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Oxidation of oxalate and polyamines by rat peroxisomes.

During renal failure, polyamines and oxalate levels are elevated in the serum and the glomerular filtrate and are dumped by the kidney. Both of these compounds can be catabolized by oxidative reactions. We have, therefore, investigated the intracellular distribution of oxalate oxidase and of a polyamine oxidase in normal female rat kidney and liver. Polyamine oxidase was demonstrable, using spermidine as substrate in the cerous peroxyhydrate procedure of Briggs et al., in peroxisomes of kidney tubule cells and of hepatocytes. Oxalate oxidase could not be studied with this technique due to precipitation of cerium oxalate in the incubation medium. To demonstrate oxalate oxidase, and to confirm the polyamine oxidase localization, we incubated aldehyde-fixed tissue in a diaminobenzidine medium at pH 8, following the approach of Veenhuis et al., in which oxidases are demonstrated by virtue of their production of H2O2, which then serves as a substrate for endogenous catalase. Using oxalate or spermidine as substrate with this approach, we found reaction product in typical renal peroxisomes; we also found reaction product, with the polyamine substrate, in hepatocyte peroxisomes. To strengthen the conclusion that the oxidases themselves are present in peroxisomes, we used a light microscopic method, based on the tetrazolium procedures of Allen and Beard to demonstrate polyamine and oxalate oxidase activities in bodies with the distribution of renal peroxisomes.

Animals↗

Core formation in the muscles of rats intoxicated with triethyltin sulfate.

Young adult Osbourne-Mendel rats intoxicated for up to 23 days with triethyltin sulfate (TET) at a dose of 20 mg/liter of drinking water given ad libitum, developed core-like structures in type 1 extrafusal fibers of the soleus muscles. Frozen sections revealed an absence of oxidative enzyme activity (NADH-tetrazolium reductase) and diminished or absent myosin ATPase (pH 9.4) in the core regions. The main electron microscopic features within the cores were loss of mitochondria and streaming of the Z-disks. The histochemical and electron microscopic similarities and differences between the TET-induced cores, other core models, and those reported in some human neuromuscular disorders are discussed. The present experiments do not clarify whether the cores are produced from a direct effect of TET upon skeletal muscle or upon the neural component of the motor unit.

Animals↗

Myocardial uptake of a (99m)Tc-nitroheterocycle in a swine model of occlusion and reperfusion.

UNLABELLED: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the window for scan positivity of the radiolabeled nitroheterocycle (99m)Tc-BRU-59-21 in the peri-ischemic period using a swine model of occlusion and reperfusion. METHODS: A balloon catheter was placed in the left anterior descending coronary artery in each of 19 domestic swine. Blood flow and hemodynamic measurements were made at baseline, during occlusion, and at 15 and 180 min after reperfusion. A dose of approximately 925 MBq (99m)Tc-BRU-59-21 was injected before a brief (6 min) period of coronary occlusion at the following times: 15 min (n = 2), 5 min (n = 2), and 2.2 min (n = 5). In 5 experiments the dose was injected 15 min after reperfusion. Animals underwent SPECT imaging 3 h later. Animals were then killed, and hearts were removed, sliced, stained with triphenyl tetrazolium chloride, and imaged on the detector. RESULTS: The risk region became ischemic during occlusion on the basis of severe reduction in blood flow and lactate production, but necrosis occurred in only 3 experiments. Focal tracer uptake was seen in the risk region in animals injected 5 and 2.2 min before occlusion but not in animals injected 15 min before occlusion and 15 min after reperfusion. CONCLUSION: The window for scan positivity for (99m)Tc-BRU-59-21 injected in the peri-ischemic period is short using this model of balloon occlusion and reperfusion in swine.

Animals↗

[An observation of antiproliferative effect of germanium-132 on cultured pterygium fibroblasts].

