Antiproliferative activity of Farnesol in HeLa cervical cancer cells is mediated via apoptosis induction, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΛΨm) and PI3K/Akt signalling pathway.

PURPOSE: Cervical cancer remains the most gruesome health problem in women worldwide as it ranks third in incidence. Despite recent developments in the treatment options of cervical cancer, the survival of patients not fit for surgical treatment rather remains poor. The main purpose of the current research was to determine the anticancer effect of farnesol in HeLa human cervical cancer cells together with studying its impact on apoptosis induction, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and PI3K/Akt signalling cascade. METHODS: Cell viability was estimated by MTT assay while clonogenic assay was used to assess the effects on colony formation tendency in these cells. Fluorescence microscopy indicated apoptosis induction while flow cytometry showed the farnesol effects on the loss of MMP. RESULTS: Farnesol exerted both dose and time-dependent antiproliferative effects on cervical cancer cells with IC50 values of 33.5, 23.8 and 17.6 µM at 24, 48 and 72 hrs time intervals, respectively. Colony formation of HeLa cells was considerably affected in a dose-dependent manner with the addition of farnesol to the cell culture. Farnesol-treated cells mostly emitted orange fluorescence indicating apoptotic cell death and this effect increased with increasing dose of the compound. Furthermore, farnesol induced considerable reduction in the number of cells with depolarized mitochondria corresponding to a reduction of MMP. With increase in the dosage of farnesol, there was a noticeable decrease in the expression levels of PI3K, p-PI3K and p-Akt proteins. CONCLUSIONS: In brief, this study showed that farnesol -a naturally occurring sesquiterpene- exerts powerful antiproliferative activity via apoptosis induction, loss of MMP and downregulation of the expression levels of PI3K, p-PI3K and p-Akt proteins.

Advances in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy by modulating gut microbiota with traditional Chinese medicine.

Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is one of the strongest risk factors for diabetic foot ulcers (neuropathic ulcerations) and the existing ulcers may further deteriorate due to the damage to sensory neurons. Moreover, the resulting numbness in the limbs causes difficulty in discovering these ulcerations in a short time. DPN is associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compounds such as Shenqi Dihuang Decoction, Huangkui Capsules and Qidi Tangshen Granules can reduce the clinical symptoms of diabetic nephropathy by modulating gut microbiota. The current review discusses whether TCM compounds can reduce the risk of DPN by improving gut mic-robiota.

Evaluation of Closed System Transfer Devices in Preventing Chemotherapy Agents Contamination During Compounding Process-A Single and Comparative Study in China.

Aim: We performed a comparative study to investigate the efficacy of closed system transfer devices (CSTDs) on the safe handling of injectable hazardous drugs (HDs). Methods: The exposure assessments of cyclophosphamide and cytarabine were performed under traditional or CSTDs. For preparation activity, chemotherapy contamination samples on protective equipment (such as gloves and masks) were collected. The contamination analysis was performed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). A 6-item form was distributed monthly (form M1-M6, total 6 months) to assess the pharmacists' experience on ergonomics, encumbrance, and safety impression. Results: Totally, 96 wiping samples were collected throughout the study. The numbers of contaminated cyclophosphamide samples reduced under CSTD were -37.8, -41.6, -67.7, -47.3, and -22.9% and cytarabine were -12.3, -12.1, -20.6, -69.6, and -56.7% for left countertop, right countertop, medial glass, air-intake vent and door handle, as compared to traditional devices. The reduction was similar to pharmacist devices, i.e., -48.2 and -50.0% for masks and gloves cyclophosphamide contamination, -18.0 and -42.4% for cytarabine. This novel system could improve contamination on dispensing table, transfer container, and dispensing basket by -16.6, -6.0, and -22.3% for cyclophosphamide and -28.5, -22.5, and -46.2% for cytarabine. A high level of satisfaction was consistently associated with ergonomics for CSTD during the compounding process. Meanwhile, a slightly decreased satisfaction on ergonomics, encumbrance, and safety impression was observed for the traditional system between M2 and M3. Conclusion: Closed system transfer devices are offering progressively more effective alternatives to traditional ones and consequently decrease chemotherapy exposure risk on isolator surfaces.

Analysis of the relationship between postoperative ophthalmic complications and dialysis time of pre-kidney transplantation.

AIM: To determine the influence of the dialysis time before kidney transplantation on postoperative ophthalmic complications. METHODS: One hundred and eighty three patients who were given the follow-up after kidney transplantation were selected, including 124 males and 59 females. The dialysis time before kidney transplantation was (2.9±2.1) years. Among them, there were 93 cases having cadaveric renal transplantation and 90 cases having living relative renal transplantation. The conditions of ophthalmic complications in all the patients after kidney transplantation were investigated and the incidence rate on ophthalmic complications having different dialysis time before kidney transplantation was given Chi-square test and Chi-square linear trend test. RESULTS: Among 183 patients with kidney transplantation, 95 patients (51.9%) had at least one ophthalmic complication and the rest 88 patients (48.1%) had no significant abnormality at the eye region. The most common ophthalmic complications were pinguecula/conjunctival degeneration (31 cases), the following was caligo lentis (24 cases). The main manifestations were grayish white granule and plaque turbidity occurred in posterior capsule at the posterior pole of crystaline lens. The angulus iridocornealis of 5 patients (5.3%) with cataract and glaucoma were all open-angle through the detection by gonioscope. Through visual field examination, there were 2 patients with paracentral scotoma, 2 patients with arcuate scotoma and one case with nasal step. CONCLUSION: The experiments verify that the incidence of glaucomawas relates to the dialysis time before kidney transplantation, and the incidence rate might be higher if the dialysis time is longer.