Perceived Impact of a Longitudinal Leadership Program for All Pharmacy Students

Objective: To describe a longitudinal leadership program involving all students and report the perceived impact. Design: The program included a first year Leadership Interview, a third year Report of Leadership, and a fourth year Professional Business Meeting Attendance. Activities involved guided reflection. Assessment: Students (n=138) indicated the activities helped them recognize the importance of leadership and their leadership potential (e.g., 72.5% and 62.3% of students due to meeting attendance, respectively). Students participated in leadership activities that they would not have pursued otherwise, either in response to the activity (27.7% due to interview) or as a requirement of the activity (51.1% for leadership report). Students reported developing specific leadership skills through the activities. Most students planned to be involved in a district/regional (72.5%), state (84.1%), and national (51.4%) meeting in the five years following graduation. Conclusion: Students reported a positive impact on leadership perceptions and participation. The report is a preliminary step in the development and assessment of a longitudinal curricular initiative involving all pharmacy students.   Type: Case Stud

Perceived Impact of a Longitudinal Leadership Program for All Pharmacy Students

Objective: To describe a longitudinal leadership program involving all students and report the perceived impact. Design: The program included a first year Leadership Interview, a third year Report of Leadership, and a fourth year Professional Business Meeting Attendance. Activities involved guided reflection. Assessment: Students (n=138) indicated the activities helped them recognize the importance of leadership and their leadership potential (e.g., 72.5% and 62.3% of students due to meeting attendance, respectively). Students participated in leadership activities that they would not have pursued otherwise, either in response to the activity (27.7% due to interview) or as a requirement of the activity (51.1% for leadership report). Students reported developing specific leadership skills through the activities. Most students planned to be involved in a district/regional (72.5%), state (84.1%), and national (51.4%) meeting in the five years following graduation. Conclusion: Students reported a positive impact on leadership perceptions and participation. The report is a preliminary step in the development and assessment of a longitudinal curricular initiative involving all pharmacy students.   Type: Case Stud

The Flavonoid Metabolite 2,4,6-Trihydroxybenzoic Acid Is a CDK Inhibitor and an Anti-Proliferative Agent: A Potential Role in Cancer Prevention

Flavonoids have emerged as promising compounds capable of preventing colorectal cancer (CRC) due to their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It is hypothesized that the metabolites of flavonoids are primarily responsible for the observed anti-cancer effects owing to the unstable nature of the parent compounds and their degradation by colonic microflora. In this study, we investigated the ability of one metabolite, 2,4,6-trihydroxybenzoic acid (2,4,6-THBA) to inhibit Cyclin Dependent Kinase (CDK) activity and cancer cell proliferation. Using in vitro kinase assays, we demonstrated that 2,4,6-THBA dose-dependently inhibited CDKs 1, 2 and 4 and in silico studies identified key amino acids involved in these interactions. Interestingly, no significant CDK inhibition was observed with the structurally related compounds 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid (3,4,5-THBA) and phloroglucinol, suggesting that orientation of the functional groups and specific amino acid interactions may play a role in inhibition. We showed that cellular uptake of 2,4,6-THBA required the expression of functional SLC5A8, a monocarboxylic acid transporter. Consistent with this, in cells expressing functional SLC5A8, 2,4,6-THBA induced CDK inhibitory proteins p21Cip1 and p27Kip1 and inhibited cell proliferation. These findings, for the first time, suggest that the flavonoid metabolite 2,4,6-THBA may mediate its effects through a CDK- and SLC5A8-dependent pathway contributing to the prevention of CRC

Effects of glutathione reductase inhibition on cellular thiol redox state and related systems

Photograph used for a newspaper owned by the Oklahoma Publishing Company. Caption: "(Photo of large cloud of dust coming up from the ground, a 30+ story building just behind, and more. )

Microtubule <it>S</it>-glutathionylation as a potential approach for antimitotic agents

Abstract Background Microtubules have been one of the most effective targets for the development of anticancer agents. Cancer cells treated by these agents are characterized by cell arrest at G2/M phase. Microtubule-targeting drugs are, therefore, referred to as antimitotic agents. However, the clinical application of the current antimitotic drugs is hampered by emerging drug resistance which is the major cause of cancer treatment failure. The clinical success of antimitotic drugs and emerging drug resistance has prompted a search for new antimitotic agents, especially those with novel mechanisms of action. The aim of this study was to determine whether microtubules can be S-glutathionylated in cancer cells and whether the glutathionylation will lead to microtubule dysfunction and cell growth inhibition. The study will determine whether microtubule S-glutathionylation can be a novel approach for antimitotic agents. Methods 2-Acetylamino-3-[4-(2-acetylamino-2-carboxyethylsulfanylcarbonylamino)phenyl carbamoylsulfanyl]propionic acid (2-AAPA) was used as a tool to induce microtubule S-glutathionylation. UACC-62 cells, a human melanoma cell line, were used as a cancer cell model. A pull-down assay with glutathione S-transferase (GST)-agarose beads followed by Western blot analysis was employed to confirm microtubule S-glutathionylation. Immunofluorescence microscopy using a mouse monoclonal anti-α-tubulin-FITC was used to study the effect of the S-glutathionylation on microtubule function; mainly polymerization and depolymerization. Flow cytometry was employed to examine the effect of the S-glutathionylation on cell cycle distribution and apoptosis. Cell morphological change was followed through the use of a Zeiss AXIO Observer A1 microscope. Cancer cell growth inhibition by 2-AAPA was investigated with ten human cancer cell lines. Results Our investigation demonstrated that cell morphology was changed and microtubules were S-glutathionylated in the presence of 2-AAPA in UACC-62 cells. Accordingly, microtubules were found depolymerized and cells were arrested at G2/M phase. The affected cells were found to undergo apoptosis. Cancer growth inhibition experiments demonstrated that the concentrations of 2-AAPA required to produce the effects on microtubules were compatible to the concentrations producing cancer cell growth inhibition. Conclusions The data from this investigation confirms that microtubule S-glutathionylation leads to microtubule dysfunction and cell growth inhibition and can be a novel approach for developing antimitotic agents.</p