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Biomedical subjects

Raj K Tiwari

Publications and source records attributed to Raj K Tiwari.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Preclinical toxicological examination of a putative prostate cancer-specific 4-methyl-1-nitroacridine derivative in rodents.

Nitroacridines are potent DNA-binding and cytotoxic agents in cancer cells, but could not be developed clinically due to high systemic toxicities. We are developing a 1-nitroacridine derivative, 9-(2'-hydroxyethylamino)-4-methyl-1-nitroacridine (C-1748), as an effective chemotherapeutic agent for prostate cancer. C-1748 demonstrates high antitumor efficacy against human prostate cancer xenografts with markedly low mutagenicity and toxicity in dogs compared with its parent 9-(2'-hydroxyethylamino)-1-nitroacridine (C-857). A surprising feature of C-1748 is the 40-fold difference in 50% inhibitory concentration between DU145 prostate cancer and HL-60 leukemia cells. In this study, we report the preclinical toxicity study of a single acute dose of C-1748 in Copenhagen rats and BALB/c mice, intraperitoneally and intravenously for 24 h and 7 days. The effect of C-1748 on hematology, cardiac and liver enzymes, and renal electrolytes was assessed by blood and serum analysis. The LD50 (lethal dose, 50%) for C-1748 was 9 and 13.42 mg/kg compared with 2.2 and 3 mg/kg for C-857 intraperitoneally and intravenously, respectively, in mice. In Copenhagen rats, LD50 was 15 and 14.4 mg/kg intraperitoneally and intravenously, respectively, compared to 4 and 1.3 mg/kg for C-857. No changes in blood cell counts were observed, which were in the normal range for rodents. No changes were observed in clinical chemistries of enzymes such as aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase and creatine phosphokinase, which were within the normal range of values. No genome alterations were seen in prostate cancer cell lines by comparative genomic hybridization together with a lack of systemic toxicity, making it a unique cancer cell-type-specific drug that needs further clinical evaluation for toxicity and synergy in combination chemotherapy regimens.

Animals↗

Synthetic dimer of indole-3-carbinol: second generation diet derived anti-cancer agent in hormone sensitive prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Cruciferous vegetables have been found to have anti-prostate cancer effects. The active compounds mediating these effects include indoles such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and isothiocyanates. I3C is unstable having tissue tropic effects and clinical utility has been partly addressed by the synthesis of a more stable dimer diindolylmethane (DIM). METHODS: Anti-proliferative activity was measured by XTT assay and cytosolic proteins quantitated by Western blot analysis. RESULTS: DIM (IC(50) 50 microM) is a better anti-proliferative agent than I3C (IC(50) 150 microM) in androgen dependent LNCaP cells, inhibits DNA synthesis, and growth of R1881 stimulated LNCaP cells. Androgen receptor (AR), cyclin D1, and cdk4, induced by R1881, are downregulated by DIM. DIM downregulates phosphorylated Akt and phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase and downstream inhibition of cyclin D1 and cdk4. CONCLUSION: These studies provide evidence that DIM is a second-generation chemopreventive agent with a viable cellular target and has clinical potential as an anti-prostate cancer chemopreventive.

Androgens↗

3,3'-Diindolylmethane downregulates pro-survival pathway in hormone independent prostate cancer.

Epidemiological evidences suggest that the progression and promotion of prostate cancer (CaP) can be modulated by diet. Since all men die with prostate cancer rather than of the disease, it is of particular interest to prevent or delay the progression of the disease by chemopreventive strategies. We have been studying the anticancer properties of compounds present in cruciferous vegetables such as indole-3-carbinol (I3C). Diindolylmethane (DIM) is a dimer of I3C that is formed under acidic conditions and unlike I3C is more stable with higher anti-cancer effects. In the present report, we demonstrate that DIM is a potent anti-proliferative agent compared to I3C in the hormone independent DU 145 CaP cells. The anti-prostate cancer effect is mediated by the inhibition of the Akt signal transduction pathway as DIM, in sharp contrast to I3C, induces the downregulation of Akt, p-Akt, and PI3 kinase. DIM also induced a G1 arrest in DU 145 cells by flow cytometry and downstream concurrent inhibition of cell cycle parameters such as cyclin D1, cdk4, and cdk6. Our data suggest a need for further development of DIM, as a chemopreventive agent for CaP, which justifies epidemiological evidences and molecular targets that are determinants for CaP dissemination/progression. The ingestion of DIM may benefit CaP patients and reduce disease recurrence by eliminating micro-metastases that may be present in patients who undergo radical prostatectomy.

Androgens↗

3,3'-Diindolylmethane, a cruciferous vegetable derived synthetic anti-proliferative compound in thyroid disease.

