Cytotoxic Effects of Newly Synthesized Palladium(II) Complexes of Diethyldithiocarbamate on Gastrointestinal Cancer Cell Lines

As a part of a drug development program to discover novel therapeutic and more effective palladium (Pd) based anticancer drugs, a series of water-soluble Pd complexes have been synthesized by interaction between [Pd (phen)(H2O)2(NO3)2] and alkylenebisdithiocarbamate(al-bis-dtc) disodium salts. This study was undertaken to examine the possible cytotoxic effect of three novel complexes (0.125–64 µg/mL) on human gastric carcinoma (AGS), esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (Kyse-30), and hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell lines. The cytotoxicity was examined using cell proliferation and acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) assay. In order to examine the effects of new Pd(II) complexes on cell cycle status, we performed cell cycle analysis. The complexes were found to have completely lethal effects on the cell lines, and the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values obtained for the cell lines were much lower in comparison with cisplatin. We demonstrated that the three new Pd(II) complexes are able to induce G2/M phase arrest in AGS and HepG2; in addition, the Pd(II) complexes caused an S phase arrest in Kyse-30 cell line. Our results indicate that newly synthesized Pd(II) complexes may provide a novel class of chemopreventive compounds for anticancer therapy

Bulge Cells of Rat Hair Follicles: Isolation, Cultivation, Morphological and Biological Features

Objective: Transplants of multipotent stem cells have been shown to have a neuroprotectiveeffect after central nervous system injury. The bulge region of the hair follicle hasbeen reported as a putative source of hair follicle stem cells (HFSC) for many years;however, few studies have documented the properties of bulge derived cells in vitro untilnow. This study was conducted to isolate and culture bulge cells from rat hair folliclesand to determine the morphological and biological features of the cultured cells.Materials and Methods: The bulge region of the rat whisker was isolated and culturedin Dulbecco's modified eagle medium: nutrient mixture F-12 (DMEM/F12) supplementedwith epidermal growth factor (EGF), cholera toxin. Dissociated bulge stemcells were differentiated on coated substrates together with NT-3. The morphologicaland biological features of cultured bulge cells were observed by light microscopy andimmunocytochemistry methods.Results: Our results showed that newly proliferated cells could be observed on the 4thday after explantation. The expression of a neural progenitor marker, nestin, was seenbefore differentiation of the bulge cells. The differentiated cells expressed βIII-Tubulinand RIP, which are the markers of neural and glial lineages.Conclusion: The results indicated that the bulge cells cultured from the rat hair folliclehad the characteristics of stem cells and could differentiate into neural and glial lineages