Identification of novel genes involved in the synergistic antitumor effect of caffeine in osteosarcoma cells using cDNA macroarray.

Background: Caffeine enhances the cytocidal effects of DNA-damaging agents. This study investigated genes involved in the synergistic effect of caffeine on osteosarcoma cells using gene-profiling analysis.

Materials And Methods: Sensitivity to cisplatin and the synergistic effect of caffeine were evaluated in five osteosarcoma cell lines with different p53 gene status.

Apoptosis in young rats with adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy--comparison with pirarubicin, a new anthracycline derivative.

In a previous study, we demonstrated that apoptosis in rats with adriamycin (ADR)-induced cardiomyopathy occurred through a Fas-dependent pathway. Pirarubicin, a new anthracycline derivative, seems to have a lower cardiotoxicity than ADR. To investigate whether pirarubicin has a lower chronic cardiotoxicity compared with ADR, ADR or pirarubicin were injected weekly for 8 wk into young Wister rats via the tail vein.