Protective effect of dendropanoxide against cadmium-induced hepatotoxicity via anti-inflammatory activities in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Cadmium (Cd) accumulates in the body through contaminated foods or water and causes pathological damage to the liver via oxidative stress and inflammatory reactions. This study was conducted to explore the effects of dendropanoxide (DPx) on Cd-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were injected with CdCl2 (7 mg/kg body weight) intraperitoneally for 14 days for the induction of liver dysfunction. The CdCl2-exposed rats were subjected to DPx (10 mg/kg) or silymarin (50 mg/kg). The animals were euthanized after 24 h of the last CdCl2 injection and the serum biochemical parameters, lipid content, pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, apoptotic cell death and histopathology of the tissues were analyzed. Additionally, the activity of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), was measured. Compared to controls, Cd-injected rats showed significantly elevated serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol, and pro-inflammatory cytokines, and a remarkable decrease in SOD and CAT activities. Importantly, Cd-induced liver damage was drastically ameliorated by treatment with DPx or silymarin. Treatment with DPx protected the Cd-induced histopathological hepatic injury, as confirmed by the evaluation of TUNEL assay. DPx treatment significantly reduced Bax and caspase-3 expression in Cd-injected rats. Additionally, HO-1 and NRF2 expressions were significantly increased after DPx administration in the liver of Cd-injected rats. Our data indicate that DPx successfully prevents Cd-induced hepatotoxicity by emphasizing the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect.

Molineria recurvata Ameliorates Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Nephropathy through Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Pathways.

Molineria recurvata (MR) has been traditionally used to manage diabetes mellitus in India. However, the molecular mechanism of MR on the diabetic-induced nephropathy has not been clearly investigated. Thus, this study investigates the protective effects of the MR extract on nephropathy in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Diabetes was instigated by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (45 mg/kg) in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Once the diabetes was successfully induced, the MR extract (200 mg/kg/day) or metformin (200 mg/kg/day) was orally administered for 14 days. Renal function, morphology changes and levels of inflammatory cytokines were measured. Blood glucose concentrations were considerably reduced in STZ-induced diabetic rats following treatment with the MR extract. The administration of the MR extract substantially restored the abnormal quantity of the oxidative DNA damage marker 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxy-guanosine (8-OHdG), malondialdehyde, glutathione, oxidized glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase, interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, IL-10, and transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß). The urinary excretion of kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1), neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), selenium binding protein 1 (SBP1), and pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) was significantly reduced in diabetes rats after administration of the MR extracts. In the kidneys of STZ-induced diabetic rats, the MR extracts markedly downregulated the expression of fibronectin, collagen-1, and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). In particular, the MR extracts markedly increased the level of SIRT1 and SIRT3 and reduced claudin-1 in the kidney. These results suggest that the MR extracts exhibits therapeutic activity in contrast to renal injury in STZ-induced diabetic rats through repressing inflammation and oxidative stress.

Protective effect of EX-527 against high-fat diet-induced diabetic nephropathy in Zucker rats.

High-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity is implicated in diabetic nephropathy (DN). EX-527, a selective Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) inhibitor, has multiple biological functions; however, its protective effect against DN is yet to be properly understood. This study was aimed to explore the protective effect of EX-527 against DN in HFD-induced diabetic Zucker (ZDF) rats. After 21 weeks of continually feeding HFD to the rats, the apparent characteristics of progressive DN were observed, which included an increase in kidney weight (~160%), hyperglycemia, oxidative stress, and inflammatory cytokines, and subsequent renal cell damage. However, the administration of EX-527 for 10 weeks significantly reduced the blood glucose concentration and kidney weight (~59%). Furthermore, EX-527 significantly reduced the serum concentration of transforming growth factor-ß1 (49%), interleukin (IL)-1ß (52%), and IL-6 in the HFD-fed rats. Overall, the antioxidant activities significantly increased, and oxidative damage to lipids or DNA was suppressed. Particularly, EX-527 significantly reduced blood urea nitrogen (81%), serum creatinine (71%), microalbumin (43%), and urinary excretion of protein-based biomarkers. Histopathological examination revealed expansion of the extracellular mesangial matrix and suppression of glomerulosclerosis following EX-527 administration. EX-527 downregulated the expression of α-SMA (~64%), TGF-ß (25%), vimentin, α-tubulin, fibronectin, and collagen-1 in the kidneys of the HFD-fed rats. Additionally, EX-527 substantially reduced claudin-1 and SIRT1 expression, but increased the expression of SIRT3 in the kidneys of the HFD-fed rats. EX-527 also inhibited the growth factor receptors, including EGFR, PDGFR-ß, and STAT3, which are responsible for the anti-fibrotic effect of SIRT-1. Therefore, the administration of EX-527 protects against HFD-induced DN.

