Synergistic effect of oxymatrine and 5-fluorouracil on the migratory potential in A549 non-small cell lung cancer cells

Introduction: An interesting research direction is the development of new therapies to reduce metastasis, especially in highly invasive cancer such as lung cancer. One of the commonly used anti-cancer drugs is 5-fluorouracil. Oxymatrine is a natural alkaloid with a wide range of effects. Combined with a cytostatic, it may enhance its action and protect normal cells. Therefore, the study aimed to analyse the effect of oxymatrine and 5-fluorouracil on non-small lung cancer cell line A549. Material and methods: The study was based on the assessment of the interaction between drugs, cell death, cell cycle phase distribution, fluorescent labelling of F-actin and b-catenin, as well as wound healing and transwell migration assay. Results: The combined treatment with oxymatrine and the cytostatic in a 1:1 ratio resulted in synergism. Incubation of cells with both substances induced changes in the life processes of A549 cells. In turn, the reorganization of F-actin and b-catenin contributed to the limitation of lung cancer cell migration compared to individual treatment with compounds. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the combination of oxymatrine and 5-fluorouracil in the 1:1 ratio may limit the migratory potential of A549 cells. In summary, oxymatrine can support the anti-cancer effect of 5-fluorouracil, but its potential application should be examined in further studies

Effect of combined action of doxorubicin and calcifediol on MCF-7 breast cancer cells

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women. Current recommendations for combination therapy in patients with breast cancer are still being developed and new therapies with greater success are sought. A relatively new approach is the administration of cytostatics in combination with vitamins. Hence, the study aimed to clarify whether the combination of calcifediol [25(OH)D3] with doxorubicin affects the response of the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line to the cytostatic. Material and methods: In the MCF-7 cell line, the authors assessed cytotoxicity using the MTT assay, analysed the cell cycle and cell death mechanism using flow cytometry, and examined the structure of the cytoskeleton and cell morphology. Results: The results showed that doxorubicin in combination with calcifediol in a 1:1 ratio showed a synergistic effect resulting in a dose-dependent decrease in cell survival. Further studies have shown that this is due to the pro-apoptotic and necrotic effects of the combination of these compounds. There were also changes in the organization of the cytoskeleton and cell morphology. In addition, features of entosis were noted in MCF-7 cells. Conclusion: The synergistic effect of doxorubicin and calcifediol significantly reduced the viability of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Inducing the desired effect by lowering the cytostatic dose is of great clinical importance, taking into account the cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin. Another very interesting aspect is the entosis process induced in the present research, which may have a dual nature

Very late relapse of ALL after 14 years: treatment with CAR-T cells

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Microbial Synthesis of (S)- and (R)-Benzoin in Enantioselective Desymmetrization and Deracemization Catalyzed by Aureobasidium pullulans Included in the Blossom Protect™ Agent

In this study, we examined the Aureobasidium pullulans strains DSM 14940 and DSM 14941 included in the Blossom Protect™ agent to be used in the bioreduction reaction of a symmetrical dicarbonyl compound. Both chiral 2-hydroxy-1,2-diphenylethanone antipodes were obtained with a high enantiomeric purity. Mild conditions (phosphate buffer [pH 7.0, 7.2], 30 °C) were successfully employed in the synthesis of (S)-benzoin using two different methodologies: benzyl desymmetrization and rac-benzoin deracemization. Bioreduction carried out with higher reagent concentrations, lower pH values and prolonged reaction time, and in the presence of additives, enabled enrichment of the reaction mixture with (R)-benzoin. The described procedure is a potentially useful tool in the synthesis of chiral building blocks with a defined configuration in a simple and economical process with a lower environmental impact, enabling one-pot biotransformation

Influence of dexamethasone and doxorubicin on inhibition of hypoxia- -induced metastatic potential in HepG2 cell line

One of the commonly applied methods in the case of median to advance stages of liver cancer is the transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) procedure. It involves the administration of relatively high doses of cytostatics to the tumour-supplying artery followed by the embolization of the vessel. It limits the drug action almost only to the tumour mass. However, this also reduces the availability of oxygen, which stimulates cell migration. Therefore, the study aimed to assess how the introduction of an additional drug — dexamethasone and its combination with doxorubicin will impact the viability and migration of HepG2 cells under hypoxia-mimic conditions. To assess the basic response of the cells to the drugs and evaluate the interaction between them MTT assay and apoptosis assay were used. To analyse the migratory potential transwell migration assay was applied. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers and apoptosis-related proteins were studied using Western blot assay. Hypoxia-mimic conditions were induced using pretreatment with cobalt chloride. The obtained results suggest that the developed doxorubicin: dexamethasone combination limits hypoxia-induced increase in the migratory potential of HCC cells, which is connected with the inhibition of the EMT process and directing cells to death on the cellular level