[Apoptosis-reactivating agents for targeted anticancer therapy].

The current knowledge on molecular mechanisms of apoptosis is presented focusing on the key elements of the extrinsic death receptor pathway as well as the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway. Disregulation of apoptotic pathways is considered as a key factor in the survival of cancer cells in response to conventional chemotherapeutic drugs or radiation therapy. Substances that selectively reactivate apoptosis in malignant cells are the promising candidate anticancer drugs, which have now entered various phases of clinical trials.

[Detection of early apoptotic changes in cells in vitro using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy].

The technique of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) was used as the sensitive express method for early specific detection of the apoptotic cells. The technique allows recognition of the changes in signal intensities corresponding to methylene (CH2) and methyl (CH3) protons of the mobile lipid domains (MLD) and choline, which are characteristic of apoptotic rather than of necrotic cells. A strong linear correlation between MLD content (calculated as CH2/CH3 signal intensity ratio) and the number of apoptotic cells in Namalwa or MT4 cell lines has been shown for any inducer of apoptosis used in the study.

[Apoptosis of human malignant lymphoid NAMALWA cells induced by resveratrol and quercetin].

The effects of naturally-occuring polyphenols, resveratrol and quercetin, on cell viability and apoptosis were studied in Namalwa B-cell lymphoma line. Apoptotic cells were identified using DNA flow cytometric analysis and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The effects of the agents on the cell cycle kinetics and activation of caspase-3 were examined.

[Cytogenetic changes in the Namalwa cell line of human malignant lymphoma induced by inhibitors of DNA replication and synthesis].

Namalwa cells originating from the malignant human lymphoma have been analyzed cytogenetically upon short-time exposure to subtoxic doses of inhibitors of DNA replication and synthesis, either etoposide or fludarabine. The intact cells were characterized by the modal class of the chromosomes within the diploid range with the proportion of the aberrant cells amounting to 16.0 +/- 0.