Vaccination with Brucella abortus recombinant in vivo-induced antigens reduces bacterial load and promotes clearance in a mouse model for infection.

Current vaccines used for the prevention of brucellosis are ineffective in inducing protective immunity in animals that are chronically infected with Brucella abortus, such as elk. Using a gene discovery approach, in vivo-induced antigen technology (IVIAT) on B. abortus, we previously identified ten loci that encode products up-regulated during infection in elk and consequently may play a role in virulence.

Progesterone facilitates cisplatin toxicity in epithelial ovarian cancer cells and xenografts.

Objectives: The underlying premise of these investigations was that the lipophilic hormone progesterone, which partitions into and (at relatively high concentrations) impedes the fluid mechanics of the plasmalemma, would perturb integral associations between membrane lipids and exporter pumps that otherwise confer drug resistance. That progesterone can affect susceptibility of ovarian adenocarcinoma cells and xenografts to cisplatin was tested.

Methods: The cisplatin-resistant human cell lines SKOV-3 and OVCAR-3 were treated for 24 hours with cisplatin (0.

Degradable cisplatin-releasing core-shell nanogels from zwitterionic poly(beta -aminoester)-graft-PEG for cancer chemotherapy.

Cisplatin conjugated onto macromolecules or loaded in micelles can be preferentially delivered to tumors to minimize its toxicity to healthy tissues and increase its drug efficacy. Herein, we report cisplatin-containing nanogels possibly useful for targeted delivery of cisplatin. Carboxylic acid-functionalized poly(beta -aminoester)graft-poly(ethylene glycol) copolymers were synthesized by cocondensation polymerization of piperazine with 2,2-bis(acryloxymethyl)propionic acid, PEG 2,2-bis(acryloxymethyl)propionate macromonomer (mPEG).

Anticancer efficacies of cisplatin-releasing pH-responsive nanoparticles.

The objective of these investigations was to test the hypothesis that a rapid cytoplasmic release profile from nanoparticles would potentiate the anticancer activity of cisplatin. Cisplatin-loaded nanoparticles with pH-responsive poly[2-(N,N-diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDEA) cores were synthesized from PDEA-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (PDEA-PEG) copolymer by using a solvent-displacement (acetone-water) method. Nanoparticles with pH-nonresponsive poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL) cores made from PCL-block-PEG (PCL-PEG) were used for comparison.

Effects of progesterone on ovarian tumorigenesis in xenografted mice.

Circumstantial evidence indicates that progestins reduce the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. We report that the tumorigenic capacity of human ovarian carcinoma (SKOV-3) cells inoculated into the peritoneal cavity of athymic mice is suppressed by pretreatment with subcutaneous progesterone-releasing pellets. Numbers of tumor implants on the intestines/mesentery and invasiveness into underlying host tissues were reduced at 6 weeks following exposure to progesterone.

Inhibitory effects of progesterone on plasma membrane fluidity and tumorigenic potential of ovarian epithelial cancer cells.

The lethality of common (surface) epithelial ovarian cancer is contingent on its metastatic capacity. Dissemination of the neoplasia throughout the abdominal cavity has been associated with secretion of proteolytic enzymes from vesicles shed by ovarian cancer cells. We report that the lipophilic steroid hormone progesterone decreases the fluid dynamics of plasma membranes of human SKOV-3 adenocarcinoma cells.