Expression of two subtypes of human IFN-alpha in transgenic potato plants.

Plant expression systems have advantages over other in vitro expression systems in terms of low production costs and low risk of contamination by animal viruses or bacterial endotoxins. In this study, cDNA encoding two subtypes of human interferon-alpha2b and 8 (HuIFN-alpha2b and HuIFN-alpha8) were introduced into potato plants (Solanum tuberosum) using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transcription and translation of the inserted HuIFN-alpha cDNA were confirmed by Northern blot analysis and ELISA, respectively. Bioactivity of the products was assayed by inhibition of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) replication on a human amniotic cell line. However, because of the presence of substances in potato tissue extracts that were toxic to animal cells, successful demonstration of IFN bioactivity in the transformants was achieved only after removal of such substances by dialysis. The maximum level of IFN activity in plant extracts was 560 IU/g of tissue. These results indicated that the HuIFN-alpha gene introduced into the potato plant was correctly translated and transcribed in plant cells. This report for the first time shows that biologically active animal cytokines with potential pharmaceutical applications could be expressed in transgenic potato plants.

Expression of hMSH2 correlates with in vitro chemosensitivity to CDDP cytotoxicity in oral and oropharyngeal carcinoma.

We investigated the expression of hMSH2, a human mutS homologue from chromosome 2p, in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) by an immunohistochemical technique and performed tumor in vitro chemosensitivity testing. In 58 oral and oropharyngeal SCC, the hMSH2 positive score was inversely associated with tumor size, but not with other clinical parameters. Among five anticancer drugs (cisplatin (CDDP), 5-FU, peplomycin, mitomycin C and doxorubicin), only for CDDP was sensitivity to cytotoxicity correlated with the hMSH2 positive score. The susceptibility of hMSH2-positive tumors to CDDP killing was significantly higher than that of hMSH2-negative tumors. Immunohistochemical results regarding hMSH2 are promising in the evaluation of the sensitivity of cancer cells to CDDP cytotoxicity and enable one to select patients for adjuvant chemotherapy for oral and oropharyngeal SCC.

Enhancement of cisplatin sensitivity and platinum uptake by 40 degrees C hyperthermia in resistant cells.

We studied the cytotoxic and pharmacological properties of 40 degrees C hyperthermia and CDDP in CDDP-sensitive (IMC-3) and CDDP-resistant (IMC-3-DDP) human maxillary carcinoma cells. Heating at 40 degrees C alone caused almost no cell killing to IMC-3 and IMC-3-DDP cells. In both cell lines, the dose-dependent cytotoxicity of 2-h exposures to CDDP was increased at 40 degrees C in comparison to 37 degrees C. Heating at 40 degrees C also potentiated CDDP cytotoxicity in both IMC-3 and IMC-3-DDP cells with thermal chemoenhancement ratios (CER) of 1.48 and 1.94, respectively. The intracellular CDDP uptake level of IMC-3-DDP at 37 degrees C was significantly reduced compared with IMC-3 cells. At 40 degrees C, however, hyperthermia increased platinum accumulation by factors of 1.4 and 1.8 in IMC-3 and IMC-3-DDP cells, respectively. These findings indicated that CDDP sensitivity was hyperthermically chemopotentiated in CDDP-resistant variants rather than in the control clones. Thus, clinical cancer chemotherapy with CDDP may be improved by an appropriate combination with hyperthermia even at 40 degrees C.

Effects of sequence and temperature of hyperthermia and peplomycin on human pharyngeal carcinoma KB cells in vitro.

To maximize the interactive effect, we examined the time sequence of high (above 43 degrees C) or low (below 43 degrees C)-hyperthermia and peplomycin (PEP)(0.5 microgram/ml). Simultaneous or post-hyperthermic PEP treatment at 44 degrees C resulted in a slight synergistic effect with thermoenhancement ratios (TER) of 1.30 or 1.34, respectively. However, at 42 degrees C, maximal interaction was obtained (TER = 10.19) when KB cells were simultaneously heated with PEP. Furthermore, pre-treatment at 44 degrees C for 25 min or 42 degrees C for 4 h enhanced PEP cytotoxicity more than that of post-treatment at 44 degrees C for 25 min or 42 degrees C for 4 h, respectively. However, chemoenhancement ratios (CER) of pre-treatment at 44 degrees C for 25 min and at 42 degrees C for 4 h were 19.1 and 3.5, respectively, although the isothermic dose decreased the cell count to 60% in both cases. These results indicated that simultaneous or post-hyperthermic PEP treatment with high-hyperthermia, and simultaneous PEP treatment with low-hyperthermia, are the most effective means of PEP thermochemotherapy with hyperthermia.

Expression of a 32 kilodalton Theileria sergenti piroplasm surface protein by recombinant baculoviruses.

Previous studies detected a single amino acid substitution (Ala196 to Gly196) between cDNA clones encoding a 32 kDa antigen (p32) of Theileria sergenti (Chitose stock) obtained from a persistently infected calf. In this study, 2 different recombinant baculoviruses (pAc/p32-Ala196 and pAc/p32-Gly196) were constructed for the expression of p32. Molecular masses of the polypeptides produced in Spodoptera frugiperda cells infected with the recombinant baculoviruses were the same as that of authentic p32. pAc/p32-Ala196 produced additional polypeptides, with molecular masses higher than 32 kDa, which resulted from differential N-glycosylation as revealed by endo N-glycosidase treatment. The results indicate that a single amino acid substitution may lead to a conformational change in p32 which affected post-translational modification of recombinant products.

