Hyperbaric Oxygen Combined with 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Photodynamic Therapy Inhibited Human Squamous Cell Proliferation.

The photodynamic therapy (PDT) depends on the presence of molecular oxygen. Thus, the efficiency of PDT is limited in anoxic regions of tumor tissue and vascular shutdown. It is reported the use of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) may enhance the efficiency of PDT. However, there are rarely studies about utilizing HBO plus PDT for treatment with human squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Therefore, this study aimed to investigate and compare the therapeutic effect of combined therapy and PDT alone treatment. Multiple cellular and molecular biology techniques were used in the current study such as CCK-8, Western blotting, flow cytometry, monodansylcadaverine (MDC) staining and immunofluorescence assay. The results of combination index indicated that HBO combination with PDT synergistically inhibited A431 cells proliferation in vitro. In addition, we found that HBO significantly enhanced PDT-induced cell apoptosis via increasing the active caspase-3, active caspase-9, Apaf-1 and Bax levels and down-regulating Bcl-2. Meanwhile, the result of MDC and immunofluorescence assay confirmed that HBO increased PDT-induced autophagosome formation in A431 cells. Interestingly, autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) further increased combination-induced cell apoptosis by increasing the levels of active-caspase 9 and Apaf-1. Our results showed that HBO combined with PDT markedly induced A431 cells apoptosis and autophagy. Nevertheless, autophagy play a pro-survival role against apoptosis. Thus, HBO combination with PDT may constitute a promising approach to treat human squamous cell carcinoma in the future.

Oral administration of trace element magnesium significantly improving the cognition and locomotion in hepatic encephalopathy rats.

The therapeutic effects of iron, zinc and magnesium trace elements, as well as rifaximin were investigated and compared in HE rats. In this study, HE rats were treated with either ferrous sulfate (HE-Fe, 30 mg/kg/day), zinc sulfate (HE-Zn, 30 mg/kg/day), magnesium sulfate (HE-Mg, 50 mg/kg/day) or rifaximin (HE-Rf, 50 mg/kg/day), which was mixed with water and administered orally for 61 days. The Morris water maze (MWM) and open-field tests were used to evaluate cognitive and locomotor function. The blood ammonia levels before and after administration of the glutamine challenge test, manganese concentration and glutamine synthetase (GS) activity were measured. Significantly longer MWM escape latencies, less locomotor activity, higher blood ammonia levels, higher brain manganese concentrations and higher GS activity were observed in HE rats. However, HE-Mg and HE-Rf rats had significantly shorter MWM escape latencies, increased locomotor activity, lower blood ammonia, lower brain manganese concentrations and lower GS activity. Partial improvements were observed in HE-Fe and HE-Zn rats. The results indicated that oral administration of magnesium can significantly improve the cognitive and locomotor functions in HE rats by reducing the brain manganese concentration and regulating GS activity.