Administering the Optimum Dose of l-Arginine in Regional Tumor Therapy

Colorimetric and Fluorescent Dual-Signal Chemosensor for Lysine and Arginine and Its Application to Detect Amines in Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis

Lysine (Lys) and arginine (Arg), as two of the most alkaline amino acids among 20 common amino acids, are closely involved in many vital biological processes and biomaterial synthesis. Abnormal levels of Lys and Arg can lead to various diseases. Although a limited number of fluorescent probes for Lys and Arg have been reported, many of them are not sensitive enough due to the moderate fluorescence signal and on-off mode. In addition, none of them were applied for detecting amine groups in solid-phase peptide synthesis. In this study, we designed and synthesized optical fluorescent probe 1 based on the benzoxadiazole fluorophore, which could undergo an accelerated hydrolysis reaction under basic conditions. Probe 1 revealed excellent selectivity toward alkaline Lys and Arg over other common amino acids with both fluorometric and colorimetric readouts. After treatment with Lys and Arg, probe 1 could emit a turn-on fluorescent response at 580 nm with a distinct color change from pink to yellow. The limit of detection for Lys and Arg was calculated to be 1.1 and 1.39 μM, respectively. We also successfully applied probe 1 for the visualization of Arg in living cells. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, probe 1 provided the first fluorescent platform to detect -NH₂ groups in solid-phase synthesis of peptides with distinct fluorescent and colorimetric changes. We envision that the probe can provide an alternative method for the traditional Kaiser test.

Predicting Effectiveness of Imatinib Mesylate in Tumors Expressing Platelet-Derived Growth Factors (PDGF-AA, PDGF-BB), Stem Cell Factor Ligands and Their Respective Receptors (PDGFR-α, PDGFR-β, and c-kit)

INTRODUCTION

This research aims to optimize and predict the effectiveness of imatinib mesylate (imatinib) in tumors expressing platelet-derived growth factors (PDGF-AA, BB), kit/stem cell factor (SCF) ligands and their respective receptors (PDGFR-α, PDGFR-β, and c-kit).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Samples of normal primary human T cells were incubated with graded concentrations of 1-5 μM imatinib. The energy yield by imatinib doses in those samples was identified in H-thymidine proliferation assay as described before in earlier studies. Tumor models of human pancreatic adenocarcinoma L3.6pl (PDGFAA/PDGFR-α-positive and KIT-negative), human male gonad Leydig tumor cells MA10 (PDGF-AA/PDGFR-α- positive and KIT-positive), human small-cell lung cancer [H209 (KIT-positive), NCI-H526 (PDGFR β-positive and KIT-positive), and NCI-H82 (PDGFR β-positive and KIT-negative)], and human neuroblastoma SMS-KCNR (PDGF-BB/PDGFR-β-positive and KIT-positive) in athymic nude mice were used. The antitumor activity of different doses of imatinib in different regimens in those xenografts was predicted as described before in earlier studies.

RESULTS

The energy yield by drug doses was perfectly logarithmic correlated (r = 1) with the drug dose. An efficient dose-energy model with perfect fit (R = 1) estimating the energy yield by imatinib doses has been established to administer the personalized dose. Predictions for the antitumor activity of imatinib in those xenografts using the dose-energy model and the histologic grade of the control animals were 100 % identical to those actually induced.

CONCLUSION

The effect of imatinib is transient and reversible, reduces tyrosine phosphorylation of tumor-derived PDGFR-α, PDGFR-β, and c-kit without affecting their levels of expression. A resumption of tumor growth nearly identical to the growth prior to therapy should be expected whenever the treatment is stopped. Tumors of PDGF-AA/PDGFR-α exhibit significant resistance to imatinib which requires administering imatinib three times a day, whereas resistance of tumors of PDGF-BB/PDGFR-β or KIT-positive is relatively lower which requires administering imatinib two times a day only to produce an actual inhibition 100 % identical to that predicted for tumor growth.

Data to establish the optimal standard regimen and predicting the response to docetaxel therapy

This paper contains data to establish the optimal standard regimen and predicting the response to docetaxel therapy (Moawad, 2014) [1]. Docetaxel has been in use for over a decade without demonstrating data indicates a predictable response in the treatment of cancer. Data of puzzling response to docetaxel therapy was due to its cell cycle specific effect. Although several administered schedules were investigated, the relative therapeutic advantage of high versus low doses has not been identified yet. Also the antitumor target of docetaxel has not yet been identified to optimize therapy by predicting the response of patients prior to therapy to provide a protection against treatment failure. In the present paper, we demonstrate the data used to optimize docetaxel therapy and investigate the possibility of predicting for the first time the antitumor target of docetaxel.

Induction of multiple sclerosis and response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors

The goal of this work is to determine the role of the autoimmune cells in multiple sclerosis (MS) induction and the immunomodulatory mechanism of therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in MS attenuation. Samples (5 × 10(5) cells per well) of C6 and primary rat astrocytes were stimulated with 10 ng/mL of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGFbb) as a positive control forming a mouse model of MS. PDGFbb was added to the astrocytes in the absence or presence of 0.1 and 1 μM of imatinib. Proliferation of C6 and primary rat astrocytes samples were assessed for samples staging by the addition of 1 μCi of (3)H-thymidine per well. Samples of RAW 264.7 cells were stimulated for 48 h with 10 ng/mL of PDGFbb in the absence or presence of 0.1 and 1 μM of sorafenib. Tumour necrotic factor (TNF) levels in culture supernatants from RAW 264.7 cells were measured by ELISA. The histologic grade (HG) and the level of TNF of the mouse model of MS was 1/5 and 5 times respectively of those in the control one to clarify that MS induction is due to a major decrease in HG inversely proportional to the accompanied increase in TNF level perpetuating local inflammation and demyelination in MS lesion. The addition of 0.1 and 1 μM doses of imatinib increased HG of the mouse model of MS by 6 and 11 times respectively while 0.1 and 1 μM doses of sorafenib decreased TNF level to be 1/2 and 1/5 of that in the mouse model of MS respectively restoring normal rate of TNF level of normal lesion to show that HGand TNF level would be strongly inversely correlated (r = -0.99) in attenuating MS effectively by TKIs therapy but not in an inverse proportion as in MS induction.