A polyamine-deficient diet prevents oxaliplatin-induced acute cold and mechanical hypersensitivity in rats.

Background: Oxaliplatin is an anticancer drug used for the treatment of advanced colorectal cancer, but it can also cause painful peripheral neuropathies. The pathophysiology of these neuropathies has not been yet fully elucidated, but may involve spinal N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, particularly the NR2B subunit. As polyamines are positive modulators of NMDA-NR2B receptors and mainly originate from dietary intake, the modulation of polyamines intake could represent an interesting way to prevent/modulate neuropathic pain symptoms by opposing glutamate neurotransmission.

Polyamine reduced diet (PRD) nutrition therapy in hormone refractory prostate cancer patients.

Background: Reducing polyamine uptake by selecting low polyamine-containing foodstuffs and reducing bacterial gut production can improve performance status and pain control in hormone refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) patients. Long term PRD observance and tolerance were assessed. Cancer specific survival was studied in function of PRD and time of PRD initiation.

Delayed aversive effects of high-dose fentanyl. Prevention by a polyamine-deficient diet.

The present study aimed to examine the effects of an acute administration of the mu-opioid receptor fentanyl on affect as assessed by place-conditioning procedure in rats. We determined the affective properties of fentanyl not only immediately following its administration, but also 24h later. Experiments were performed using the dose of fentanyl (240 gamma/kg; four injections of 60 gamma/(ml kg) every 15 min, subcutaneously) for which secondary hyperalgesia has been previously described.

Polyamine deficient diet to relieve pain hypersensitivity.

There is a compelling body of evidence that N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (NMDA-R) play a critical role in the development and maintenance of pain hypersensitivity. However, long-term treatments with NMDA-R antagonists are limited by unacceptable side effects. Since polyamines modulate the functioning of NMDA-R and mainly originate from normal dietary intake and bacterial metabolism in the gut, we developed a nutritional therapy based on dietary polyamine deficiency.

1-O-alkylglycerols reduce the stimulating effects of bFGF on endothelial cell proliferation in vitro.

1-O-alkylglycerols (alkyl-Gro) are natural etherlipids with multiple biological activities. We previously demonstrated that alkyl-Gro reduce endothelial permeability. Here we showed that alkyl-Gro reduced the basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (bFGF)-stimulated endothelial cell proliferation in a concentration-dependent manner.

Synthesis of 5-nitro-2-furancarbohydrazides and their cis-diamminedichloroplatinum complexes as bitopic and irreversible human thioredoxin reductase inhibitors.

The human selenoprotein thioredoxin reductase is involved in antioxidant defense and DNA synthesis. As increased thioredoxin reductase levels are associated with drug sensitivity to cisplatin and drug resistance in tumor cells, this enzyme represents a promising target for the development of cytostatic agents. To optimize the potential of the widely used cisplatin to inhibit the human thioredoxin reductase and therefore to overcome cisplatin resistance, we developed and synthesized four cis-diamminedichloroplatinum complexes of the lead 5-nitro-2-furancarbohydrazide 8 selected from high-throughput screening.

Three-dimensional reconstruction and morphologic measurements of human embryonic hearts: a new diagnostic and quantitative method applicable to fetuses younger than 13 weeks of gestation.

Improvements in the diagnosis of congenital malformations explain the increasing early termination of pregnancies. Before 13 weeks of gestation, an accurate in vivo anatomic diagnosis cannot currently be made in all fetuses with current imaging instrumentation. Anatomopathologic examinations remain the gold standard to make accurate diagnoses, although they reach limits between 9 and 13 weeks of gestation.

Antioxidative properties of natural polyamines and dimethylsilane analogues.

Structural analogues of natural polyamines, which contain a -Si(CH3)2 group in the central carbon chain, have previously been found to be cytotoxic to various tumor cell lines in vitro and to inhibit tumor cell growth in experimentally grafted animals. In the present study, the antioxidative properties of dimethylsilane polyamine analogues were analyzed in comparison with the natural polyamines. Reactivities of these various polyamines against superoxide anions (generated from the hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase reaction) and peroxyl radicals (produced from the thermal decomposition of water-soluble 2,2'-azo-bis-[2-amidinopropane] hydrochloride) were investigated.