Pharmacological actions of "kyushin," a drug containing toad venom (3): Effects on experimentally induced arrhythmia.

The pharmacological effects of the toad venom-containing drug "kyushin" on aconitine- and thyroxine-induced arrhythmia in guinea pigs, on the conduction system in Langendorff preparations of rabbit hearts and on the autonomic nervous system in cats were studied. "kyushin" significantly inhibited the aconitine-induced arrhythmia after intraduodenal administration (i.d.) with 80 mg/kg, and the thyroxine-induced arrhythmia with 40 mg/kg i.d. Although "kyushin" itself did not affect the conduction system with 30 mg/ml of the maximal concentration being able to be prepared, bufalin and cinobufagin as constituents of toad venom produced inhibition with 0.3 mg/ml and 1 mg/ml, respectively. The decrease in heart rate induced by electrical stimulation to the parasympathetic nerve (vagus nerve) was potentiated by "kyushin" at 30 mg/kg i.d. The anti-arrhythmic effects of "kyushin" may be attributable to both possible inhibitory effect on the conduction system and potentiating effect on the parasympathetic nervous system.

[Pharmacological effects of Gosha-jinki-gan-ryo extract: effects on experimental diabetes].

Pharmacological effects of Gosha-jinki-gan-ryo extract (KJE) on experimental diabetes induced by cyproheptadine (CPH), aldose reductase activity, and experimental peripheral neuropathy were studied. The effects of KJE were compared with those of Hachimi-jio-gan-ryo extract (HJE). KJE at 417 mg/kg/day (5 times the daily dose in humans) and HJE at 367 mg/kg/day (5 times the daily dose in humans) significantly inhibited the decrease in glucose tolerance by CPH. KJE and HJE inhibited aldose reductase activity, when DL-glyceraldehyde was used as substrate, with IC50 values of 2.68 x 10(-5) g/ml and 4.45 x 10(-5) g/ml, respectively and when D-glucose was used as substrate, with IC50 values of 1.04 x 10(-4) g/ml and 1.55 x 10(-4) g/ml, respectively. KJE at 209 mg/kg/day (2.5 times the daily dose in humans) and HJE at 367 mg/kg/day significantly reduced peripheral neuropathy induced by crushing the sciatic nerve in rats. The potency of these effects of KJE was stronger than that of HJE, when a comparison was made on the basis of the daily dose.

[Pharmacological studies of reiousan which contains bezoar and ginseng: III. Effects on experimental cerebral ischemia].

Pharmacological effects of Reiousan, a crude drug preparation consisting of bezoar and ginseng, on experimental cerebral ischemia and anoxia were studied. After administration of Reiousan, the survival time of mice subjected to hypobaric hypoxia and the gasping duration of isolated rat head tended to increase. Reiousan inhibited all the following: lipid peroxides production in rat brain homogenate, tissue swelling induced by the xanthine-xanthine oxidase system in rat brain cortical slices, rat brain swelling induced by freezing, lipid peroxides production in the rat brain after ligation of bilateral common carotid arteries, and lipid peroxides production in Mongolian gerbil brain after reperfusion following ligation of bilateral common carotid arteries. These effects may result from antioxidant activity of bilirubin, a constituent of bezoar.

[Metabolic fate of bufalin in rats].

In an attempt to evaluate the metabolic fate of "Kyushin", which is a traditional medicine containing Toad venom, a 3H-labeled compound of bufalin, which is one of the main active components, has been synthesized. The metabolic fate of the 3H-bufalin was studied after its single and repeated oral administration in rats. After a single administration of the 3H-bufalin (20 micrograms/kg), the radioactivity in the blood reached a maximum level at 15 min. The radioactivity in the blood declined in a triphasic manner with half-life times of 18 min, 2.6 and 86 h. Within 24 h after the single administration, the excretion of the radioactivity into the urine and feces amounted to 1.3% and 81% of the administered dose, respectively. Tissue radioactivity was higher in the stomach, small intestine, liver, lung, kidney and pancreas, while the radioactivity in other tissues was lower than that in blood. Radioactivity disappeared rapidly from any tissues. In case of repeated administration for 14 d, the disposition of radioactivity was almost same as the result after a single dosing, and radioactivity scarcely remained in any tissues after the last administration.

[Metabolic fate of bufalin and cinobufagin].

In the course of study of the metabolic fate of "Kyushin", a traditional medicine containing toad venom, the metabolic fates of bufalin and cinobufagin, main constituents of toad venom, have been studied. Six metabolites were detected in the extracts from incubation mixture of rat liver slice with bufalin, and one main metabolite shown by mass spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to be 3 alpha-bufalin. Serum levels of bufalin and 3 alpha-bufalin were determined by HPLC after oral administration of 2000 micrograms/kg of bufalin, and both compounds appeared in the rat serum. On the other hand, only 3 alpha-bufalin appeared after administration of 20 or 200 micrograms/kg. 3 alpha-Bufalin levels increased dose dependently. Serum levels of cinobufagin and its metabolites and digitoxin were compared after repeated intravenous administration (5 h interval) of cinobufagin or digitoxin. Although digitoxin was accumulated in the rat serum, cinobufagin and its metabolites were not. Inhibitory activities of metabolites of bufalin and cinobufagin on (Na+ + K+)-adenosine triphosphatase were less than those of original compounds.