Povećanje letalnog učinka bleomicina na stanice HeLa i V79 s pomoću pčelinjeg otrova

This study investigated possible growth-inhibiting effects of bee venom applied alone or in combination with a cytotoxic drug bleomycin on HeLa and V79 cells in vitro based on clone formation, cell counting, and apoptosis. Melittin, the key component of bee venom, is a potent inhibitor of calmodulin activity, and also a potent inhibitor cell growth and clonogenicity. Intracellular accumulation of melittin correlates with the cytotoxicity of antitumour agents. Previous studies indicated that some calcium antagonists and calmodulin inhibitors enhanced intracellular levels of antitumor agents by inhibiting their outward transport. In this study, treatment of exponentially growing HeLa and V79 cells with bleomycin caused a dose-dependent decrease in cell survival due to DNA damage. This lethal effect was potentiated by adding a non-lethal dose of the bee venom. By preventing repair of damaged DNA, bee venom inhibited recovery from potentially lethal damage induced by bleomycin in V79 and HeLa cells. Apoptosis, necrosis, and lysis were presumed as possible mechanisms by which bee venom inhibited growth and clonogenicity of V79 cells. HeLa cells, on the other hand, showed greater resistance to bee venom. Our findings suggest that bee venom might find a therapeutic use in enhancing cytotoxicity of antitumour agent bleomycin.U uvjetima in vitro istražen je inhibitorni učinak pčelinjeg otrova, samog ili združenog s citostatikom bleomicinom, na rast stanica HeLa i V79. Rabljene su sljedeće metode: brojenje stanica, metoda klonskog rasta i apoptoza. Poznato je da neki antagonisti kalcija i kalmodulinski inhibitori povisuju unutarstaničnu razinu protutumorskih lijekova inhibirajući njihov prijenos iz stanice. Unutarstanična akumulacija melitina izravno povećava citotoksični učinak protutumorskog lijeka. Obrada stanica HeLa i V79 u eksponencijalnoj fazi rasta bleomicinom uzrokuje oštećenje DNA ovisno o dozi te smanjenje broja živih stanica. Uočeno je da se letalni učinak bleomicina može pojačati dodatkom neletalne doze pčelinjeg otrova. Pčelinji otrov pritom inhibira popravak nastalih oštećenja u stanicama HeLa i V79 te sprječava oporavak stanica tretiranih bleomicinom. Apoptoza, nekroza i liza mogući su mehanizmi kojima pčelinji otrov inhibira rast i stvaranje kolonija stanica V79, dok HeLa-stanice pokazuju pojačanu otpornost na pčelinji otrov. Istraživanje također potvrđuje mogućnost uporabe pčelinjeg otrova u povećanju citotoksičnosti bleomicina

Treatment Outcomes and Associated Factors among Tuberculosis Patients from Selected Rural Eastern Cape Hospitals: An Ambidirectional Study

An essential metric for determining the efficacy of tuberculosis (TB) control programs is the evaluation of TB treatment outcomes; this study was conducted to investigate treatment outcomes and associated factors among tuberculosis patients in rural areas of Eastern Cape, South Africa. Assessing treatment outcomes is fundamental to facilitating the End TB Strategy’s set target. Clinic records from 457 patients with DR-TB were examined for data collection while 101 patients were followed up prospectively. Data were analyzed using Stata version 17.0. The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were calculated to check the association between variables. p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Of the 427 participants, 65.8% had successful treatment whilst 34.2% had unsuccessful TB treatment. A total of 61.2% and 39% of the HIV-positive and HIV-negative participants had a successful TB treatment whilst 66% and 34% of both HIV-negative and positive participants had unsuccessful TB treatment. From the 101 patients that were followed up, smokers took longer to have treatment outcomes compared to non-smokers. In the study with HIV/TB co-infection, men predominated. HIV and tuberculosis co-infection made therapy difficult with unfavorable effects on TB management. The treatment success rate (65.8%) was lower than the WHO threshold standard with a high proportion of patients being lost to the follow up. The co-infection of tuberculosis and HIV resulted in undesirable treatment outcomes. Strengthening TB surveillance and control is recommended