid peroxidation was observed in liver cells after a single administration of adriamycin which was not attenuated by pretreatment with melatonin. These results indicate that further examination of the possible protective action of melatonin on the toxic effects of prooxidant antitumor drugs on normal and neoplastic tissues would be of interest also in relation to their chronotoxicological properties.

Animals↗