Doxorubicin Induced Nephrotoxicity: Protective Effect of Nicotinamide

Introduction. Nephrotoxicity is one of the important side effects of anthracycline antibiotics. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of nicotinamide (NAD), an antioxidant agent, against nephrotoxicity induced by doxorubicin (DXR). Methods. The rats were divided into control, NAD alone, doxorubicin (20 mg/kg, i.p.) and DXR plus NAD (200 mg/kg, i.p.) groups. At the end of the 10th day, kidney tissues were removed for light microscopy and analysis. The level of tissues' catalase (CAT), glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), inducible nitric oxide (iNOS) and endothelial nitric oxide (eNOS) activities were determined. Results. The activities of CAT, GPx, and GSH were decreased, and Po was increased in renal tissue of doxorubicin group compared with other groups. The tissue of the doxorubicin group showed some histopathological changes such as glomerular vacuolization and degeneration, adhesion to Bowman's capsule and thickening and untidiness of tubular and glomerular capillary basement membranes. Histopathological examination showed that NAD prevented partly DXR-induced tubular and glomerular damage. Conclusions. Pretreatment with NAD protected renal tissues against DXR-induced nephrotoxicity. Preventive effects of NAD on these renal lesions may be via its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action

Repression of the Notch pathway prevents liver damage in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice

Introduction. Sunitinib is an oral inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor that is used to treat a variety of cancer. There are limited data regarding the effect of sunitinib on diabetes. In the liver, Notch signaling plays an important role in liver tissue development and homeostasis and its dysfunction is associated with liver pathol­ogies. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of sunitinib on streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic liver in mice models. Material and methods. An experimental diabetes mellitus (DM) model was created in 28 male CD-1 mice. Twenty-eight male CD-1 mice divided in four groups (n = 7 each) were used; control mice (C), control mice treated with sunitinib (C + S), diabetic mice (DM), and diabetic mice treated with sunitinib (DM + S) for four weeks. The histopathological changes in the liver were examined by histochemistry and immunohistochemistry. Immunoreactivity of Notch1, Jagged1, DLL-1 and VEGF were evaluated in control and diabetic mice after sunitinib treatment. Results. The significant morphological changes in the liver were mostly seen in hepatocytes that were hyper­trophied in the DM mice, with an increased amount of eosinophilic granules; moreover, some hepatocytes contained empty vacuole-like structures. The livers of the DM mice revealed increased deposition of collagen fibers. After sunitinib treatment the hepatocytes and hepatic lobules had almost similar morphology to control mice. The immunoreactivities of Notch1, Jagged1, DLL-1 and VEGF in hepatocytes were significantly lower in the DM group when compared with the C, DM + S and C + S group treated with sunitinib. Conclusions. These results suggest that sunitinib effectively protects the liver from diabetes-induced damage through the inhibition of the Notch pathway

Characterization of CD133(+)/CD44(+) human prostate cancer stem cells with ATR-FTIR spectroscopy

###EgeUn###Current cancer treatments destroy the tumor mass but cannot prevent the recurrence of cancer. The heterogeneous structure of the tumor mass includes cancer stem cells that are responsible for tumor relapse, treatment resistance, invasion and metastasis. The biology of these cells is still not fully understood; therefore, effective treatments cannot be developed sufficiently. Herein, attenuated total reflection- Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, combined with unsupervised multivariate analysis, was applied to prostate cancer stem cells (CSCs), non-stem cancer cells (non-CSCs) and normal prostate epithelial cells to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and features of CSCs, which are crucial to improving the target specific therapies. This work revealed the spectral differences in the cellular mechanisms and biochemical structures among three different cell types. Particularly, prostate CSCs exhibit differences in the lipid composition and dynamics when compared to other cell types. CSCs also harbor pronounced differences in their major cellular macromolecules, including differences in the protein amount and content (mainly a-helices), the abundance of nucleic acids (DNA/RNA), altered nucleic acid conformation and carbohydrate composition. Interestingly, macromolecules containing the CvO groups and negatively charged molecules having the COO-groups are abundant in prostate CSCs in comparison to prostate non-CSCs and normal prostate cells. Overall, this study demonstrates the potential use of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy as a powerful tool to obtain new insights into the understanding of the CSC features, which may provide new strategies for cancer treatment by selectively targeting the CSCs

Triptolide inhibits CD133(+)/CD44(+) colon cancer stem cell growth and migration through triggering apoptosis and represses epithelial-mesenchymal transition via downregulating expressions of snail, slug, and twist

