Ethanol Withdrawal Alters the Oxidative State of the Heart Through AT1-Dependent Mechanisms.

AIMS: We investigated the cardiac effects of ethanol withdrawal and the possible role of AT1 receptors in such response. METHODS: Male Wistar rats were treated with increasing doses of ethanol (3 to 9%, vol./vol.) for 21 days. The cardiac effects of ethanol withdrawal were investigated 48 h after abrupt discontinuation of ethanol. Some animals were orally treated with losartan (10 mg/kg/day), a selective AT1 receptor antagonist. RESULTS: Ethanol withdrawal did not affect serum levels of creatine kinase (CK)-MB. Losartan prevented ethanol withdrawal-induced increase in superoxide anion (O2•-) production in the left ventricle (LV). However, ethanol withdrawal did no alter the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) or the expression of Nox1, Nox2 or Nox4 were found in the LV. Ethanol withdrawal reduced the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the LV and this response was prevented by losartan. Ethanol withdrawal increased catalase activity in the LV and losartan attenuated this response. No changes on superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity or expression were detected in the LV during ethanol withdrawal. The expression of AT1, AT2 or angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) was not affected by ethanol withdrawal. Similarly, no changes on the expression of ERK1/2, SAPK/JNK, COX-1 or COX-2 were found in the LV during ethanol withdrawal. CONCLUSIONS: Ethanol withdrawal altered the cardiac oxidative state through AT1-dependent mechanisms. Our findings showed a role for angiotensin II/AT1 receptors in the initial steps of the cardiac effects induced by ethanol withdrawal.

Knockdown of the c-Jun-N-terminal kinase expression by siRNA inhibits MCF-7 breast carcinoma cell line growth.

We have examined the effect of two small interference RNA against Jnk-1 and Jnk-2 in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7. The expression of the JNK-1 and JNK-2 is frequently elevated in breast cancer and is a frequent genetic abnormality in this malignancy. For a better understanding of its role in maintaining the malignant phenotype, we used small RNA interference (siRNA) directed against Jnk-1 or Jnk-2. We made control and Jnk-1 and Jnk-2 siRNA using vector plasmid, which was then transfected to reduce its expression in MCF-7 cells. We assessed the effects of JNK-1 or JNK-2 silencing on cell growth by western blot analysis, soft agar assay, cell proliferation assay, cell viability by MTT assay and caspase assay in vitro. Our data showed that siRNA against Jnk-1 or Jnk-2 markedly and durably reduced its expression in MCF-7 cells by up to 70%, decreased the growth rate of MCF-7 cells, inhibited colony formation in soft agar and significantly reduced cell growth in MCF-7 carcinoma culture cell line. We also found that depletion of JNK-1/2 in this manner promoted apoptosis of MCF-7 cells upon serum withdrawal. In addition, we found that MCF-7 cells did not exhibit any caspase-3 activity. In conclusion, we observed that JNK-1 and JNK-2 have a pivotal function in the development of breast cancer. Our data show that decreasing the JNK-1 or JNK-2 protein level in MCF-7 cells by siRNA could significantly inhibit MCF-7 cell growth in in vitro assay, and imply the therapeutic potential of siRNA on the treatment of breast cancer by targeting overexpression kinases such as JNK-1/2 and might be a potential therapeutic target for human breast cancer.