OBJECTIVE: To detect the antiproliferation of carboxyethyl germanium sesquioxide (Ge-132) on fibroblasts of pterygium in vitro and try to find a potentially effective agent for treatment of primary pterygium and prevention of its postoperative recurrence. METHODS: Primary culture and subculture of pterygium fibroblasts were established in vitro. Different concentrations of Ge-132 (39 - 5,000 mg/L) or mitomycin-C (3.13 - 4.00 mg/L, the control) were added to the fibroblast culture of the third or forth passage respectively. The inhibitory effect was determined by MTT (tetrazolium bromide) method. The influence of addition of Ge-132 on the growth curve of fibroblasts was observed, and the changing expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in fibroblasts was studied by immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: The addition of Ge-132 in the culture caused significant inhibition of the fibroblast proliferation in dose dependent manner (625 - 50,000 mg/L) without cytotoxicity (IC(50) = 3,000 mg/L), the marked descent of growth curve and suppression of the expression of PCNA in cultured cells (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Ge-132 can inhibit the proliferation of pterygium fibroblast in vitro significantly.

Cell Division↗

Comparative preclinical pharmacokinetic and metabolic studies of the combretastatin prodrugs combretastatin A4 phosphate and A1 phosphate.

PURPOSE: Combretastatin A4 phosphate (CA4P) and its structural analog, combretastatin A1 phosphate (CA1P), are soluble prodrugs capable of interacting with tubulin and causing rapid vascular shutdown within tumors. CA4P has completed Phase I clinical trials, but recent preclinical studies have shown that CA1P displays a greater antitumor effect than the combretastatin A4 (CA4) analog at equal doses. The aim of this study, therefore, is to compare pharmacokinetics and metabolism of the two compounds to determine whether pharmacokinetics plays a role in their differential activity. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: NMRI mice bearing MAC29 tumors received injection with either CA4P or CA1P at a therapeutic dose of 150 mg x kg(-1), and profiles of both compounds and their metabolites analyzed by a sensitive and specific liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy method. RESULTS: The metabolic profile of both compounds is complex, with up to 14 metabolites being detected for combretastatin A1 (CA1) in the plasma. Many of these metabolites have been identified by liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy. Initial studies, however, focused on the active components CA4 and CA1, where plasma and tumor areas under the curve were 18.4 and 60.1 microg x h x ml(-1) for CA4, and 10.4 and 13.1 microg x h x ml(-1) for CA1, respectively. In vitro metabolic comparisons of the two compounds strongly suggest that CA1 is metabolized to a more reactive species than the CA4. CONCLUSIONS: Although in vitro studies suggest that variable rates of tumor-specific prodrug dephosphorylation may explain these differences in pharmacokinetics profiles, the improved antitumor activity and altered pharmacokinetic profile of CA1 may be due to the formation of a more reactive metabolite.

Animals↗

Synergistic potentiating effect of D(+)-mannose, orotic, and hippuric acid sodium salt on selective toxicity of a mixture of 13 substances of the circulatory system in culture for various tumor cell lines.

Despite global immune system abnormalities in the autoimmune deficiency syndrome, the incidence of only a few tumor types increases, and the degree of immunosuppression does not seem to be critical in the development of these tumors, indicating that the immune system does not prevent tumor development. Consequently, because tumors do not develop in most individuals, other defense systems may exist. We demonstrated previously that 13 substances in the circulatory system acting synergistically induced apoptosis in vitro and in vivo in different tumor cell lines, but not in normal cells and animals. We investigated another 17 compounds and five ions in the circulatory system to determine their participation in the defense provided by the 13 substances. Three of the 17 substances but no ions had a potentiating effect on the mixture of substances used previously. The new 16-component mixture suppressed in vitro growth of six human and murine tumor cell lines, including multidrug-resistant tumor cells, without cytotoxic effects in two normal cell lines. The selectivity also was demonstrated by investigating the mixture's effect over time on tumor and normal cell growth.

Animals↗

Kinetic mechanism and specificity of bovine milk sulphydryl oxidase.

Sulphydryl oxidase is known to catalyse the synthesis de novo of disulphide bonds in a variety of thiol-containing compounds. Reduced glutathione is the best thiol substrate; however, D- and L-cysteine, cysteamine and N-acetyl-L-cysteine, as well as cysteine-containing peptides and proteins, are also effectively oxidized. In contrast, oxidation of the thiol groups of mercaptoethanol, mercaptopyridine, dithiothreitol, dithioerythritol, mercaptoacetate, mercaptopropionate or lipoic acid is not detectably catalysed. In bovine milk, sulphydryl oxidase is closely associated with another glutathione-metabolizing enzyme, gamma-glutamyltransferase. Covalent chromatography of crude preparations on cysteinylsuccinamidopropyl-glass resolves the oxidase from the transferase, thus permitting the kinetic characterization of glutathione oxidation. Initial-rate data imply a Ter Bi substituted-enzyme mechanism, and the observed substrate inhibition by thiols suggest that O2 binds first. Independent, non-kinetic, data, namely the immobilization of sulphydryl oxidase on cysteinyl-matrices, support formation of a mixed-disulphide intermediate between the thiol and enzyme, as predicted by the proposed mechanism. The enzyme-catalysed reaction appears not to be mediated via a superoxide intermediate, since O2 consumption is not affected by the presence of Nitro Blue Tetrazolium. FAD, NAD+, NADP+ and Nitro Blue Tetrazolium are all inactive as electron acceptors for sulphydryl oxidase catalysis.

Acetylcysteine↗

Ischemic preconditioning is mediated by a peripheral opioid receptor mechanism in the intact rat heart.

Previously, our laboratory has shown that opioid receptors are involved in ischemic preconditioning (PC) in the intact rat heart; however, it is not known whether this cardioprotection is mediated by central or peripheral mechanisms. To test this hypothesis, both naloxone (NL), the non-selective opioid receptor antagonist and naloxone methiodide (QNL), its quaternary derivative which does not cross the blood-brain barrier, were used to determine if opioid receptor-induced myocardial protection occurs via a central or peripheral locus of action in inactin-anesthetized, open-chested, Wistar rats. In group I, the control group was subjected to 30 min of occlusion and 2 h of reperfusion. In group II, ischemic PC was elicited by three 5-min occlusion periods interspersed with 5 min of reperfusion. In group III, QNL (10 mg/kg, i.v.) was administered 10 min before the 30 min of occlusion. Groups IV and V consisted of a dose-response effect of QNL on ischemic PC in which QNL (0.3 or 10 mg/kg, i.v., respectively) was given 10 min prior to ischemic PC. In addition, in groups VI and VII, one of two doses of naloxone (1 or 3 mg/kg, i.v.) was administered 10 min before ischemic PC. Infarct size (IS) as a percentage of the area at risk (AAR) was determined by tetrazolium staining. Ischemic PC reduced IS to 9 +/- 2% (P < 0.05) v control (53 +/- 4%). The low dose of QNL partially blocked the cardioprotective effect of ischemic PC; whereas the high dose completely abolished its cardioprotective effect. The high dose of QNL had no effect on IS alone. Similarly, the low dose of NL did not antagonize the cardioprotective effect of ischemic PC; however, the high dose completely abolished ischemic PC. These results indicate that the cardioprotective effect of ischemic preconditioning is mediated by a peripheral opioid receptor mechanism in the intact rat heart.

Animals↗

Immunosuppressive immunophilin ligands attenuate damage in cultured rat astrocytes depleted of glutathione and exposed to simulated ischemia in vitro. Comparison with N-acetylcysteine.

