Cystine supplementation rebalances the redox homeostasis of microenvironment in non-small cell lung cancer cells and reverses their resistance to docetaxel.

Continuous docetaxel (DTX) treatment of non-small cell lung cancer induces development of drug resistance, but the mechanism is poorly understood. In this study we performed metabolomics analysis to characterize the metabolic patterns of sensitive and resistant A549 non-small cell lung cancer cells (A549/DTX cells). We showed that the sensitive and resistant A549 cells exhibited distinct metabolic phenotypes: the resistant cells were characterized by an altered microenvironment of redox homeostasis with reduced glutathione and elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Triptolide induces Sertoli cell apoptosis in mice via ROS/JNK-dependent activation of the mitochondrial pathway and inhibition of Nrf2-mediated antioxidant response.

Triptolide (TP), an oxygenated diterpene, has a variety of beneficial pharmacodynamic activities but its clinical applications are restricted due to severe testicular injury. This study aimed to delineate the molecular mechanisms of TP-induced testicular injury in vitro and in vivo. TP (5-50000 nmol/L) dose-dependently decreased the viability of TM4 Sertoli cells with an IC value of 669.