Sensitization of human malignant lymphoid cells to etoposide by fucoidan, a brown seaweed polysaccharide

The search for the substances sensitizing cancer cells to apoptosis induction by chemotherapeutic agents is a task of high importance in the modern strategy of anticancer therapy. The aim of the study was to investigate the apoptogenic and apoptosis-modulating activities of fucoidan (sulfated polysaccharide) isolated from far-eastern brown seaweeds Fucus evanescens in two human malignant lymphoid cell lines, MT-4 and Namalwa. Methods: Apoptosis was assessed morphologically and quantified by flow cytometry analysis of cells stained with propidium iodide. Caspase-3 activation was assayed by flow cytometry with the aid of labeled monoclonal antibodies. Results: The fucoidan at 500 µg/ml was not cytotoxic in MT-4 or Namalwa cells even in the setting of long-term presence in culture medium up to 14 days. Nevertheless, pretreatment of MT-4 but not Namalwa cells with fucoidan followed by the exposure to DNA topoisomerase II inhibitor etoposide led to about two-fold increase in the relative apoptotic index as compared with etoposide alone. Apoptosis enhancement of MT-4 cells by fucoidan was not accompanied by further increase in the number of the cells with active form of caspase-3. Conclusion: The present findings demonstrate for the first time that fucoidan enhances etoposide induced caspase-dependent cell death pathway in MT-4 but not Namalwa cell line. The mechanisms of such enhancement do not seem to be related directly to caspase-3 activation.Одной из важных задач современной стратегии противоопухолевой терапии является поиск веществ, повышающих чувствительность опухолевых клеток к индукции апоптоза под действием химиопрепаратов. Цель: изучение апоптогенной и апоптозмодулирующей активности фукоидана — сульфатированного полисахарида, выделенного из дальневосточной бурой водоросли Fucus evanescens, на двух линиях злокачественных лимфоидных клеток человека MT-4 и Namalwa. Методы: апоптоз выявляли морфологически и количественно проточной цитометрией клеток, окрашенных йодистым пропидием. Активацию каспазы-3 изучали методом проточной цитометрии клеток после реакции с конъюгированными моноклональными антителами. Результаты: фукоидан в дозе 500 мкг/мл не проявлял токсичности в клетках MT-4 или Namalwa даже при длительном присутствии препарата в культурах до 14 сут. Предварительная инкубация клеток MT-4 с фукоиданом в указанной дозе приводила к двукратному повышению относительного апоптотического индекса при действии ингибитора ДНК топоизомеразы II этопозида, причем такого эффекта в клетках Namalwa не отмечено. Повышение апоптотического индекса в клетках MT-4 под влиянием фукоидана при индукции апоптоза этопозидом не сопровождалось приростом процентного содержания клеток с активной формой каспазы-3, в сравнении с таковым при действии одного лишь индуктора апоптоза этопозида. Выводы: впервые продемонстрирована способность фукоидана усиливать этопозидиндуцированный каспазозависимый апоптоз в клетках MT-4. Подобный эффект отсутствовал в клетках Namalwa. Механизм повышения чувствительности злокачественных лимфоидных клеток человека к этопозиду при действии фукоидана, по-видимому, напрямую не связан с активацией каспазы-3

Finance, foreign (direct) investment, and the Dutch disease: the case of Colombia

In recent years Colombia has grown relatively rapidly, but it has been a biased growth. The energy sector (the locomotora minero-energetica, to use the rhetorical expression of President Juan Manuel Santos) grew much faster than the rest of the economy, while the manufacturing sector registered a negative rate of growth. These are classic symptoms of the well-known ‘Dutch disease’, but our purpose here is not to establish whether the Dutch disease exists or not, but rather to shed some light on the financial viability of several, simultaneous dynamics: (i) the existence of a traditional Dutch Disease being due to a large increase in mining exports and a significant exchange rate appreciation; (ii) a massive increase in foreign direct investment (FDI), particularly in the mining sector; (iii) a rather passive monetary policy, aimed at increasing purchasing power via exchange rate appreciation; (iv) more recently, a large distribution of dividends from Colombia to the rest of the world and the accumulation of mounting financial liabilities. The paper will show that these dynamics constitute a potential danger for the stability of the Colombian economy. Some policy recommendations are also discussed

Policy volatility and growth

The paper aims to examine how fiscal and monetary volatility might affect the balanced economic growth rate using a standard monetary growth model characterized by nominal wage rigidity and productive public spending. The model shows that any type of shock — monetary or fiscal — can generate either a negative or positive relationship between short-run volatility and long-run growth, critically de- pending on the size of government and the elasticity of output with respect to labor/ capital. In particular, given the labor income share, it shows that excessive government spending may cause the impact of fiscal volatility on long-run growth to turn from positive to negative. In addition, a rise in the volatility of the monetary shock is capable of generating either an increase or decrease in the mean of growth. With the range of the labor share values in reality, the model produces results consistent with the fact that the relationship between volatility and growth is generally found empirically to be more negative in developing than in developed countries. The model can be seen as a further explanation for the ambiguous empirical evidence in the existing literature.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Enabling low-carbon development in poor countries

The challenges associated with achieving sustainable development goals and stabilizing the world’s climate cannot be solved without significant efforts by developing and newly-emerging countries. With respect to climate change mitigation, the main challenge for developing countries lies in avoiding future emissions and lock-ins into emission-intensive technologies, rather than reducing today’s emissions. While first best policy instruments like carbon prices could prevent increasing carbonization, those policies are often rejected by developing countries out of a concern for negative repercussions on development and long-term growth. In addition, policy environments in developing countries impose particular challenges for regulatory policy aiming to incentivize climate change mitigation and sustainable development. This chapter first discusses how climate policy could potentially interact with sustainable development and economic growth. It focuses, in particular, on the role of industrial sector development. The chapter then continues by discussing how effective policy could be designed, specifically taking developing country circumstances into account

Dutch disease-cum-financialization booms and external balance cycles in developing countries

We formally investigate the medium-to-long-run dynamics emerging out of a Dutch disease-cum-financialization phenomenon. We take inspiration from the most recent Colombian development pattern. The “pure” Dutch disease first causes deindustrialization by permanently appreciating the economy’s exchange rate in the long run. Financialization, i.e. booming capital inflows taking place in a climate of natural resource-led financial over-optimism, causes medium-run exchange rate volatility and macroeconomic instability. This jeopardizes manufacturing development even further by raising macroeconomic uncertainty. We advise the adoption of capital controls and a developmentalist monetary policy to tackle these two distinct but often intertwined phenomena