Therapeutic value of steroidal alkaloids in cancer: Current trends and future perspectives.

Discovery and development of new potentially selective anticancer agents are necessary to prevent a global cancer health crisis. Currently, alternative medicinal agents derived from plants have been extensively investigated to develop anticancer drugs with fewer adverse effects. Among them, steroidal alkaloids are conventional secondary metabolites that comprise an important class of natural products found in plants, marine organisms and invertebrates, and constitute a judicious choice as potential anti-cancer leads. Traditional medicine and modern science have shown that representatives from this compound group possess potential antimicrobial, analgesic, anticancer and anti-inflammatory effects. Therefore, systematic and recapitulated information about the bioactivity of these compounds, with special emphasis on the molecular or cellular mechanisms, is of high interest. In this review, we methodically discuss the in vitro and in vivo potential of the anticancer activity of natural steroidal alkaloids and their synthetic and semi-synthetic derivatives. This review focuses on cumulative and comprehensive molecular mechanisms, which will help researchers understand the molecular pathways involving steroid alkaloids to generate a selective and safe new lead compound with improved therapeutic applications for cancer prevention and therapy. In vitro and in vivo studies provide evidence about the promising therapeutic potential of steroidal alkaloids in various cancer cell lines, but advanced pharmacokinetic and clinical experiments are required to develop more selective and safe drugs for cancer treatment.

PKM2 Knockdown Induces Autophagic Cell Death via AKT/mTOR Pathway in Human Prostate Cancer Cells.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) is essential for aerobic glycolysis. Although high PKM2 expression is observed in various cancer tissues, its functional role in cancer metabolism is unclear. Here, we investigated the role of PKM2 in regulating autophagy and its associated pathways in prostate cancer cells. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry was performed to compare the expression level of PKM2 in prostate cancer patients and normal human, whereas expression of PKM2 in several cell lines was also examined by using western blot. PKM2 expression was silenced using various small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Cell viability was examined using IncuCyte ZOOM™ live cell imaging system. Western blotting and immunofluorescence were performed to investigate the PKM2 knockdown on other cellular signaling molecules. Acridine orange and Monodansylcadaverine staining was performed to check effect of PKM2 knockdown on autophagy induction. High performance thin layer chromatography was carried out to quantify the level of different cellular metabolites (pyruvate and lactate). Colony formation assay was performed to determine the ability of a cells to form large colonies. RESULTS: PKM2 was highly expressed in prostate cancer patients as compared to normal human. PKM2 siRNA-transfected prostate cancer cells showed significantly reduced viability. Acridine orange, Monodansylcadaverine staining and western blotting analysis showed that PKM2 downregulation markedly increased autophagic cell death. Results of western blotting analysis showed that PKM2 knockdown affected protein kinase B/mechanistic target of rapamycin 1 pathway, which consequently downregulated the expression of glycolytic enzymes lactate dehydrogenase A and glucose transporter 1. Knockdown of PKM2 also reduced the colony formation ability of human prostate cancer cell DU145. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show that PKM2 inhibition alters prostate cancer cell metabolism and induces autophagy, thus providing new perspectives for developing PKM2-targeting anticancer therapies for treating prostate cancer.

