The Investigation of Effects of Quercetin and Its Combination with Cisplatin on Malignant Mesothelioma Cells In Vitro

Malignant Mesothelioma (MM) is an aggressive and lethal tumour of the serosal surfaces with poor prognosis. In this study, we have investigated the antiproliferative effect of Quercetin (QU) and its combination with Cisplatin (CIS) on SPC212 and SPC111 cell lines. Our experiments showed that QU significantly reduced the proliferation of cell lines, altered the cell cycle distribution, and increased the level of Caspase 9 (C9) and Caspase 3 (C3) in concentration and time-dependent manner. Additionally, the combination of QU + CIS was found more effective when compared with individual treatment of agents

Antiplatelet antibodies and their correlation with clinical findings in childhood immune thrombocytopenic purpura

The demonstration of antiplatelet antibodies (PAIgG, PAIgM) and decreased detection of platelet surface antigens (CD41, CD61, CD42b) in children with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) have a diagnostic role. This study was conducted to determine whether these parameters differed in acute and chronic ITP. Chronic ITP was defined as thrombocytopenia persisting for more than 6 months from the onset of illness. A total of 80 subjects were divided into three groups: group 1 included 39 patients with acute ITP; group 2 included 31 patients with chronic ITP, and group 3 included 10 healthy children. At diagnosis, blood samples were obtained for platelet count, mean platelet volume, plateletcrit and platelet distribution width along with platelet surface antigens and antiplatelet immunoglobulins. We found that platelet surface antigens were significantly decreased in both acute and chronic ITP when compared to the control group (p = 0.001). In contrast, PAIgG was increased in acute and chronic ITP patients compared to the control group. PAIgM was significantly higher in acute ITP. We conclude that decreased platelet surface antigens and increased antiplatelet antibodies are observed in both acute and chronic ITP. In patients with chronic progress, a relatively lower level of PAIgM can be identified. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

Spectrophotometric determination of leukocytes in blood

The determination of leukocyte concentration in human blood depending on the detection of oxidized o-dianisidine in acidic solution is studied. The oxidation of o-dianisidine was carried out by peroxidase enzymes found in leukocytes. The reaction was stopped by the addition of 4N H2SO4 to the solution, and a very stable, colored o-dianisidine derivative was obtained. The calibration graph was plotted with the recorded absorbance values at 400 nm assigned to the y-axis, and leukocyte counts in 1-mL blood samples to the x-axis. The equation of the calibration graph was y=0.0025x+0.0904, with a correlation coefficient of R=0.994. The coefficient of variation and P-value of the method were 4.00% and 0.05%, respectively. (C) 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc