ABSTRACT
It has been approved for the clinical application of ß-elemene to treat various cancers mainly brain tumors in China. In the present study, we found that ß-elemene significantly inhibited the in vitro growth of human breast cancer cells by inducing apoptosis. In addition, ß-elemene also induced the conversion of LC3-I into LC3-II as well as the formation of autolysosomes, indicating the activation of autophagy. Interestingly, inhibition of autophagy significantly potentiated the growth-inhibitory effect of ß-elemene on breast cancer cells. In summary, ß-elemene induced cytoprotective autophagy in human breast cancer cells in addition to apoptosis. Inhibition of autophagy significantly enhanced the cytotoxicity of ß-elemene to human breast cancer cells. Therefore, combination of ß-elemene with autophagy inhibitors could be a promising strategy for the treatment of breast cancer.
Subject(s)
Apoptosis/drug effects , Autophagy/drug effects , Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Sesquiterpenes/pharmacology , Blotting, Western , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/drug effects , Cell Survival/drug effects , Humans , Microscopy, Electron, TransmissionABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of long-term sevoflurane anesthesia on markers of myocardial damage or toxicity. METHODS: Forty adult patients scheduled for upper abdominal surgery with general anesthesia for 4 hours or more were randomly divided into Group S and PR (n=20 each). After anesthesia induction, patients of Group S were maintained with only sevoflurane, and patients of Group PR with target-controlled infusion of propofol 2-4 microg/ml and remifentanil 4-8 ng/ml. Anesthesia was titrated to control blood pressure and heart rate change at less than 20 percent of baseline values. Blood samples were draw at pre-induction, 4 h and 24 h post-induction respectively. Serum level of cardiac troponin I, creatine kinase MB and myoglobin were analyzed. RESULTS: There were no significant changes of troponin I, creatine kinase MB and myoglobin in Group S between pre-induction and 4 h or 24 h post-induction (P > 0.05). And there was also no significant differences as compared with Group PR (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: At the concentration range of 1.6%-3%, long-term sevoflurane anesthesia does not cause detectable changes of markers of myocardial damage or toxicity.
Subject(s)
Anesthetics, Inhalation/pharmacology , Methyl Ethers/pharmacology , Myocardium/metabolism , Myocardium/pathology , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Sevoflurane , Troponin I/metabolismABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to establish chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) for quantitative determination of theophylline levels in human serum. METHODS: To measure the concentration of theophylline (n=122) and evaluate the assay. RESULTS: The linear range of the CLIA method was 0.51-40 mg/L (Y=1.02X+0.44, r=0.995). The intra and inter CV (coefficient variance) of CLIA were 3.20% and 3.57%, respectively. The average recovery rate was 102.3%. This method was free from interference by brilirubin (<200 micromol/L), hemoglobin (<10 g/L), and triglycerides (<15 mmol/L). CONCLUSION: This method is simple, convenient and precise for clinical pharmacokinetics study of theophylline.