Immunohistochemical analysis of tumor polyamines discriminates high-risk patients undergoing nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is known to display a wide variation in biological behavior and clinical outcome. Although usual bioclinical prognostic parameters (eg, nuclear grade, tumor stage) are to a certain extent useful in predicting the outcome of RCC after radical nephrectomy, they now appear to be insufficient. The polyamines (spermidine, spermine, and putrescine) are ubiquitous polycations that are essential for cell proliferation.

Natural alkylglycerols restrain growth and metastasis of grafted tumors in mice.

Alkylglycerols are natural etherlipids abundant in shark liver oil (SLO) in a diacylated form. SLO is known to have antitumor properties and was recently described as an inhibitor of tumor neovascularization. However, most studies did not discriminate between the respective activities of alkylglycerols and of fatty acids, which both have potent biological properties.

Polyamine modulation of iron uptake in CHO cells.

Polyamines are ubiquitous molecules, which, like iron, are essential for cell growth. All eukaryotic cells are equipped with a specific polyamine transport system (PTS). Polyamines have primary and secondary amino groups which chelate bivalent metal cations such as Fe and Cu.

Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry method to improve the determination of dansylated polyamines.

Determination of polyamine pools is still a step impossible to circumvent in studies aimed at determining the pathophysiological role of natural polyamines. In addition, polyamine measurement in biological fluids and tissues may have clinical relevance, especially in cancer patients. Among the wide panel of analytical methods developed for the quantification of polyamines, high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) separation of polyamines after derivatization with dansyl chloride remains the most commonly used method.

A simple assay for the measurement of plasma antioxidant status using spontaneous autoxidation of homovanillic acid.

Introduction: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to the development of pathophysiological processes, hence the increasing interest in modulating the antioxidant status of patient by nutritional or pharmacological intervention. Antioxidants act by preventing the formation of ROS (inhibitory effect) and/or by trapping these species (scavenger effect). We have developed a simple, sensitive, and reliable test to measure the total antioxidative efficiency of plasma or other biological fluids using microliter samples.

The effect of local anesthetics and amitriptyline on peroxidation in vivo in an inflammatory rat model: preliminary reports.

We studied the inhibition of peroxidation by local anesthetics in an inflammatory animal model. Inflammatory lipid peroxidation was assessed by the thiobarbituric assay in plasma from rats injected or not injected with carrageenan (Carra) and killed 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 h thereafter. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values in inflammatory animals were maximal 6 h after Carra administration.

Sciatic nerve block with bupivacaine-loaded microspheres prevents hyperalgesia in an inflammatory animal model.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different durations of local anesthetic neural blockade on hyperalgesia after carrageenan infiltration in a rat model.

Methods: Inflammation was obtained by injection of carrageenan in the righ hind paw. Hyperalgesia was determined by measuring the threshold of response to increasing mechanical stimuli on the contralateral and on the ipsilateral paw.

Alteration of intestinal putrescine uptake in tumour-bearing rats.

Polyamines are essential for rapidly dividing cells such as enterocytes and tumour cells. In both cells, polyamine pools are maintained by biosynthetic pathways along with active uptake systems. Because of their strategic position, enterocytes play an important role in the trafficking of luminal polyamines.

(Z)-1,4-diamino-2-butene as a vector of boron, fluorine, or iodine for cancer therapy and imaging: synthesis and biological evaluation.

Polyamine vectors are attractive for tumor targeting. We envisaged (Z)-1,4-diamino-2-butene (Z-DAB), an unsaturated analogue of putrescine as vector of (10)B, (18)F and (131)I for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), and tumor imaging by positron emission tomography or scintigraphy respectively. In the present work, the synthesis and characterization of new derivatives of Z-DAB were reported.