The effect of lycopene supplementation on radiation-induced micronuclei in mice reticulocytes in vivo

Breaking the Silence of Tumor Response: Future Prospects of Targeted Radionuclide Therapy

Therapy-induced tumor resistance has always been a paramount hurdle in the clinical triumph of cancer therapy. Resistance acquired by tumor through interventions of chemotherapeutic drugs, ionizing radiation, and immunotherapy in the patientsis a severe drawback and major cause of recurrence of tumor and failure of therapeutic responses. To counter acquired resistance in tumor cells, several strategies are practiced such as chemotherapy regimens, immunotherapy, and immunoconjugates, but the outcome is very disappointing for the patients as well as clinicians. Radionuclide therapy using alpha or beta-emitting radionuclide as payload became state-of-the-art for cancer therapy. With the improvement in dosimetric studies, development of high-affinity target molecules, and design of several novel chelating agents which provide thermodynamically stable complexes in vivo, the scope of radionuclide therapy has increased by leaps and bounds. Additionally, radionuclide therapy along with the combination of chemotherapy is gaining importance in pre-clinics, which is quite encouraging. Thus, it opens an avenue for newer cancer therapy modalities where chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy are unable to break the silence of tumor response. This article describes, in brief, the causes of tumor resistance and discusses the potential of radionuclide therapy to enhance tumor response.

Clastogenic effects of cigarette smoke and urethane and their modulation by olive oil, curcumin and carotenoids in adult mice and foetuses

In spite of the overwhelming epidemiological evidence for cigarette smoke (CS) carcinogenicity, less attention has been paid to the effects of CS as a complex mixture. As assessed in a series of experiments in murine models, the whole-body exposure to mainstream CS induced significant increases of micronucleated cells in the respiratory tract, bone marrow and peripheral blood of adult mice as well as in the liver and peripheral blood of foetuses whose mothers had been exposed throughout pregnancy. Urethane was potently clastogenic in the same cells when injected intraperitoneally. The daily administration of extra-virgin olive oil by gavage produced evident and consistent protective effects in all monitored experimental systems. In contrast, sunflower oil exhibited some adverse effects. Curcumin did not produce any significant effect in the bone marrow of both CS-exposed adults and foetuses but it elicited a dose-dependent protective effect traceable in blood erythrocytes. However, the higher curcumin dose further increased the frequency of micronucleated pulmonary alveolar macrophages. The apparent protective effects produced by lycopene and by a carotenoid mix were overwhelmed by those produced by olive oil, and lycopene even exhibited a worsening effect on the frequency of micronucleated erythroblasts in the bone marrow of urethane-treated adult mice.

Amelioration of sperm count and sperm quality by lycopene supplementation in irradiated mice

Male mice were exposed to lycopene (LYC; 0.15 and 0.30mg kg-1) and irradiation (0.5, 1 Gy) alone or in combination (0.5 Gy+0.15mg kg-1 LYC; 0.5 Gy+0.30mg kg-1 LYC; 1 Gy+0.15mg kg-1 LYC; 1 Gy+0.30mg kg-1 LYC) for 2 weeks. LYC administration in the drinking water was started 24h or on Day 8 after the first irradiation dose or equivalent time point for groups treated with LYC alone. Sperm count, motility, morphology and DNA damage were determined at the end of the 2-week treatment period. Irradiation deteriorated sperm count and quality. Supplementation with LYC from 24h significantly increased the sperm count compared with irradiation alone. In almost all combined treatment groups, the percentage of abnormal spermatozoa was significantly decreased compared with that after irradiation alone. In some cases, combined treatment reduced levels of DNA damage in gametes. Both doses of LYC administered from Day 8 significantly reduced the percentage of morphologically abnormal spermatozoa compared with that seen after 1 Gy irradiation and reduced DNA damage in all combined treatment groups. In conclusion, LYC supplementation after irradiation can ameliorate the harmful effects of irradiation on gametes. Mitigation of radiation-induced damage in germ cells following LYC administration may be useful for radiological accidents and to protect non-treated tissues in patients with cancer undergoing radiotherapy.