TATAR, Cansu/0000-0002-1135-2840; Acikgoz, Eda/0000-0002-6772-3081WOS: 000505631600001PubMed: 31904143High recurrence and metastatic behavior patterns are the most important reasons for the failure of treatment strategies in patients with colon cancer. Cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are considered root of cancer, are thought to be associated with therapy resistance, relapse, and metastasis, and, therefore, targeting CSCs rather than the bulk population may be an effective approach. in cancer studies, there is an increasing interest in close friendship between epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and CSCs. Triptolide (TPL) isolated from Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii has important effects on the prevention of migration and metastasis as well as cytotoxic effect against cancer cells. the potential lethal efficacy of TPL on CSCs that is highly resistant to the drug is an unsolved mystery. Fundamentally, the present study basically aims to find answers to two questions: (a) is it possible to target colon CSCs with TPL? and (b) what are the mechanisms underlying TPL's potential to eliminate CSCs? Cytotoxic effects of TPL on CSCs were evaluated by WST-1 and Muse count and viability assays. Apoptosis assay and cell-cycle analysis were performed to investigate the inhibitory effect of TPL. Moreover, the effects of TPL on spheroid formation capacity, migration, and EMT processes, which are associated with CSC phenotype, were also investigated. the results revealed that TPL triggered cell death and apoptosis and altered cell cycle distribution. Moreover, TPL significantly reduced the snail slug and twist expressions associated with EMT. TPL has been shown to be effective in colon CSCs by in vitro experiments, and it might be a highly effective agent against colon cancer has been implicated in need of supporting in vivo and clinical studies

Metformin Eliminates CD133(high)/CD44(high) Prostate Cancer Stem Cells Via Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis

Objectives: Cancer stem cells (CSCs), a small subpopulation of tumors, are responsible for chemo-radioresistance, metastasis, and cancer recurrence. The main aim of the present study is to investigate the potential effects of metformin on prostate CSCs (PCSCs). Methods: Flow cytometry was used to isolate cells with co-expression of CD133 and CD44. Sorted PCSCs were treated with different concentrations of metformin to determine the effects of metformin on cell viability using MTT assay. The association of cells exposure to metformin with apoptotic cell death and caspase activity, as well as cell cycle, were performed using the Muse Cell Analyzer. Results: In our study, for the first time we demonstrated the anti-cancer effects of metformin on PCSCs. Our results revealed that treatment with metformin reduced cell viability in CD133(high)/CD44(high) cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Metformin significantly induced early apoptosis and triggered the activity of several caspases associated with the apoptotic process. Metformin significantly altered the cell cycle distribution in CD133(high)/CD44(high) cells, leading to G0/G1 phase arrest. Conclusion: The results of the study revealed that metformin triggers cell death and apoptosis and modulates cell cycle distribution in CD133(high)/CD44(high) PCSCS. The present study raises the possibility that metformin is a potential anti-cancer agent for targeting PCSCs

Lithium chloride has a biphasic effect on prostate cancer stem cells and a proportional effect on midkine levels

WOS: 000385579200110PubMed ID: 27703531Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most frequent type of cancer in men worldwide and the levels of differentiation growth factor midkine (MK) are increased in PCa. Cancer and/or the treatment process itself may lead to psychiatric disorders. Lithium chloride (LiCl) has anti-manic properties and has been used in cancer therapy; however, it has a queried safety profile. In addition, cancer stem cells are responsible for the heterogeneous phenotype of tumor cells; they are involved in progression, metastasis, recurrence and therapy resistance in various cancer types. The aims of the present study were to investigate the effect of different concentrations of LiCl on PCa stem cells (whether a shift from tumorigenic to non-tumorigenic cells occurs) and to determine if these results can be explained through changes in MK levels. Monolayer and spheroid cultures of human prostate stem cells and non-stem cells were incubated with low (1, 10 mu M) and high (100, 500 mu M) concentrations of LiCl for 72 h. Cell proliferation, apoptotic indices, MK levels and ultrastructure were evaluated. Cells stimulated with low concentrations showed high proliferation, low apoptotic indices, high MK levels and more healthy ultrastructure. Opposite results were obtained at high concentrations. Furthermore, stem cells were more sensitive to stimulation and more resistant to inhibition than non-stem cells. LiCl exhibited concentration-dependent effects on stem cell and non-stem cell groups. MK levels were not involved in the biphasic effect of LiCl; however, they were proportionally affected. To the best of our knowledge, the present study was the first to show the effect of LiCl on PCa stem cells through MK

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 inhibition in glioblastoma multiforme cells induces apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and changing biomolecular structure

