Effect of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor on the metabolism of arabinosylcytosine triphosphate in blasts during therapy of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia

Because in vitro studies have indicated that granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) stimulates arabinosylcytosine (ara-C) metabolism in leukemia blasts, we analyzed the pharmacokinetics of ara-C triphosphate (ara-CTP) in the blasts of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia who were undergoing therapy with GM-CSF and ara-C. Patients received a 2-h infusion of 1.0 g/m2 ara-C followed by daily infusions of GM-CSF (125 micrograms/m2/day i.v. over 6 h) for 2-4 days. After the last GM-CSF infusion, a second, identical dose of ara-C was administered. The cellular pharmacokinetics of ara-CTP in circulating blasts were determined during and after each ara-C dose, and the area under the accumulation and elimination curve (AUC) measured over 12 h was compared before and after GM-CSF. Ara-CTP accumulation peaked within 1 h after the end of each ara-C infusion. Comparison of the AUC of ara-CTP before and after GM-CSF administration suggested that in the blasts of three of four patients, GM-CSF treatment decreased the ara-CTP AUC; the AUC values were altered only slightly in a fourth patient. Studies of these patients' blasts incubated in vitro with ara-C before and after clinical infusion of GM-CSF revealed similar ara-CTP accumulation patterns. Together, these studies suggest that 2-4 days of GM-CSF administration does not increase the accumulation of ara-CTP in the circulating blasts from patients in the blastic phase of chronic myelogenous leukemia.

A five-year evaluation of NORPLANT II implants in China

A five-year study of NORPLANT II rod implants was undertaken in four large cities and metropolitan areas in eastern China. Designed to test the safety, efficacy and acceptability of these implants, the study involved 1,208 women and was conducted concurrently with a similar study of NORPLANT capsule implants. At the end of five years, the gross pregnancy rate was 0.65 per 100, and the continuation rate was 65.3 per 100. Both these values were similar to and not statistically different from the rates of the capsule implant users. In 4,828 woman-years of use, there were few severe adverse events reported. Users and providers found the method to be an acceptable long-term contraceptive method of great reliability.

[Studies on the early development of nucleocytoplasmic hybrid embryos between mouse and rabbit by nuclear transplantation]

Nuclear transplantation has been proved to be a very powerful method in researching the relationship between nucleus and cytoplasm during embryogenesis. Electrofusion is a new means of cell fusion which is being improved in the past nearly ten years. In this study, we produced interorder nucleocytoplasmic hybrid embryos between mouse and rabbit with these two techniques. Two phenomena, i.e. premature chromosome condensation (PCC) and nuclear swelling, were observed after mouse 8-cell stage blastomeres were fused into rabbit enucleated oocytes. After 4.5-days cultured in mouse oviducts, 5.4% reconstituted embryos developed into blastocysts. By karyotype examination, it was known that only mouse chromosomes were presented in the blastomeres, one blastocyst even had a normal mouse karyotype (2 n = 40, XX). As a conclusion, we consider it is possible to obtain normal early development of interspecies nucleocytoplasmic hybrid embryos between mouse and rabbit.

[Free radical scavenging and antifatigue activities of Saussurea involucrata polysaccharides]

The polysaccharides of Saussurea involucrata Kar et Kir was first isolated and identified by us. The polysaccharides scavenged superoxide anions by nitroblue tetraazolium colorimetric method with a median scavenging concentration of 22 micrograms.ml-1 and 95% confidence limit was 19.9-24.1 micrograms.ml-1. The polysaccharides inhibited the formation of thiobarbituric acid reaction substance in mouse liver homogenate and its IC50 was 2.3 mg/g fresh liver and 95% confidence limit was 2.05-2.55 mg/g fresh liver. By ip 25 mg.kg-1.d-1 x d in mice, the polysaccharides decreased oxygen consumption by 34.4% and ip same dosage x 6 d, the polysaccharide prolonged swimming time by 1.69-fold.

Femtosecond spontaneous-emission studies of reaction centers from photosynthetic bacteria

Spontaneous emission from reaction centers of photosynthetic bacteria has been recorded with a time resolution of 50 fs. Excitation was made directly into both the special-pair band (850 nm) and the Qx band of bacteriochlorophylls (608 nm). Rhodobacter sphaeroides R26, Rhodobacter capsulatus wild type, and four mutants of Rb. capsulatus were studied. In all cases the fluorescence decay was not single exponential and was well fit as a sum of two exponential decay components. The short components are in excellent agreement with the single component detected by measurements of stimulated emission. The origin of the nonexponential decay is discussed in terms of heterogeneity, the kinetic scheme, and the possibility of slow vibrational relaxation.

