Combretastatin A-4 disodium phosphate and low dose gamma irradiation suppress hepatocellular carcinoma by downregulating ROCK1 and VEGF gene expression

Protective and Therapeutic Effects of Bovine Amniotic Fluids Collected in Different Trimesters on the Epidural Fibrosis After Experimental Laminectomy in Rats

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate the protective and therapeutic effects of bovine amniotic fluid (BAF) on the inhibition of epidural fibrosis (EF) after experimental laminectomy.

METHODS

Forty female Sprague Dawley rats were used. The amniotic fluids were collected from each trimester of a pregnant cow. The rats were divided into 5 groups. Whereas no laminectomy was applied to the control group, animals in the sham group underwent laminectomy. Laminectomy was performed in the animals in other groups and the operation area was closed by dripping 1 mL of BAF collected in 3 trimesters of pregnancy. Animals were killed 28 days after the operation.

RESULTS

Compared with control, VEGF gene expression levels were downregulated approximately 5-fold in BAF-2. Whereas IL-6 was upregulated approximately 8-fold in the sham, it was downregulated 5-fold and 3-fold in BAF-1 and BAF-2, respectively. There was downregulation in BAF-2 and BAF-3 in terms of CD105 gene expression levels. TGFβ1 was upregulated approximately 2-fold in the sham group and downregulated in BAF-1 and BAF-2. Although histopathologic alterations including EF grade and fibroblast cell density were found to increase in the sham group, all BAF treatment decreased those of alterations. The highest CD105 immunoreactivity was detected in the sham group. All BAF treatment markedly aggravated fibrosis via decreasing CD105 immunoreactivity. In terms of grading parameters, almost the closest grades to the control were determined in the BAF-2. BAF collected in the second trimester is most effective in healing of scar tissue and preventing fibrosis via decreasing microvessel and fibroblast densities.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that BAF may be used as a potential protective agent to prevent EF.

Association of the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) with Cisplatin Resistance

Therapy resistance is a characteristic of cancer cells that significantly reduces the effectiveness of drugs. Despite the popularity of cisplatin (CP) as a chemotherapeutic agent, which is widely used in the treatment of various types of cancer, resistance of cancer cells to CP chemotherapy has been extensively observed. Among various reported mechanism(s), the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) process can significantly contribute to chemoresistance by converting the motionless epithelial cells into mobile mesenchymal cells and altering cell–cell adhesion as well as the cellular extracellular matrix, leading to invasion of tumor cells. By analyzing the impact of the different molecular pathways such as microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, nuclear factor-κB (NF-ĸB), phosphoinositide 3-kinase-related protein kinase (PI3K)/Akt, mammalian target rapamycin (mTOR), and Wnt, which play an important role in resistance exhibited to CP therapy, we first give an introduction about the EMT mechanism and its role in drug resistance. We then focus specifically on the molecular pathways involved in drug resistance and the pharmacological strategies that can be used to mitigate this resistance. Overall, we highlight the various targeted signaling pathways that could be considered in future studies to pave the way for the inhibition of EMT-mediated resistance displayed by tumor cells in response to CP exposure.