WOS: 000453111700019PubMed ID: 30388586Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant and aggressive primary human brain tumors. The regulatory pathways of apoptosis are altered in GBMs, leading to a survival advantage of the tumor cells. Thus, identification of target molecules, which are effective in triggering of the cell death mechanisms in GBM, is an essential strategy for therapeutic purposes. Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) plays an important role in apoptosis, proliferation and cell cycle. This study focused on the effect of GSK-3 inhibitor IX in the GBM cells. Apoptosis induction was determined by Annexin-V assay, multicaspase activity and immunofluorescence analyses. Concentration-dependent effects of GSK-3 inhibitor IX on the cell cycle were also evaluated. Moreover, the effect of GSK inhibitor on the cellular biomolecules was assessed by using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Our assay results indicated that GSK-3 inhibitor IX induces apoptosis, resulting in a significant increase in the expression of caspase-3 and caspase-8 proteins. Cell cycle analyses revealed that GSK-3 inhibitor IX leads to dose -dependent G2/M-phase cell cycle arrest. Based on the FTIR data, treatment of GBM cells causes dysregulation in the carbohydrate metabolism and induces apoptotic cell death which was characterized by the spectral alterations in nucleic acids, an increment in the lipid amount with disordering state and compositional changes in the cellular proteins. These findings suggest that GSK-3 inhibitor IX exhibits anti-cancer effects by inducing apoptosis and changing biomolecular structure of membrane lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids and proteins, and thus, may be further evaluated as a potential effective candidate agent for the GBM combination therapies. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Immunohistochemical determination of mTOR pathway molecules in ovaries and uterus in rat estrous cycle stages

mTOR is a member of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway that participates in cell growth, proliferation, protein synthesis, transcription, angiogenesis, apoptosis and autophagy. mTOR and MAPK pahways are two important key signal pathways which are related to each other. We investigated the role of mTOR and other signaling molecules in rat ovaries and uteruses in stages of the estrous cycle. Young adult female rats were divided into four groups as proestrous, estrous, metestrous and diestrous according to vaginal smears. Immunohistochemical staining of mTORC1, IGF1, PI3K, pAKT1/2/3, ERK1 and pERK1/2 was performed and pAKT1/2/3 and ERK1 were also analyzed using western blotting on ovarian and uterine tissue samples. According to our results, PI3K/Akt/ mTOR and ERK/pERK showed an increase in the rat ovulation period. When all the groups were evaluated the immunoreactivities for all of the antibodies were detected in the oocytes, granulosa and theca cells, corpus luteum and stroma of ovary and lamina propria, surface and glandular epithelium of uterus with the strongest observed with anti-ERK1 antibody and then with a decreasing trend with anti-mTORC1, anti-pAkt1/2/3, anti-IGF1, anti-PI3K and anti-pERK1/2 antibodies in the proestrus and estrus stages. Differently from other parts of the ovary, highest antibody expression in the corpus luteum was observed in the metestrous stage. Moreover, the existence of pAKT1/2/3 and ERK1 proteins was confirmed with the Western blotting technique. We suggest that mTOR and mTOR-related ERK signaling molecules may participate in the rat ovulation process

Different doses of radiation on agar colony forming development in C6 glioma cells: Assessment by thymidine labeling index, and bromodeoxyuridine labeling index

WOS: 000254582600002Objective: Gliomas are relatively frequent in adults, and are among the most malignant primary brain tumors. Glioblastoma. multiforme, like many other tumors that exhibit radiation sensitivity in vitro, seems to be very resistant to radiation in vivo, thus suggesting that irradiation may not be a rate-limiting factor for malignant glioma tumor growth. In this study, we aimed to determine the optimal dose of radiation in C6 glioma colony forming assay, which is a valuable tool for antitumor treatment screening. Material and Methods: 10(5) cell/lamella colony forming cells were radiated with 200 cGy, 400 cGy, 800 cGy and 1600 cGy for 10 minutes. Radiosensitivity was measured systematically 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours after the radiation by three methods: soft-agar bilayer assay, thymidinE incorporation, and bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation. Results: The soft-agar bilayer assay, which assessed the colony-forming units, showed that the number of colonies in the control group (609, 3 +/- 86.8) were decreased after 200 cGy (8.3 +/- 3.6) and 400 cGy (7.2 +/- 4.3). No colony was detected in 800 cGy and 1600 cGy irradiated cells [3H] Thymidine incorporation was more prominent with higher doses of radiation. BrdU incorporation revealed that even at low doses (200 cGy) of radiation there was a significant decrease of cell proliferation. On higher doses like 1600 cGy it was more prominent. Conclusion: Cell survival, doubling time, and cell phases are parameters of growth kinetics, and the results suggest that C6 glioma cells are radiosensitive and are virtually affected by all radiation doses in our experiment even 200 cGy at 24 hours. Besides, colony forming assay with thymidine labeling index, and BrdU labeling index may be used as new methods for determining radiotherapy doses in clinical applications