Clinical trial on termination of early pregnancy with RU486 in combination with prostaglandin

Termination of early pregnancy was performed in 1572 healthy women with RU486 (mifepristone, 600mg orally once), followed 36-60 hours later by administration of methyl ester of dl-15-methyl-PGF2 alpha (PG05, 1mg vaginal suppository). Complete abortion was accomplished in 91.2% (1433/1571), incomplete abortion in 4.8% (76/1571), and continued pregnancy in 3.9% (62/1571). The time elapsed between RU486 intake and complete expulsion was 2.4 +/- 1.3 days. Expulsion took place on the third day in 935 women (72%), and on the 4th day in 273 women (21.0%). Uterine bleeding occurred on the second or third day after RU486 intake in 1256 women (88.8%), and lasted 11.7 +/- 6.4 (SD) days, range 2-55 days. One subject had blood transfusion due to excessive bleeding. The main side effects were nausea/vomiting (22.3%), abdominal pain (10.2%), headache/dizziness (4.1%) and diarrhea (2.8%). Fatal side effects have not been reported in this study. About 73% of subjects with complete abortion assessed the treatment as good to excellent. Even in the failed cases, 25-42% of subjects considered the treatment as good. Further studies are needed to determine the optimal dose of the RU486 regimen. It should be emphasized that the treatment must be used under close medical supervision in order to monitor the uterine bleeding.

Gemcitabine in leukemia: a phase I clinical, plasma, and cellular pharmacology study

PURPOSE

Phase I clinical and in vitro studies of gemcitabine (2',2'-difluorodeoxycytidine; dFdC) have demonstrated that the accumulation rate of dFdC 5'-triphosphate (dFdCTP) in mononuclear and leukemia cells is saturated when plasma or extracellular dFdC levels exceed 15 to 20 mumol/L. Thus, we designed a phase I study to maximize the accumulation of dFdCTP by leukemia cells by administering dFdC at 10 mg/m2/min, a dose rate calculated to produce steady-state plasma dFdC levels that exceed 15 to 20 mumol/L.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The treatment intensity was increased in patients (n = 22) with relapsed or refractory acute leukemia or chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in blast crisis by prolonging the infusion duration but maintaining the same rate. Doses of dFdC between 1,200 mg/m2 and 6,400 mg/m2 were administered weekly for 3 weeks.

RESULTS

The maximum-tolerated dose was 4,800 mg/m2 infused over 480 minutes. The mean steady-state dFdC level in plasma of all infusions was 26.5 +/- 9 mumol/L (n = 19). The accumulation rates of dFdCTP in circulating leukemia cells varied greatly among patients but remained linear in eight patients infused for 120 to 240 minutes, and up to or beyond 360 minutes in five of eight additional patients. Elimination of dFdCTP was significantly related to its cellular concentration: blasts with greater than 450 mumol/L dFdCTP exhibited biphasic elimination, whereas blasts with lower dFdCTP concentrations exhibited linear kinetics. Biphasic elimination was associated with higher dFdCTP areas under the concentration-times-time curve (AUCs) and greater inhibition of DNA synthesis.

CONCLUSION

Studies of the cellular pharmacology and pharmacodynamics of dFdC may be useful in optimizing protocol designs for leukemia.

[The study of the developmental potential of early embryonic cells of rabbit]

The developmental potential of rabbit embryonic cells was studied through making chimera by separate introduction of inner cell mass from 96-h-old p. c., 120-h-old p. c., and 144-h-old p. c. of grey rabbits into 96-h-old p. c. blastocysts of New Zealand white rabbits. A total of five overt chimeras were obtained including two fertile males, two fertile females and one sterile male, from the ICM cells of 96-h-old and 120-h-old embryos but none was obtained from 144-h-old cells. Histological examination of the gonad showed that the sterile chimera derived from 120-h-old ICM cells with an ovotestis on both sides. Follicles and seminiferous tubules developed in the cortex and medulla of the gonad, respectively. Neither of them developed into functional germ cells. Analysis of karyotypes of peripheral blood showed that both XX and XY coexisted in lymphocytes. These results indicated that the sterile male chimera was a XX/XY sex chimera derived from ICM cells of donor and recipients with different sex, so as to the chimera with XX and XY genotypic cells. From the results mentioned above we may conclude that the ICM cells at 120-h-old p. c. are still pluripotential, they can not only participate in development into somatic components but also develop into germ cells. The potential of 144-h-old p. c. ICM cells seems to be rather restricted.

Nuclear transplantation in teleosts. Hybrid fish from the nucleus of crucian and the cytoplasm of carp

Hybrid fish are obtained from the combination of nucleus and cytoplasm from two genera of fresh-water teleosts using the technique of nuclear transplantation (i.e. the combination of the nucleus of crucian (Carassius auratus) and the cytoplasm of carp (Cyprinus carpio]. Morphological characteristics of these hybrid fish that have been examined so far indicate that some features such as barbs, pharyngeal teeth, the number of scales along the lateral line, and the number of vertebrae are similar to those of crucian. Some of the hybrid fish grow to normal adult fish.