Sensitization of TRAIL-induced apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells by phytochemicals.

Aims: The present study investigated and compared the potential chemosensitizing effect of indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on TRAIL-induced apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) HepG2 cells as well as the possible mechanisms underlying these modulatory effects, particularly their effects on TRAIL death receptors (DR), Bcl-2 and c-FLIP proteins expression.

Main Methods: HepG2 cells were treated with different concentrations of TRAIL ranging from 3 to 400ng/ml for 24h. For studying the modulatory effects of the phytochemicals on TRAIL-induced apoptosis, I3C and EGCG were used at concentrations that inhibit only 5% of the cells which were found to be 110μM and 70μg/ml, respectively.

Antioxidant and anticarcinogenic effects of methanolic extract and volatile oil of fennel seeds (Foeniculum vulgare).

The present study evaluated the efficacy of fennel seed methanolic extract (FSME) for its antioxidant, cytotoxic, and antitumor activities and for its capacity to serve as a nontoxic radioprotector in Swiss albino mice. We also assessed the natural antioxidant compounds of FSME for use in industrial application. Cytotoxic activity of FSME was evaluated in a mouse model of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) and on different types of human cell lines in vitro.

Prognostic value of membrane type 1 and 2 matrix metalloproteinase expression and gelatinase A activity in bladder cancer.

Purpose: To analyze the behavior of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in their active state in patients with bladder cancer.

Method: A retrospective study of 50 patients with localized bladder cancer who underwent tumor resection between June 2006 and June 2007 at the National Cancer Institute in Cairo, Egypt was carried out. Tissue samples were collected and the expression of membrane type 1 (MT1) and type 2 (MT2) MMPs was determined by Western blotting.

Synthesis and antitumor screening of new 1,7-diphenyl-3-(1,3-disubstituted-1H-pyrazole-4-carbonyl)-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyrimidin-5(1H)-ones.

A new series of 3-(1,3-disubstituted-1H-pyrazole-4-carbonyl)-1,7-diphenyl-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyrimidin-5(1H)-ones 4 was prepared by reaction of the enaminone 2 with hydrazonoyl halides 3. The preliminary screening for antitumor activity of the synthesized compounds was carried out against Ehrlich Ascites Carcinoma tumor cells. The results revealed that the studied compounds 4 have low or no antitumor activity towards EAC tumor cells.

Cytotoxic effects of 2-methoxyestradiol in the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG2.

Aim: The study was designed to examine the potential cytotoxicity of 2-methoxyestradiol (2ME2), a natural 17beta-estradiol metabolite, in hepatocellular carcinoma and the possible underlying mechanisms for this cytotoxicity.

Methods: The cell line HepG2 was treated with different concentrations of 2ME2 for 48 and 72 h.

Results: Using the sulforhodamine B assay, HepG2 was sensitive to the cytotoxic effect of 2ME2.

The role of Curcuma longa against doxorubicin (adriamycin)-induced toxicity in rats.

The major component, called curcumin, of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) (Family Zingiberaceae) powder is responsible for its biological actions. The present study aimed to prove the protective effect of turmeric extract against doxorubicin (DOX)-induced cardiac, hepatic, and renal toxicity as evaluated in rats.

Propionyl-L-carnitine as potential protective agent against adriamycin-induced impairment of fatty acid beta-oxidation in isolated heart mitochondria.

Propionyl-L-carnitine (PLC), a natural short-chain derivative of L-carnitine, has been tested in this study as a potential protective agent against adriamycin (ADR)-induced cardiotoxicity in isolated rat heart myocytes and mitochondria. In cardiac myocytes, ADR (0.5 mM) caused a significant (70%) inhibition of palmitate oxidation, whereas, PLC (5 mM) induced a significant (49%) stimulation.

Acute and chronic effects of adriamycin on fatty acid oxidation in isolated cardiac myocytes.

This study was designed to determine if acute (in vitro) or chronic (in vivo) adriamycin inhibits cardiac fatty acid oxidation and if so at what sites in the fatty acid oxidation pathway. In addition, the role of L-carnitine in reversing or preventing this effect was examined. We determined the effects of adriamycin in the presence or absence of L-carnitine on the oxidation of the metabolic substrates [1-14C]palmitate.

Pharmacokinetic profile of methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil in normal and bilharzial-infested mice.

The pharmacokinetics of two commonly used anticancer drugs, methotrexate (MTX) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), were investigated in normal and bilharzial-infested mice. Liver glucose-6-phosphatase activity and antipyrine clearance were used as parameters of liver function. Liver glucose-6-phosphatase activity was significantly reduced in bilharzial-infested mice compared with the normal controls.

Identification of a previously unknown compound as 2'-deoxycytidine found in the plasma of breast cancer patients under combined chemotherapy.

In an attempt to find an end-point for cancer chemotherapy, this study was designed to measure the adenine compounds in the plasma of breast cancer patients using HPLC with a selective reagent for adenine bases. The patients were treated by chemotherapy using cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil. Blood was collected in tubes containing EDTA, the plasma separated by centrifugation and analysed by HPLC.

Hyperthermic potentiation of cisplatin cytotoxicity on solid Ehrlich carcinoma.

