Ischemia/reperfusion in rat: antioxidative effects of enoant on EEG, oxidative stress and inflammation.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: The present study was undertaken to evaluate whether enoant, which is rich in polyphenols, has any effect on electroencephalogram (EEG), oxidative stress and inflammation in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. METHODS: Ischemia was induced by 2-hour occlusion of bilateral common carotid artery. Animals orally received enoant. Group 1 was the ischemic control group. Group 2 was treated with enoant of 1.25 g kg⁻¹ per day for 15 days after I/R. Group 3 received the same concentration of enoant as in group 2 for 15 days before and after I/R. Group 4 was the sham operation group. EEG activities were recorded and the levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß and IL-6, TBARS and GSH were measured in the whole brain homogenate. RESULTS: There were significant changes in EEG activity in groups treated with enoant either before or after ischemia when compared with their basal EEG values. TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1ß levels were significantly increased after I/R. GSH levels in group 3 treated with enoant in both pre- and post-ischemic periods were significantly increased and TBARS concentration was decreased compared with the ischemic group. CONCLUSION: The findings support that both pre-ischemic and post-ischemic administrations of enoant might produce neuroprotective action against cerebral ischemia.

Noscapine and diltiazem augment taxol and radiation-induced S-phase arrest and clonogenic death of C6 glioma in vitro.

BACKGROUND: Radiation therapy after surgical resection is the approved treatment of gliomas, and survival benefits are reported with taxane-based chemotherapy. We investigated whether these regimes could be augmented with blood-brain barrier permeable drugs, N and D. Noscapine is an opioid antitussive, which acts anti cancer via blocking microtubule dynamics. Diltiazem is a calcium channel-blocking cardiac antiarrythmic, which also blocks tumor growth and P-glycoprotein. METHODS: Effects of N (11.1 micromol/L), D (11.1 micromol/L), and T (11.7 micromol/L) were monitored in C6 glioma cells via S phase, colony formation, and fine structure analysis. RESULTS: Taxol depleted S phase from 35.2% to 12.2%. Both N and D synergistically augmented T-mediated S-phase depletion, and they also effectively reduced colonies, which were more potent by N by 49%. Taxol reduced colonies by 98%, and there were almost no surviving colonies in copresence of T with either N or D. Colony reduction by radiotherapy was increased strongly by T and significantly by N. Taxol and radiation profoundly increased number of mitochondria. Both D and N suppressed this increase via myelinosis and autophagy. CONCLUSION: Noscapine and D should be further tested in animal models because of their potential and already-present clinical applicability.

Cytotoxic effects of calcium hydroxide and mineral trioxide aggregate on 3T3 fibroblast cell line in vitro.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the cytotoxic effects of MTA and Ca(OH)2 on 3T3 fibroblasts at different time intervals. METHODS: Confluent cells were cultured with Ca(OH)2 and MTA in six-well plates. Wells with only fibroblasts served as controls. Cell number and viability were determined after 24 and 48 hours and 7 days of incubation. For cell viability, trypane blue exclusion assay was used. A Leitz inverted microscope was used to observe the morphological behavior of cells. The proliferation of cells was evaluated by BrdU assay. The results were analyzed with Dunn's multiple comparison, Friedman, and Kruskal-Wallis tests. RESULTS: No difference was seen in morphology of cells for either test material. Cells treated with MTA and Ca(OH)2 were reduced in number after 24 and 48 hours, respectively. A statistically significant difference was found in number of viable cells between test groups at 48 hours of incubation. The results of BrdU assay revealed low percentages of capable cells incorporating BrdU. CONCLUSIONS: The cytotoxic effects of the test materials-MTA and Ca(OH)2-on 3T3 cell line were evaluated as cytostatic for 24 and 48 hours, respectively. But this effect was reversible because the incubated cells showed normal cell proliferation at 48 hours and 7 days, respectively; MTA showed a significantly shorter cytotoxic effect on the cells.

Biocompatibility of different barrier membranes in cultures of human CRL 11372 osteoblast-like cells: an immunohistochemical study.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the biocompatibility of two different barrier materials in cultures of human osteoblast-like cells (CRL 11372) in vitro. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Polylactic acid (Epi-Guide; EG) and collagen membrane (Bio-Collagen, BC) were examined. To analyze the effect of materials on cell proliferation, cell numbers and cell viability, cells were cultured on the barrier membranes for 24 and 72 h. Cells plated on culture dishes (CD) served as positive controls. Cell proliferation rate was assessed by the bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemical technique. The cell numbers of each well were counted. Cell viability was estimated by counting the number of cells, which excluded trypan blue solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the interactions between osteoblastic cells and barrier membranes. RESULTS: The highest number of BrdU-labeled cells were seen on CD after both of the time periods. In comparison with the other two groups, BC showed significantly fewer cells after both time periods. Regarding cell numbers, after 24 and 72 h of incubations CD showed the highest number of cells. The number of viable cells was similar for all the groups. After 72 h for the EG group, SEM view showed flat cells. After 72-h time periods, the BC group revealed a weak adhesion of cells to the barriers. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that cells were able to proliferate on these materials and EG promoted the proliferation of human osteoblast like cells. We prefer to use the EG membrane.