Knockdown of Pyruvate Kinase M2 Inhibits Cell Proliferation, Metabolism, and Migration in Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Emerging evidence indicates that the activity of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) isoform is crucial for the survival of tumor cells. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the function of PKM2 in renal cancer is undetermined. Here, we reveal the overexpression of PKM2 in the proximal tubule of renal tumor tissues from 70 cases of patients with renal carcinoma. The functional role of PKM2 in human renal cancer cells following small-interfering RNA-mediated PKM2 knockdown, which retarded 786-O cell growth was examined. Targeting PKM2 affected the protein kinase B (AKT)/mechanistic target of the rapamycin 1 (mTOR) pathway, and downregulated the expression of glycolytic enzymes, including lactate dehydrogenase A and glucose transporter-1, and other downstream signaling key proteins. PKM2 knockdown changed glycolytic metabolism, mitochondrial function, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level, and intracellular metabolite formation and significantly reduced 786-O cell migration and invasion. Acridine orange and monodansylcadaverine staining, immunocytochemistry, and immunoblotting analyses revealed the induction of autophagy in renal cancer cells following PKM2 knockdown. This is the first study to indicate PKM2/AKT/mTOR as an important regulatory axis mediating the changes in the metabolism of renal cancer cells.

In Vitro Metabolic Stability and Permeability of Gymnemagenin and Its In Vivo Pharmacokinetic Correlation in Rats - A Pilot Study.

Gymnema sylvestre is traditionally used for diabetes mellitus. A literature survey revealed very few reports, particularly on rat liver microsomal stability, caco-2 permeability and efflux concerns and its correlation with the bioavailability of gymnemagenin, an important component of G. sylvestre. Therefore, the objective of our study was to investigate the in vitro rat liver microsomal stability and caco-2 permeability along with the efflux of gymnemagenin and establish a probable correlation of these in vitro findings with pharmacokinetic parameters after oral and intravenous administration in rats.Rat liver microsomal stability studies to estimate the in vitro intrinsic half-life, clearance, and Caco-2 permeability after 21 days of culture to determine the apparent permeability from apical to basal and from basal to apical, and efflux ratio of gymnemagenin were performed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. A sensitive, robust bioanalytical method was validated and successfully applied to determine the plasma exposure of gymnemagenin. In vitro rat liver microsomal stability demonstrated that gymnemagenin metabolizes rapidly with a short apparent and intrinsic half-life (~ 7 min) and high intrinsic clearance, i.e., 190.08 µL/min/mg of microsomes. The results of the Caco-2 study indicated a poor permeability (1.31 × 10(- 6 )cm/sec) with a very high efflux ratio. The pharmacokinetic study revealed poor oral bioavailability (~ 14 %) of gymnemagenin and it was found to have a short half-life and a high clearance in rats. Our in vitro findings indicated low metabolic stability and poor Caco-2 permeability with high efflux, which might have a role in the observed poor oral bioavailability in rats.

Assessment of toxic metals in groundwater and saliva in an arsenic affected area of West Bengal, India: A pilot scale study.

Communities in many parts of the world are unintentionally exposed to arsenic (As) and other toxic metals through ingestion of local drinking water and foods. The concentrations of individual toxic metals often exceed their guidelines in drinking water but the health risks associated with such multiple-metal exposures have yet to receive much attention. This study examines the co-occurrence of toxic metals in groundwater samples collected from As-rich areas of Nadia district, West Bengal, India. Arsenic in groundwater (range: 12-1064 µg L(-1); mean ± S.D: 329±294 µg L(-1)) was the most important contaminant with concentrations well above the WHO guideline of 10 µg L(-1). Another important toxic metal in the study area was manganese (Mn) with average concentration of 202±153 µg L(-1), range of 18-604 µg L(-1). The average concentrations (µg L(-1)) of other elements in groundwater were: Cr (5.6±5.9), Mo (3.5±2.1), Ni (8.3±8.7), Pb (2.9±1.3), Ba (119±43), Zn (56±40), Se (0.60±0.33), U (0.50±0.74). Saliva collected from the male participants of the area had mean concentrations of 6.3±7.0 µg As L(-1) (0.70-29 µg L(-1)), 5.4±5.5 µg Mn L(-1) (0.69-22 µg L(-1)), 2.6±3.1 µg Ni L(-1) (0.15-13 µg L(-1)), 0.78±1.0µg Cr L(-1) (

Is saliva a potential biomarker of arsenic exposure? A case-control study in West Bengal, India.

Saliva is a biological fluid that has not been used extensively as a biomonitoring tool in epidemiological studies. This study presents the arsenic (As) concentrations in saliva and urine samples collected from populations of West Bengal, India who had been previously exposed to high As levels in their drinking water. We found a significant (p < 0.05) association between the Log transformed Daily Ingestion of As (µg day(-1)) and the As concentration in saliva (r = 0.68). Additionally, As concentration of saliva and urine also had a significant positive correlation (r = 0.60, p < 0.05). Male participants, smokers, and cases of skin lesion were independently and significantly associated with an increase in salivary As. Thus our findings show that saliva is a useful biomarker of As exposure in the study population. The study also advocates that measurement of the forms of As in saliva may additionally provide insight into the internal dose and any individual differences in susceptibility to As exposure.

Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction of Ptaquiloside in Bracken Fern.

This study was conducted to determine the optimal boiling time to reduce ptaquiloside (PTA) and to carry out a risk assessment for PTA, a representative toxic substance found in bracken fern (BF; Pteridium aquilinum), which is frequently consumed as food in East Asian countries. High-performance liquid chromatography showed that the concentration of PTA in BF was reduced by up to 99% after boiling for 20 min. Risk assessment results showed that the cancer margin of exposure (MOE; ≥ 25,000 = safe) to PTA for an average daily exposure scenario after boiling BF for 20 min was considered safe. In addition, the non-cancer MOE (≥ 300 = safe) to PTA under an average daily exposure scenario after BF boiling for 20 min was considered safe. However, human exposure to PTA was considered unsafe under the non-boiled BF exposure and maximum daily exposure scenarios. Therefore, boiling BF for at least 20 min is recommended before consumption, to reduce exposure to PTA as much as possible.

Dendropanoxide Alleviates Thioacetamide-induced Hepatic Fibrosis via Inhibition of ROS Production and Inflammation in BALB/C Mice.

Hepatic fibrosis results from overproduction and excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins in hepatocytes. Although the beneficial effects of dendropanoxide (DPx) isolated from Dendropanax morbifera have been studied, its role as an anti-fibrotic agent remains elucidated. We investigated the protective effect of DPx in BALB/C mice that received thioacetamide (TAA) intraperitoneally for 6 weeks. Later DPx (20 mg/kg/day) or silymarin (50 mg/kg/day) was administered daily for 6 weeks, followed by biochemical and histological analyses of each group. Hematoxylin and eosin staining of the livers showed TAA-induced hepatic fibrosis, which was significantly reduced in the DPx group. DPx treatment significantly decreased TAA-induced hyperlipidemia as evidenced by the decreased AST, ALT, ALP, γ-GTP and serum TG concentrations and reduced the activities of catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. ELISA revealed reduced levels of total glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and Inflammatory factors (IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α). Immunostaining showed reduced in collagen-1, α-SMA, and TGF-ß1 expression and western blotting showed reduced levels of the apoptotic proteins, TGF-ß1, p-Smad2/3, and Smad4. RT-qPCR and Western blotting revealed modifications in SIRT1, SIRT3 and SIRT4. Thus, DPx exerted a protective effect against TAA-induced hepatic fibrosis in the male BALB/C mouse model by inhibiting oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis via TGF-ß1/Smads signaling.

Testing tubewell platform color as a rapid screening tool for arsenic and manganese in drinking water wells.