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that exposure of astrocytes depleted of glutathione (GSH) to simulated ischemia conditions in vitro and treated with immunosuppressant immunophilin ligands (cyclosporin A (CsA) and FK506) can increase intracellular GSH levels and that such mechanism may be responsible, at least in part, for their protective effects. In addition, we also compared the antioxidant properties of these immunosuppressants with N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a precursor of GSH synthesis. GSH depletion was induced by 24 h pretreatment with L-buthionine sulfoximine (BSO). Cultures of rat astrocytes were exposed to CsA (1-50 microM) and FK506 (1-1000 nM) and NAC (100 or 200 microM). We examined the effects of these compounds on apoptosis, cell viability, reactive oxygen species production and GSH content. Our study demonstrated that toxicity of simulated ischemia conditions were enhanced when intracellular GSH was depleted, and immunosuppressants (especially 100 nM FK506 and 10 microM CsA) effectively prevented ischemia toxicity in GSH depleted astrocytes. In addition, we have shown that interfering with the generation of GSH and attenuation, the rise of oxidative stress level by NAC may be a powerful tool for prevention of ischemia-induced glial cell damage.

Acetylcysteine↗

Synthesis, biological evaluation and DNA binding properties of novel bleomycin analogues.

A series of bleomycin analogues was prepared with a facile synthetic method. All the compounds were shown to display significant antitumor activity against HeLa and BGC-823 cell lines in vitro. The binding properties with CT-DNA and cleavage efficiency to pBR322 DNA were investigated, the results indicate that there is a positive relationship between DNA cleavage efficiency and the binding affinity to DNA, and the antitumor activity of the bleomycin analogues is enhanced as the hydrophobicity of the C-terminus substituent side chain increased.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic↗

Repeated high doses of avermectins cause prolonged sterilisation, but do not kill, Onchocerca ochengi adult worms in African cattle.

BACKGROUND: Ivermectin (Mectizan, Merck and CO. Inc.) is being widely used in the control of human onchocerciasis (Onchoverca volvulus) because of its potent effect on microfilariae. Human studies have suggested that, at the standard dose of 150 microg/kg an annual treatment schedule of ivermectin reversibly interferes with female worm fertility but is not macrofilaricidal. Because of the importance of determining whether ivermectin could be macrofilaricidal, the efficacy of high and prolonged doses of ivermectin and a related avermectin, doramectin, were investigated in cattle infected with O. ochengi. METHODS: Drugs with potential macrofilaricidal activity, were screened for the treatment of human onchocerciasis, using natural infections of O. ochengi in African cattle. Three groups of 3 cows were either treated at monthly intervals (7 treatments) with ivermectin (Ivomec, Merck and Co. Inc.) at 500 microg/kg or doramectin (Dectamax, Pfizer) at 500 microg/kg or not treated as controls. Intradermal nodules were removed at 6 monthly intervals and adult worms were examined for signs of drug activity. RESULTS: There was no significant decline in nodule diameter, the motility of male and female worms, nor in male and female viability as determined by the ability to reduce tetrazolium, compared with controls, at any time up to 24 months from the start of treatments (mpt). Embryogenesis, however, was abrogated by treatment, which was seen as an accumulation of dead and dying intra-uterine microfilariae (mf) persisting for up to 18 mpt. Skin mf densities in treated animals had fallen to zero by <3 mpt, but by 18 mpt small numbers of mf were found in the skin of some treated animals and a few female worms were starting to produce multi-cellular embryonic stages. Follow-up of the doramectin treated group at 36 mpt showed that mf densities had still only regained a small proportion of their pre-treatment levels. CONCLUSION: These results have important implications for onchocerciasis control in the field. They suggest that ivermectin given at repeated high does may sterilise O. volvulus female worms for prolonged periods but is unlikely to kill them. This supports the view that control programmes may need to continue treatments with ivermectin for a period of decades and highlights the need to urgently identify new marcofiliaricidal compounds.

Journal Article↗

Molecular markers in embryonic stem cells.

Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent cells derived from mouse blastocysts, which have the capacity to differentiate in vitro into a wide variety of cell types. Based on this potential the embryonic stem cell test (EST) has been developed, which represents an assay system for the classification of compounds for their teratogenic potential, based on the morphological evaluation of contracting myocard cells compared to the cytotoxic effects on undifferentiated stem cells and adult 3T3 fibroblasts. To expand the EST, the quantitative expression of the alpha- and beta-myosin heavy chain (MHC) genes under the influence of test compounds was studied employing real-time TaqMan PCR analysis. The molecular evaluation of the MHC genes allows a higher sensitivity for the classification of substances and the transfer of the EST to the molecular level allows to start experimental procedures at day 9 of culture. Thus, the modulated EST holds promise as a new easily quantifiable in vitro screening assay in teratology.

3T3 Cells↗

Preserved solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) at low concentrations do cause neither direct nor indirect cytotoxic effects in peritoneal macrophages.

In order to investigate the interaction of preserved solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) with murine peritoneal macrophages (Mpsi), cytotoxicity and proinflammatory effects of two different solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) preparations consisting of either compritol (CO) or cetyl palmitate (CP) preserved with thiomersal were analyzed. Concentration-dependent cytotoxic effects were observed using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Secretion of interleukin-6 by Mpsi following incubation with CO and CP SLN did not differ from secretion by untreated cells; proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-12 and tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha as further indicators of immunomodulatory effects were not detectable. These findings paralleled our previous findings that unpreserved CO and CP SLN did not induce immunomodulatory effects but cytotoxicity at higher concentrations. There were no synergistic cytotoxic effects of preservative and SLN. Thus, preservation of SLN using thiomersal does not appear to cause increased cytotoxicity and immunomodulatory effects following incubation with Mpsi.

Animals↗

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma ligands stimulate myeloid differentiation and lipogenensis in human leukemia NB4 cells.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) plays a central role in adipocyte and macrophage differentiation. Pioglitazone (Actos, AD4833), an antidiabetic drug, and 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)-prostaglandin J2 (PGJ2) have recently been identified as synthetic and natural ligands for PPARgamma, respectively. In this study, we examined the effects of PPARgamma ligands on differentiation and lipogenesis in promyelocytic leukemia NB4 cells, in which PPARgamma protein was expressed and ligand-stimulated PPARgamma-specific transcription of adipocyte fatty-acid binding protein was confirmed. Treatment with PPARgamma ligand (AD4833 or PGJ2) alone markedly suppressed proliferation but did not induce differentiation. The combined treatment of the cells with PPARgamma ligand and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) synergistically induced myelocytic differentiation, as determined by nitroblue tetrazolium reducing ability and cell morphology. During these processes of differentiation, we observed marked accumulation of lipid droplets in the cytoplasm. The cellular triacylglycerol levels increased 2.7-fold after treatment with the inducers. Simultaneously, BODIPY-fatty acid was incorporated into the cytosol and concentrated in lipid droplets. The biosynthesis of triacylglycerol-containing BODIPY-fatty acids was increased twofold in differentiated cells. These findings clearly demonstrate that treatment with PPARgamma ligands not only induced differentiation but also stimulated lipogenesis in NB4 cells, indicating a close association between differentiation and lipogenesis in PPARgamma-stimulated human myeloid cells.

Adipocytes↗

Experimental infection of the skin in the hamster simulating human impetigo. IV. Cellular responses after streptococcal and staphylococcal infections.

Various cellular responses to skin infections in an experimental animal model were explored. Total leukocyte counts varied after group A streptococcal infections, but a depression was commonly seen after M type 12 impetigo. Staphylococcus aureus infections resulted in moderate leukocytosis. A marked neutrophilia was universal with streptococcal or staphylococcal disease. A positive nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) response appeared 24 hr after infection, reached a peak in 48 hr, and then declined. This occurred in the absence of extensive cellulitis or bacteremia. An increase in the percentage and absolute number of NBT-positive neutrophils occurred. M type 57 streptococcus produced a more strongly positive NBT test than did M type 12. Cell-free filtrates of a broth culture of M type 57 streptococcus produced NBT responses in hamsters comparable to the responses seen after injection of live organisms. These studies indicate the usefulness of this animal model to study various parameters of the NBT test.