Background: Hyperthermia produces marked effects on many biochemical parameters of tumor cells and has been reported to potentiate the effect of many drugs. We therefore evaluated the possible synergistic effect between hyperthermia and cisplatin against solid Ehrlich carcinoma. The study was based on the measurement of some biologic characteristics in tumor tissues, namely: DNA, RNA, and protein content and their rate of synthesis as parameters for nuclear damage; total lipids and cholesterol as parameters for membrane damage; acid-phosphatase and acid-ribonuclease as parameters for lysosomal damage; and tumor volume as a direct parameter for tumor growth.

Distribution and toxicity of 5-fluorouracil after intraperitoneal and anal submucosal administration.

The correlation of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) distribution and its toxicity had been investigated in Albino rats. H3-5-FU was administrated either by intraperitoneal (I.P.

Effects of jurak smoke condensate on enzyme activity of the mouse.

The effect of jurak smokes condensate on the activities of alkaline phosphatase, gluoce-6-phosphatase, 5'-nucleotidase, and cholinesterase of mouse liver and small intestine was investigated. Jurak smoke condesate was administered orally by stomach tube five times weekly over a three-month period. Fifteen animals were used at 1, 2, and 3 months after the start of the administration, with 5 animals killed on days 1, 5, and 9, and the liver and small intestine removed for enzyme assays.

Potentiation of therapeutic effect of methanesulphonate and protection against its organ cytotoxicity by vitamin C in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma bearing mice.

The effect of vitamin C upon the therapeutic index and side effects produced by methanesulfonate of aminoglycols (drug 864T, NSC 140117) had been evaluated in a laboratory system. The antitumor action of 864T, vitamin C and their combination were evaluated in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cells in vivo. Tissue toxicity was assessed using liver and intestinal DNA, RNA, protein contents and their synthesis as parameters.

Escherichia coli infection of the urinary bladder: induction of tumours in rats receiving nitrosamine precursors and augmentation of bladder carcinogenesis by N-nitrosobutyl (4-hydroxybutyl)amine.

Experimental introduction of Escherichia coli type 04 into the subserosa of the urinary bladder of female Fischer 344 rats produced chronic bacterial infection in more than 90% of animals. Groups of rats with bacterial infection were given sodium nitrate and either piperazine (Group 1) or dibutylamine (Group 2) in the drinking-water. Control, noninfected animals received nitrate and either piperazine (Group 3) or dibutylamine (Group 4).

Anal submucosal injection: a new route for drug administration in pelvic malignancies. Part I. Experimental study of misonidazole distribution in serum and tissues, with special reference to urinary bladder. Preliminary report.

The anal and oral administration routes were compared in 30 rats to study the distribution of misonidazole, a radiation sensitizer, in the serum and tissues with special reference to the urinary bladder. 14C-labelled misonidazole was administered in a dose of 0.2 ml water/100 gm body weight containing 1 mu Ci misonidazole.

Serum estrogen level in Egyptian breast cancer patients.

In menstruating 20-29 year old breast cancer patients, the total estrogen level showed a significant increase in the early follicular phase compared to normal healthy subjects. Such a difference was not observed in 30-45 year-old patients. A nonsignificant decrease was observed in the estradiol level of premenopausal breast cancer patients compared to normal healthy subjects.

Sensitive fluorimetry of adenine-containing compounds with high-performance liquid chromatography.

A definitive method to determine adenine compounds simultaneously was established by introducing a new fluorescent reagent into high-performance liquid chromatography. Bromoacetaldehyde was the best reagent among the haloacetaldehydes examined. A quantitative reaction was obtained even for unstable ADP and ATP.

Experience in the radical radiotherapy of cancer in the bilharzial bladder: the use of misonidazole.

The results of application of a protracted split-course radiotherapy regimen in T3 carcinoma in the bilharzial bladder are presented. A total dose of 70 Gy spread over 61 days was divided into four courses separated by gaps of 1, 2 and 1 week, respectively. Each of the first three sessions comprised eight fractions, 2.

The use of misonidazole in association with a three-fractions per day regimen in advanced head and neck epidermoid cancer. A pilot study.

Twenty-one patients with Stage III or IV head and neck epidermoid cancer were treated by a three-fractions per day radiotherapy regime plus misonidazole (MIS). An initial course of 45 Gy was used, spread over 12 days and divided into 30 fractions 1.5 Gy each with a 3-hour interval between fractions.

Effect of new anticancer methanesulfonates on different biochemical parameters of mouse liver.

The comparative effect to two chemically related new synthesized anticancer drugs namely 3,3'-(methylimino) di(l-propanol)dimethanesulfonate(ester)diphenyl disulfonate, No. 838 D (NSC, 140-115) and 3,3' iminodi-l-propanol dimethanesulfonate(ester)p-toluene disulfonate, No. 864 T (NSC, 140-117), on liver DNA, RNA, lipids and glucose-6-phosphatase, after single 100 mg i.

The topical use of misonidazole in bladder cancer.

Penetration studies of MIS after intravesical administration showed adequate concentrations with a gradient across the tumor. After instillation of 2.5 g in 50 ml water the concentration in the deep parts of the tumor amounted to about 100 microgram per ml.

A study on the etiological factors of bilharzial bladder cancer in Egypt: 4. beta-carotene and vitamin A level in serum.

The possible role of vitamin A in the pathogenesis of bilharzial bladder cancer among Egyptians, particularly as it relates to the histopathologic tumor type, was investigated. Bilharzial patients and bladder cancer patients with squamous cell carcinoma, the most prevalent type in Egypt, showed significantly lower levels of vitamin A than normal male subjects. In contrast bladder cancer patients with transitional cell carcinoma had levels that were not significantly different from normal male subjects.