Considerable epidemiological evidence exists to link thyroid disease with differing patterns of dietary consumption, in particular, cruciferous vegetables. We have been studying the anti-thyroid cancer (TCa) activity of indole-3-carbinol (I3C) found in cruciferous vegetables and its acid catalyzed dimer, 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM). There are no studies as yet to elucidate the effect of these compounds on the altered proliferative patterns in goiter or thyroid neoplasia. In this study, we tested the anti-proliferative effects of I3C and DIM on four different thyroid cancer cell lines representative of papillary (B-CPAP and 8505-C) and follicular carcinoma of the thyroid (CGTH-W-1 and ML-1), and primary human goiter cells. Cell survival and IC50 values for I3C and DIM were calculated by the XTT assay and cell cycle distribution analysis was done by flow cytometry. DIM was found to be a better anti-proliferative agent than I3C in both papillary and follicular TCa resulting in a greater cytotoxic effect at a concentration over three fold lower than predicted by the molar ratio of DIM and I3C. The anti-proliferative activity of DIM in follicular TCa was mediated by a G1 arrest followed by induction of apoptosis. DIM also inhibited the growth of primary goiter cells by 70% compared to untreated controls. Contrary to traditional belief that cruciferous vegetables are "goitrogenic", DIM has anti-proliferative effects in glandular thyroid proliferative disease. Our preclinical studies provide a strong rationale for the clinical exploration of DIM as an adjuvant to surgery in thyroid proliferative disease.

Anticarcinogenic Agents↗

Differences in glycosylation patterns of heat shock protein, gp96: implications for prostate cancer prevention.

Heat shock protein gp96 induces a tumor-specific protective immunity in a variety of experimental tumor models. Because the primary sequences of the glycoprotein, gp96 are identical between tumor and normal tissues, the peptides associated with gp96 and/or the posttranslational modifications of gp96, determine its immunogenicity. Gp96-associated peptides constitute the antigenic repertoire of the source tissue; thus, purified gp96-peptide complexes have clinical significance as autologous cancer vaccines. However, the role of altered glycosylation and its contribution in the biological as well as immunologic activity of gp96 still remains uncharacterized. We examined the cancer-specific glycosylation patterns of gp96. To this end, monosaccharide compositions of gp96 were compared between normal rat prostate and two cancerous rat prostate tissues, nonmetastatic/androgen-dependent Dunning G and metastatic/androgen-independent MAT-LyLu, as well as two human nonmetastatic prostate cancer cell lines, androgen-dependent LnCaP and androgen-independent DU145. Marked differences were observed between the gp96 monosaccharide compositions of the normal and cancerous tissues. Furthermore, gp96 molecules from more aggressive cellular transformations were found to carry decreasing quantities of several monosaccharides as well as sum total content of neutral and amino sugars. We believe that the unique glycosylation patterns contribute to cellular phenotype and that the posttranslational modifications of gp96 may affect its functional attributes.

Animals↗

Gene therapy in cancer: the missing point.

Over the last century cancer research has produced data leading to a composite picture where gene mutations and epigenetic phenomena strictly relate and overlap. This complexity has repercussions on the anti-cancer therapeutical strategies. The therapeutic pathway paved by the kochian one-cause/one disease principle fails in front of a multigenic multiphenomena disease like cancer. We still do not know what target(s) to hit/modify in order to prevent/stop the carcinogenic progression. On the light of cancer statistics 2005, we discuss the need of exactly defining the cancer targets in order to exploit the high potential of gene therapy.

Chromosome Aberrations↗

Interaction of a Mycobacterium tuberculosis repetitive DNA sequence with eukaryotic proteins.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infects one-third of the world's population and causes two million deaths annually. Its intracellular residence raises the possibility that bacterial nucleic acids might interact with key host proteins and contribute to the pathophysiology of infection. To test this hypothesis, we searched for motifs closely resembling eukaryotic transcription factor binding sites in the M. tuberculosis H37Rv genome and found activator protein-2 and zinc finger protein-5 binding motifs in a 36-nucleotide repetitive mycobacterial DNA sequence (RPT1). RPT1 bound specifically to nuclear extract proteins from U937, A549, and HeLa cells in electrophoretic mobility shift assays but not to activator protein-2. Several nuclear and cytosolic proteins showing at least partial binding specificity for RPT1 were isolated from U937 and A549 cells by pull-down assays, including Ku70 (DNA-dependent protein kinase subunit) and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1. RPT1 also specifically activated DNA-dependent protein phosphorylation. These results suggest that mycobacterial nucleic acid fragments may interact specifically with eukaryotic regulatory proteins which might contribute to bacterial life-cycle maintenance.

Base Sequence↗