A study to evaluate herb-drug interaction underlying mechanisms: An investigation of ginsenosides attenuating the effect of warfarin on cardiovascular diseases.

Warfarin and ginseng have been widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. However, the clinical safety and effectiveness of herb-drug combination treatment are still controversial. Therefore, it is very essential to probe the interaction between warfarin and ginseng.

Nomograms for predicting survival in patients with metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma who undergo palliative gastrectomy.

Background: Recently, evidence has emerged that palliative gastrectomy in patients with stage IV gastric cancer may offer some survival benefits. However, the decision whether to perform primary tumor surgery remains challenging for surgeons, and investigations into models that are predictive of prognosis are scarce. Current study aimed to develop and validate prognostic nomograms for patients with metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma treated with palliative gastrectomy.

Copper-Catalyzed Radical Cascade Cyclization To Access 3-Sulfonated Indenones with the AIE Phenomenon.

An efficient copper-catalyzed radical cascade cyclization strategy was developed, by which a wide variety of 3-sulfonyl substituted indenones were prepared in one pot via reaction of 2-alkynylbenzonitriles with sulfonyl hydrazides in the presence of TBHP and CuI under mild reaction conditions. Much more importantly, the 3-sulfonyl indenones, synthesized through our newly developed copper-catalyzed radical cascade cyclization strategy, were found to own typical aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties, showing orange to red emission with large Stokes shift (more than 135 nm). In addition, such newly found AIEgens could be successfully used in live cell imaging, exhibiting excellent biocompatibility and application potential.

Phosphorus Radical-Initiated Cascade Reaction To Access 2-Phosphoryl-Substituted Quinoxalines.

An effective radical cascade cyclization strategy was developed, by which a wide range of 2-phosphoryl-substituted quinoxalines were prepared in one pot via reaction of ortho-diisocyanoarenes with diarylphosphine oxides in the presence of AgNO under mild reaction conditions.

PKM2, a potential target for regulating cancer.

Aberrated glucose metabolism is a key future of cancer cells. Unlike normal cells, tumor cells favor glycolysis even in the presence of sufficient oxygen. Pyruvate kinase (PK), a key glucose metabolic enzyme, converts phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) to pyruvate by transferring the high-energy phosphate group to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

Interferon-α adjuvant therapy decreases the recurrence of early clear cell renal cell carcinoma and improves the prognosis of Chinese patients.

The survival time of patients with early clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is fairly long, but 20% to 30% of patients with localized tumors experience relapse, and the effect of IFN-α on survival has not been well studied in patients with early ccRCC. In this study, 208 patients with early ccRCC were treated with surgery, and 54 of the patients received IFN-α as adjuvant therapy. The remaining 115 patients were treated with surgery but not with IFN-α therapy.

Melatonin, a novel selective ATF-6 inhibitor, induces human hepatoma cell apoptosis through COX-2 downregulation.

Aim: To clarify the mechanisms involved in the critical endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress initiating unfolded protein response pathway modified by melatonin.

Methods: Hepatoma cells, HepG2, were cultured . Flow cytometry and TUNEL assay were used to measure HepG2 cell apoptosis.

RICTOR expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and its clinical significance.

Esophageal cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world, and its incidence is the eighth highest; meanwhile, its fatality rate is the sixth highest. The PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway plays a required role in human cancer, including cell survival, metabolism and migration. As a kind of important scaffold protein in mTORC2, RICTOR has showed over-expression in several malignancies like melanoma and endometrial cancer.

Guggulsterone-induced apoptosis in cholangiocarcinoma cells through ROS/JNK signaling pathway.

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), the most common biliary tract malignancy, is arising from the bile duct epithelium with the global significantly increased morbidity and mortality. Here, we showed the effect of guggulsterone, a steroid found in the resin of the guggul plant, on human HuCC-T1 and RBE CCA cells. Exposure to various concentrations of guggulsterone for multiple action time resulted in significant apoptosis in the CCA cells via activating both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways.

Exosomes derived from gefitinib-treated EGFR-mutant lung cancer cells alter cisplatin sensitivity via up-regulating autophagy.

Several clinical trials indicate that concurrent administration of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs, such as gefitinib or erlotinib) with chemotherapy agents fails to improve overall survival in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. However, the precise mechanisms underlying the antagonistic effects remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role of exosomes in the antagonistic effects of concurrent administration of chemotherapy and TKIs.

Guggulsterone inhibits human cholangiocarcinoma Sk-ChA-1 and Mz-ChA-1 cell growth by inducing caspase-dependent apoptosis and downregulation of survivin and Bcl-2 expression.

Guggulsterone has recently been reported to demonstrate anti-tumor effects in a variety of cancers. The present study aims to investigate the biological roles and underlying mechanism of the action of guggulsterone in cholangiocarcinoma. The immortalized human cholangiocarcinoma Sk-ChA-1 and Mz-ChA-1 cell lines were treated with various concentrations of the isomer of guggulsterone, Z-guggulsterone.

Autophagy Inhibition Overcomes the Antagonistic Effect Between Gefitinib and Cisplatin in Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutant Non--Small-Cell Lung Cancer Cells.

Background: Four large clinical trials have shown that concurrent administration of an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), such as gefitinib or erlotinib, with chemotherapy agents does not improve overall survival (OS) in unselected patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the present study, the role of autophagy in the combination of gefitinib and cisplatin on EGFR-TKI-sensitive human lung cancer cell line was investigated. Moreover, whether simultaneous autophagy inhibition treatment increases the antitumor activity was explored.

Enhanced autophagic flux by endoplasmic reticulum stress in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells contributes to the maintenance of cell viability.

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and autophagy are important adaptive responses in eukaryotes. The aim of this study was to investigate the autophagic responses in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells under ER stress and the effect of autophagy on cell survival and death. The human HCC cell line HepG2 was stimulated with tunicamycin to induce ER stress.

Quantitative assessment of the association between miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism and gastrointestinal cancer risk.

Published data on the association between miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism and risk of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are inconsistent among studies. To clarify the association, we performed a comprehensive literature search and a meta-analysis. We searched multiple databases to identify genetic association studies investigating the effect of miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism on GI cancers with the last report up to January 18, 2012.

Paeonol inhibits tumor growth in gastric cancer in vitro and in vivo.

Aim: To investigate the anti-tumor effects of paeonol in gastric cancer cell proliferation and apoptosis in vitro and in vivo.

Methods: Murine gastric cancer cell line mouse forestomach carcinoma (MFC) or human gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901 was cultured in the presence or absence of paeonol. Cell proliferation was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, and cell cycle and apoptosis by flow cytometry and TUNEL staining.

Melatonin and doxorubicin synergistically induce cell apoptosis in human hepatoma cell lines.

Aim: To investigate whether melatonin has synergistic effects with doxorubicin in the growth-inhibition and apoptosis-induction of human hepatoma cell lines HepG2 and Bel-7402.

Methods: The synergism of melatonin and doxorubicin inhibited the cell growth and induced cell apoptosis in human hepatoma cell lines HepG2 and Bel-7402. Cell viability was analyzed by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay.