A safety investigation into topical effects of naproxen sodium on nasal epithelial cells and potential toxicity in local application.

OBJECTIVES: We examined how topically-applied naproxen sodium affects human nasal epitheliocytes in culture. METHODS: Samples of healthy human primary nasal epithelium (NE) harvested during septoplasty from volunteers without rhinosinusitis were incubated in cell culture. MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assays may be utilised when assessing cellular damage (toxicity), as evidenced by DNA fragmentation, nuclear condensation, alteration in the outer plasma membrane and cytoskeletal alteration. This was the method used in the study. Cultured epitheliocytes were incubated with naproxen sodium for 24 h at 37 °C. The MTT assay was then performed and the cells' morphology was examined by confocal microscopy. Additionally, cellular proliferation was assessed by the artificial scratch method followed by light microscopy. RESULTS: The results indicated that naproxen sodium does not cause any cytotoxic effects upon nasal epithelial cells when applied topically. There was no evidence indicating cytotoxicity on the nasal epitheliocytes in culture for the 24 h period over which the drug was applied. In particular, there was no alteration in cellular morphology, damage to the intracellular organelles structure or the cytoskeleton secondary to naproxen sodium. Furthermore, cellular proliferation occurred normally in these conditions, as on scratch test. CONCLUSION: Topical naproxen sodium may be used on nasal epithelial cells without inducing toxicity. This agent is therefore suitable, given its known anti-inflammatory effects, for use in patients suffering from diseases involving nasal and paranasal sinusal inflammation, including rhinosinusitis (both chronic and acute) and nasal polyposis which should be investigated. In the future, topical medication forms for nasal usage should be developed.

Toward stimulating apoptosis in human lung adenocarcinoma cells by novel nano-carmofur compound treatment.

Lung cancer is one of the common and most fatal diseases worldwide. It has a high incidence in both men and women, in Turkey. Current antineoplastic drugs are reported to have limitations such as narrow therapeutic index and selectivity, toxicity, and antiproliferative effects on cancer cells. Thus, this study was aimed to investigate the potential cytotoxic, antiproliferative and apoptosis-triggering effects of a newly developed SLN-Carmofur compound on human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells. The results of this study have shown that SLN-Carmofur significantly decreased the viability of A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner by short-time application. The IC50 value of the agent caused chromatin condensation, fragmentation of the nuclei, and holes on cytoskeleton; moreover, it altered the ultrastructure of the exposed cells with clear signs of apoptosis. Taken all our results together, it is indicated that SLN-Carmofur may be proposed for further research for drug development for cancer therapy, depending on the valuable potential in stimulating apoptosis in cancer cells.

Correction to: Characteristics of apoptosis induction in human breast cancer cells treated with a ceramidase inhibitor.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s10616-020-00436-1.].

Characteristics of apoptosis induction in human breast cancer cells treated with a ceramidase inhibitor.

Cancer is a complex disease with high mortality rates. Breast cancer is one of the most fatal diseases both for men and woman. Despite the positive developments on cancer treatment, a successful treatment agent/method has not been developed, yet. Recently, cancer research has been involved in sphingolipid metabolism. The key molecule here is ceramide. Ceramides mediate growth suppress, apoptosis and aging regulation. Ceramidases metabolize ceramide and decrease its level in cells and cause escape the death. Inhibition of ceramidases as new targets for cancer treatment is shown in the literature. Herein, we found that d-erythro-MAPP and its nanoparticle formulation, reduce the viability of MCF-7 cells in a dose-dependent manner with IC50 value of 4.4 µM, and 15.6 µM, respectively. Confocal and transmission electron microscopy results revealed apoptotic morphological and ultrastructural changes for both agents. Apoptosis and cell cycle arrest were supported by annexin-V, mitochondrial membrane potential changings and cell cycle analysis, respectively.