A low-cost rapid screening tool for arsenic (As) and manganese (Mn) in groundwater is urgently needed to formulate mitigation policies for sustainable drinking water supply. This study attempts to make statistical comparison between tubewell (TW) platform color and the level of As and Mn concentration in groundwater extracted from the respective TW (n = 423), to validate platform color as a screening tool for As and Mn in groundwater. The result shows that a black colored platform with 73% certainty indicates that well water is safe from As, while with 84% certainty a red colored platform indicates that well water is enriched with As, compared to WHO drinking water guideline of 10 µg/L. With this guideline the efficiency, sensitivity, and specificity of the tool are 79%, 77%, and 81%, respectively. However, the certainty values become 93% and 38%, respectively, for black and red colored platforms at 50 µg/L, the drinking water standards for India and Bangladesh. The respective efficiency, sensitivity, and specificity are 65%, 85%, and 59%. Similarly for Mn, black and red colored platform with 78% and 64% certainty, respectively, indicates that well water is either enriched or free from Mn at the Indian national drinking water standard of 300 µg/L. With this guideline the efficiency, sensitivity, and specificity of the tool are 71%, 67%, and 76%, respectively. Thus, this study demonstrates that TW platform color can be potentially used as an initial screening tool for identifying TWs with elevated dissolved As and Mn, to make further rigorous groundwater testing more intensive and implement mitigation options for safe drinking water supplies.

Adhesive assisted TiB2 coating effects on friction stir welded joints.

Friction stir welding is a novel technique for joining ferrous and non-ferrous materials in a solid state. The groove fill techniques are most popular and generally used by researchers to dope reinforcement in the FSWed zone to improve the properties of joints. The main drawback of this technique is that a few amounts of reinforcement material come out from the groove during the fabrication of the joint. In the present work, the adhesive-assisted reinforcement technique was used to overcome this problem for the fabrication of particulates reinforced friction stirred weld joint. In the present work, the aluminum alloy plate edges were coated with a thin layer of TiB2. The coated and non-coated edge plates were joined using friction stir welding at the rotational speed of 1400 and 2240 rpm, and welding speed of 32 mm/min using a taper threaded pin tool. The tensile strength of coated edge plate welded joints was found highest in comparison to non-coated joints which was 39.74% superior. The percentage elongation of coated edge joint was observed about 1.5 times lower than the non-coated edge plate joint. The flexure strength of TiB2 reinforced coated edge joint was found about 1.5 times higher. However, the impact strength of coated edge plate was found nearly three times lower than the uncoated edge joints. The TiB2 coated edge joints reveal 22.75% higher hardness than the non-coated edge plate joints welded at the rotational speed of 2240.

Optimized study of the annealing effect on the electrical and structural properties of HDLC thin-films.

The plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique has been utilized for the facile surface deposition of hydrogenated diamond-like carbon (HDLC) thin-films onto Si(100) substrates. The as-deposited film surface is homogenous, free of pinholes, and adheres to the substrate. Annealing of the synthesized HDLC surface in a vacuum was performed in the temperature range of 200 to 1000 °C. A host of instrumental techniques, viz. FTIR spectroscopy, AFM, STM, and EC-AFM, were successfully employed to detect the morphological transformation in the HDLC films upon annealing. EC-AFM studies show irreversible biased behavior after undergoing a surface redox couple reaction and morphological change. Raman spectroscopy was carried out along with STM and EC-AFM to determine the functional nature and conductivity of the annealed surface.

Tenovin-1 Ameliorates Renal Fibrosis in High-Fat-Diet-Induced Diabetic Nephropathy via Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Pathways.