Animals↗

Bombesin/gastrin-releasing peptide receptor antagonists increase the ability of histone deacetylase inhibitors to reduce lung cancer proliferation.

The effects of a bombesin/gastrin releasing peptide (BB/GRP) receptor antagonist, PD176252, and histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, MS-275, were investigated on human lung cancer cell lines. Using the MTT assay, PD176252 and MS-275 inhibited the proliferation of NCI-H1299 cells with IC50 values of 7 and 5 microg/mL, respectively. Using MS-275 and PD176252 together, the ability to inhibit lung cancer cellular growth increased significantly. The combination index for MS-275 and PD176252 was <0.2, indicating that the compounds are highly synergistic in inhibiting lung cancer cellular growth. Also, MS-275 and PD176252 together strongly inhibited the clonal growth of NCI-H345 or NCI-H1299 cells. MS-275 had little effect on the expression of lung cancer cellular GRP or GRP receptors, but increased expression of transforming growth factor-beta receptor II (TGF-beta RII). These results indicate that GRP receptor antagonists may potentiate the action of histone deacetylase inhibitors on lung cancer cellular proliferation by increasing expression of tumor suppressor genes.

Animals↗

Synergistic effects of dexamethasone and genistein on the expression of Cdk inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1 in human hepatocellular and colorectal carcinoma cells.

Previous studies have shown that dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid, can induce a G1 arrest, however, genistein, a natural isoflavonoid phytoestrogen, induces a G2/M arrest in the cell cycle progression in various cancer cell lines. A block of cell cycle checkpoint by dexamethasone and genistein correlates with a selective induction of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitor p21WAF1/CIP1 in a tumor suppressor p53-independent manner and abolishment of Cdk2 phosphorylation. In the present study, the effects of dexamethasone and genistein (both singly and combined) on the expression of p21 in human hepatocellular Hep G2 and colorectal Colo320 HSR carcinoma cells were evaluated. Whereas dexamethasone mildly induced the level of p21 protein, genistein strongly increased the expression of p21 protein in our experimental condition. Both compounds also activated p21 promoter reporter constructs. The combined effects of dexamethasone and genistein on the induction of p21 protein and activation of p21 promoter were synergistic in both cell lines. These findings indicate that dexamethasone and genistein act in a synergistic fashion and have potential for combination chemotherapy for the treatment of liver and colon cancer.

Anticarcinogenic Agents↗

Effects of superporous hydrogels on paracellular drug permeability and cytotoxicity studies in Caco-2 cell monolayers.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of superporous hydrogel (SPH) and SPH composite (SPHC) as permeation enhancers for peptide drug delivery on Caco-2 cell monolayers. Moreover, the cytotoxic effects of these polymers were also studied using trypan blue test, MTT assay and propidium iodide staining. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) studies revealed that both SPH and SPHC polymers were able to decrease TEER values to about 40% of initial values, indicating the ability of these polymers to open tight junctions. Recovery studies of TEER showed that the effects of polymers on Caco-2 cell monolayers were reversible, indicating viability of the cells after incubation with polymers. Both polymers were able to enhance the transport of the hydrophilic marker 14C-mannitol up to 2.7 and 3.8-fold in comparison to the control group. The cumulative transport of fluorescein isothiocyanate labelled dextrans with a molecular weight of 4400 Da (FD4) and 19600 Da (FD20) was enhanced by SPH and SPHC polymers by opening of tight junctions; however, this enhancement was inversely proportional to the molecular weight of marker compounds. Cytotoxicity studies confirmed that the transport enhancing properties of SPH and SPHC polymers were not caused by damage of the Caco-2 cell monolayers. The cells were able to exclude trypan blue as well as propidium iodide after incubation with SPH and SPHC polymers. MTT assay showed that the number of viable cells was higher than 95% after incubation with SPH and SPHC polymers. This indicates that the mitochondrial metabolic activities of the cells were preserved after application of the polymers.

Acrylic Resins↗