Probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus and L. casei mix sensitize colorectal tumoral cells to 5-fluorouracil-induced apoptosis.

To assess the potential of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Lactobacillus casei strains to increase the apoptosis of a colorectal cancer cell line in the presence of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), LS513 colorectal cancer cells were treated for 48 h with increasing concentrations of these lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the presence of 100 mu g/ml of 5-FU. In the presence of 10(8) CFU/ml of live LAB, the apoptotic efficacy of the 5-FU increased by 40%, and the phenomenon was dose dependent. Moreover, irradiation-inactivated LAB caused the same level of induction, whereas microwave-inactivated LAB reduced the apoptotic capacity of the 5-FU.

Effect of pre-conceptional external or internal irradiation of N5 male mice and the risk of leukemia in their offspring.

Male mice of the N5 strain were exposed to a unique external X-ray dose of 500 cGy, or to i.p. injections of tritiated water (HTO) over a 30 day period, which resulted in an estimated total internal exposure of 150 cGy.

Influence of lipid diets on the number of metastases and ganglioside content of H59 variant tumors.

We investigated the influence of the fatty acid composition of the diet on the number of hepatic metastases and the ganglioside profile of the primary tumor and metastases. C57BL/6 female mice were fed different diets containing either no fats (TEK) or 8% of fish oil (POL), linseed oil (LIN), safflower oil (SAF) or beef tallow (BT) and were injected subcutaneously in the dorsum with H59 cells, a variant of the Lewis lung carcinoma (3LLc) that metastasizes preferentially to the liver. The omega3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-rich diets (LIN and POL) elicited more metastases than the omega6 PUFA-rich (SAF), fat-free (TEK), or saturated fats (BT) diets.

N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine induces and modulates IL-1 and IL-6 in human PBMC.

N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP), a bacterial derivative, induces and modulates various cellular responses linked to inflammation. In this work we evaluated the impact of fMLP stimulation on three pro-inflammatory cytokines: IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta and IL-6. We found that fMLP induces the secretion of IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta and IL-6 in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).

Synergistic and selective stimulation of gelatinase B production in macrophages by lipopolysaccharide, trans-retinoic acid and CGP 41251, a protein kinase C regulator.

The production of gelatinase B by macrophages is relevant in the immunological and migratory functions of macrophages. CGP 41251, an inhibitor of protein kinase C (PKC), was found to stimulate the expression of gelatinase B in macrophages, as shown by the study of two different monocytic/macrophagic cell lines, mouse RAW 264.7 and human THP-1 cells.