High-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity has been involved in the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN). Tenovin-1, a potent selective SIRT1/2 inhibitor, regulates various target proteins. The present study evaluated the protective effect of Tenovin-1 against renal fibrosis in HFD-induced Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats. Rats were fed a normal chow diet or HFD. Tenovin-1 (45 mg/kg) administered to HFD-fed rats decreased inflammatory cytokine expression in the serum of the rats. The antioxidant status and oxidative damage to lipids or DNA were significantly restored by Tenovin-1. Additionally, Tenovin-1 reduced the levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (sCr), microalbumin, and urinary protein-based biomarkers in the urine of HFD-fed rats. The abnormal architecture of the kidney and pancreas was restored by Tenovin-1 administration. Tenovin-1 also reduced apoptosis in the kidneys of the HFD-fed rats and HG-treated NRK-52E cells. It significantly lowered the levels of ECM proteins in the kidneys of HFD-fed rats and HG-treated NRK-52E cells. Additionally, Tenovin-1 markedly reduced claudin-1, SIRT1, and SIRT2, but increased SIRT3 and SIRT4 in HFD-fed rats and NRK-52E cells treated with HG. Furthermore, Tenovin-1 altered epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), platelet-derived growth factor receptor-ß (PDGFR-ß), and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) levels in the kidneys of HFD-fed rats. Conclusively, this study shows that Tenovin-1 can be a potential candidate drug for the treatment of HFD-induced renal fibrosis, in vivo and in vitro models.

Phytopharmaceuticals mediated Furin and TMPRSS2 receptor blocking: can it be a potential therapeutic option for Covid-19?

BACKGROUND: Currently, novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak creates global panic across the continents, as people from almost all countries and territories have been affected by this highly contagious viral disease. The scenario is deteriorating due to lack of proper & specific target-oriented pharmacologically safe prophylactic agents or drugs, and or any effective vaccine. drug development is urgently required to back in the normalcy in the community and to combat this pandemic. PURPOSE: Thus, we have proposed two novel drug targets, Furin and TMPRSS2, as Covid-19 treatment strategy. We have highlighted this target-oriented novel drug delivery strategy, based on their pathophysiological implication on SARS-CoV-2 infection, as evident from earlier SARS-CoV-1, MERS, and influenza virus infection via host cell entry, priming, fusion, and endocytosis. STUDY DESIGN &  METHODS: An earlier study suggested that Furin and TMPRSS2 knockout mice had reduced level of viral load and a lower degree of organ damage such as the lung. The present study thus highlights the promise of some selected novel and potential anti-viral Phytopharmaceutical that bind to Furin and TMPRSS2 as target. RESULT: Few of them had shown promising anti-viral response in both preclinical and clinical study with acceptable therapeutic safety-index. CONCLUSION: Hence, this strategy may limit life-threatening Covid-19 infection and its mortality rate through nano-suspension based intra-nasal or oral nebulizer spray, to treat mild to moderate SARS-COV-2 infection when Furin and TMPRSS2 receptor may initiate to express and activate for processing the virus to cause cellular infection by replication within the host cell and blocking of host-viral interaction.

Sensitization Effects of Repurposed Blood Pressure-regulating Drugs on Drug-resistant Cancer Cells.

BACKGROUND/AIM: We investigated drugs that could sensitize KBV20C cancer cells resistant to eribulin or vincristine (VIC) treatment and assessed their associated mechanisms of action. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Such cancer cells were known to overexpress P-glycoprotein (P-gp). Considering that reserpine (P-gp inhibitor) plays a regulatory role in patients with high blood pressure, we investigated the effect of low doses of 27 blood pressure-regulating drugs on VIC-resistant KBV20C cells. This was done to identify drugs that could be repurposed for sensitizing antimitotic drug-resistant KBV20C cells at relatively low doses. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), annexin V analyses, rhodamine uptake tests and western-blot analysis were performed to further investigate the mechanism of action of such drugs. RESULTS: We found that co-treatment with amiodarone, nicardipine, carvedilol, or vardenafil at low doses could highly sensitize KBV20C cells treated with eribulin or VIC. These drugs reduced cellular viability, increased G2 arrest and up-regulated apoptosis when co-administered with eribulin or VIC. Considering that they sensitize with either co-treatment of eribulin or VIC, we assumed that they can be combined with other antimitotic drugs to sensitize the resistant cancer cells. Through detailed quantitative analysis, we found that eribulin with amiodarone had a higher sensitization effect than eribulin with nicardipine or eribulin with carvedilol. We found that reserpine had the highest P-gp-inhibitory activity, indicating that eribulin- or VIC-reserpine sensitization involves the P-gp inhibitory effects of reserpine. However, we found that amiodarone, nicardipine, carvedilol and vardenafil had very low P-gp inhibitory activity. Moreover, we found that cells co-treated with VIC-carvedilol down-regulated expression of pERK. CONCLUSION: Highly antimitotic drug-resistant KBV20C cells can be sensitized by co-treatment with the repurposed blood pressure-regulating drugs amiodarone, nicardipine, carvedilol or vardenafil. These findings indicate that the repurposed blood pressure-regulating drugs may potentially be used in drug-resistant cancer patients without any toxic effects due to P-gp inhibition.

