Tumor cell growth inhibition by several Annonaceous acetogenins in an in vitro disk diffusion assay.

The cell inhibition activities of several Annonaceous acetogenins, covering the three major structural classes of bis-adjacent, bis-non-adjacent, and single tetrahydrofuran (THF) ring compounds and their respective ketolactone rearrangement products, were tested in an in vitro disk diffusion assay against three murine (P388, PO3, and M17/Adr) and two human (H8 and H125) cancerous cell lines as well as a non-cancerous immortalized rat GI epithelial cell line (I18). The results demonstrate a dose-dependent inhibition of cancerous cell growth, while non-cancerous cell growth is not inhibited by the same dosages. All of the acetogenins, irrespective of their various structural types, inhibit the growth of adriamycin resistant tumor cells and non-resistant tumor cells at the same levels of potency. These results show that the Annonaceous acetogenins are an extremely potent class of compounds, and their inhibition of cell growth can be selective for cancerous cells and also effective for drug resistant cancer cells, while exhibiting only minimal toxicity to 'normal' non-cancerous cells.

Annocherin and (2,4)-cis- and trans-annocherinones, monotetrahydrofuran Annonaceous acetogenins with a C-7 carbonyl group from Annona cherimolia seeds.

The new cytotoxic monotetrahydrofuran Annonaceous acetogenins, annocherin (1) and a mixture of (2,4)-cis- and trans-annocherinones (2 and 3), were isolated from the bioactive methanolic extract of Annonacherimolia seeds. Compounds 1-3 each possess an unusual 7-carbonyl group. Their structures were established on the basis of chemical and spectral evidence. Compounds 1-3 showed significant toxicity in the brine shrimp lethality test and cytotoxicity for six human solid tumor cell lines, with selectivity for the renal cell line (A-498) at potencies equivalent to Adriamycin.

Effects of variation in physical effort on frontalis EMG activity.

The physiological mechanisms underlying forehead muscle biofeedback for stress reduction are not well understood. A common hypothesis considers the frontales to be "key muscles" uniquely indexing the degree of tension present in the general musculature. We tested this hypothesis under conditions ranging from relaxation to maximum physical effort. The hypothesis was not supported. Changes in forehead muscle activity were limited primarily to reflecting changes in head and neck muscle tension.

Application of cancer procoagulant as an early detection tumor marker.

BACKGROUND: In spite of many advances in the analytical reagents (antibodies), analytical systems, and the clinical application of tumor markers, the present markers do not detect early stage cancer. Preliminary data with an antigen specific to tumor tissue, cancer procoagulant (CP), suggest its possible role in the detection of early stage cancer. This study was aimed at determining the clinical use of CP as an early stage tumor marker. METHODS: An improved enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to measure CP concentration in serum. A panel of 817 blinded serum samples were examined from three groups of people: 573 cancer, 106 benign, and 139 normal. RESULTS: The sensitivity of all samples analyzed from cancer patients was 80%. The CP ELISA was able to detect ovarian, colon, and kidney cancer at a sensitivity greater than 85%; breast, prostate and small cell lung cancer was detected at a sensitivity of 80-85%. Particularly interesting was the observation that early stage cancers, regardless of site, were detected effectively. In some groups, the CP assay correctly identified 100% of the patients with stage I and II cancer. The assay was able to identify correctly noncancer patient sera at a specificity of 83% for those with benign disease and 82% for the normal individuals. CONCLUSIONS: The CP assay has potential as an aid in diagnosing early stage malignancies and thereby may significantly improve the survival rate of cancer patients.