Specific Pyruvate Kinase M2 Inhibitor, Compound 3K, Induces Autophagic Cell Death through Disruption of the Glycolysis Pathway in Ovarian Cancer Cells.

Ovarian cancer is a common cause of death among gynecological cancers. Although ovarian cancer initially responds to chemotherapy, frequent recurrence in patients remains a therapeutic challenge. Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) plays a pivotal role in regulating cancer cell survival. However, its therapeutic role remains unclear. Here, we investigated the anticancer effects of compound 3K, a specific PKM2 inhibitor, on the regulation of autophagic and apoptotic pathways in SK-OV-3 (PKM2-overexpressing human ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line). The anticancer effect of compound 3K was examined using MTT and colony formation assays in SK-OV-3 cells. PKM2 expression was positively correlated with the severity of the tumor, and expression of pro-apoptotic proteins increased in SK-OV-3 cells following compound 3K treatment. Compound 3K induced AMPK activation, which was accompanied by mTOR inhibition. Additionally, this compound inhibited glycolysis, resulting in reduced proliferation of SK-OV-3 cells. Compound 3K treatment suppressed tumor progression in an in vivo xenograft model. Our findings suggest that the inhibition of PKM2 by compound 3K affected the Warburg effect and induced autophagic cell death. Therefore, use of specific PKM2 inhibitors to block the glycolytic pathway and target cancer cell metabolism represents a promising therapeutic approach for treating PKM2-overexpressing ovarian cancer.

Multiple Linear Discriminant Models for Extracting Salient Characteristic Patterns in Capsule Endoscopy Images for Multi-Disease Detection.

BACKGROUND: Computer-aided disease detection schemes from wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) videos have received great attention by the researchers for reducing physicians' burden due to the time-consuming and risky manual review process. While single disease classification schemes are greatly dealt by the researchers in the past, developing a unified scheme which is capable of detecting multiple gastrointestinal (GI) diseases is very challenging due to the highly irregular behavior of diseased images in terms of color patterns. METHOD: In this paper, a computer-aided method is developed to detect multiple GI diseases from WCE videos utilizing linear discriminant analysis (LDA) based region of interest (ROI) separation scheme followed by a probabilistic model fitting approach. Commonly in training phase, as pixel-labeled images are available in small number, only the image-level annotations are used for detecting diseases in WCE images, whereas pixel-level knowledge, although a major source for learning the disease characteristics, is left unused. In view of learning the characteristic disease patterns from pixel-labeled images, a set of LDA models are trained which are later used to extract the salient ROI from WCE images both in training and testing stages. The intensity patterns of ROI are then modeled by a suitable probability distribution and the fitted parameters of the distribution are utilized as features in a supervised cascaded classification scheme. RESULTS: For the purpose of validation of the proposed multi-disease detection scheme, a set of pixel-labeled images of bleeding, ulcer and tumor are used to extract the LDA models and then, a large WCE dataset is used for training and testing. A high level of accuracy is achieved even with a small number of pixel-labeled images. CONCLUSION: Therefore, the proposed scheme is expected to help physicians in reviewing a large number of WCE images to diagnose different GI diseases.