Protective effects of tropisetron on cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis in mice. Biomed Pharmacother. 2017;93:589-595. [PMID: 28686973 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2017.06.067]

Tropisetron ameliorates cyclophosphamide-induced hemorrhagic cystitis in rats

Hemorrhagic cystitis is one of the most important complications of cyclophosphamide, a drug widely used in cancer chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation. 5-HT₃ antagonists are anti-emetic agents and have been shown to have notable anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. This study was designed to investigate the possible protective effects of tropisetron against cyclophosphamide-induced hemorrhagic cystitis in rats. Hemorrhagic cystitis was induced in female rats by cyclophosphamide (270 mg/kg). Tropisetron (2.5, 5 and 7.5 mg/kg), granisetron (2.5 and 5 mg/kg), and ondansetron (5 mg/kg) were injected 15 min before, 4 and 8 h after cyclophosphamide. To evaluate the role of alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR), its antagonist, methyllycaconitine (5 mg/kg) was administered 30 min before tropisetron. After 24 h, animals were killed under anesthesia. Macroscopic and histological changes were evaluated. Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and Evans blue were measured spectrophotometrically. Furthermore, the protein levels of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (P38 MAPK), p-P38, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), p-STAT3 and Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) were determined using Western blot. Cyclophosphamide administration significantly induced histopathological damages and increased MDA, p-p38/p38, p-STAT3/STAT3, and PARP levels compared with the saline group. Tropisetron treatment diminished histopathological injuries as well as MDA level, and STAT3 activity compared to cyclophosphamide treated rats. Co-administration of methyllycaconitine with tropisetron, partially or completely reversed the protective effects of tropisetron. Our results showed that prophylactic administration of tropisetron markedly ameliorated the cyclophosphamide-induced bladder hemorrhage and inflammation in rats. These effects of tropisetron were α7nAChR dependent.

Tropisetron improves pancreas function and increases insulin synthesis and secretion in the STZ-induced diabetic rats: involvement of UCP2/ZnT8 pathway

OBJECTIVES

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common metabolic diseases. Tropisetron, as a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, has a considerable role in the inflammation and oxidative stress lowering. This study aimed to investigate the effect of this 5-HT3 receptor antagonist on insulin secretion in male diabetic rats and the possible mechanisms.

METHODS

Animals were divided into five equal groups; the control, tropisetron, diabetes, tropisetron-diabetes and glibenclamide-diabetes (7 in each group). Tropisetron and glibenclamide were administrated for 2 weeks after inducing type 1 diabetes.

KEY FINDINGS

We demonstrated that insulin secretion improved robustly in diabetes-tropisetron compared with the diabetic group. Oxidative stress biomarkers were lower in a diabetes-tropisetron group than in diabetic rats. Simultaneously, tropisetron administration promoted the expression of ZnT8 and GLUT2 and also beta-cell mass in pancreatic tissue, while the expression of uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) was restrained. The histological evaluation confirmed our results. These effects were equipotent with glibenclamide, indicating that tropisetron can protect islets from the abnormal insulin secretion and morphological changes induced by type 1 diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS

This effect might be partly related to the modulated UCP2/ZnT8 signal pathway and improved oxidative stress-induced damage.

5-HT3 Receptor Antagonists in Neurologic and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: The Iceberg Still Lies beneath the Surface

5-HT₃ receptor antagonists, first introduced to the market in the mid-1980s, are proven efficient agents to counteract chemotherapy-induced emesis. Nonetheless, recent investigations have shed light on unappreciated dimensions of this class of compounds in conditions with an immunoinflammatory component as well as in neurologic and psychiatric disorders. The promising findings from multiple studies have unveiled several beneficial effects of these compounds in multiple sclerosis, stroke, Alzheimer disease, and Parkinson disease. Reports continue to uncover important roles for 5-HT₃ receptors in the physiopathology of neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, drug abuse, and schizophrenia. This review addresses the potential of 5-HT₃ receptor antagonists in neurology- and neuropsychiatry-related disorders. The broad therapeutic window and high compliance observed with these agents position them as suitable prototypes for the development of novel pharmacotherapeutics with higher efficacy and fewer adverse effects.

Tropisetron attenuates tumor growth and progression in an experimental model of mouse lung cancer

The antineoplastic effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor antagonists have been shown in previous studies. However, the exact underlying mechanisms mediating these antineoplastic effects are unclear. In the present study, we assessed the antineoplastic effects of tropisetron, a 5-HT receptor antagonist, in an experimental model of lung cancer in BALB/c mouse. Lewis lung carcinoma cell line was used to induce lung cancer. Mice were divided into four groups (n = 6) as follows: tumor-bearing mice + tropisetron (5 mg/kg intraperitoneally [IP]), tumor-bearing mice + tropisetron (10 mg/kg IP), tumor-bearing mice + saline, healthy mice + tropisetron (10 mg/kg). Tumor burden, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-4, pathological response, Ki-67, and E-cadherin were assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and real-time polymerase chain reaction. Comet assay was used to assess DNA toxicity. Tropisetrone-treated animals (either 5 or 10 mg/kg) showed significantly lower tumor sizes at the day 24th after tumor induction. Tropisetron received animals also showed significantly higher levels of IFN-γ, E-cadherin, pathologic response, and necrotic cells compared to the saline-treated counterparts. In addition, the levels of IL-4, and Ki-67 were significantly lower in tropisetrone treated mice in comparison with control. Furthermore, tropisteron coadministration signifcantly reduced H₂ O₂ -induced DNA toxicity while treatment with tropisteron alone showed no adverse effect on DNA. Tropisetrone can be used as a potential antineoplastic drug in lung cancer. This agent can promote its antineoplastic effects in part through modulating inflammatory and proliferating markers.

血清钙离子对急性胰腺炎持续性器官功能衰竭的预测价值

目的

探讨血清钙离子(serum calcium Ca²⁺)在急性胰腺炎(acute pancreatitis, AP)持续性器官功能衰竭(persistent organ failure, POF)中的临床意义.

方法

选取2012-01/2016-12温州市龙湾区第一人民医院及温州医科大学附属第二医院进行治疗的AP患者165例, 收集患者在症状发作72 h内的临床资料及实验室数据, 分为AP非持续性器官功能衰竭(non persistent organ failure, NO-POF)127例和POF 38例两组, 多因素Logistic回归分析用于评价血清Ca²⁺的预测能力, 采用工作特征曲线(receiver operator characteristic curve, ROC)分析计算血清Ca²⁺的截断值.

结果

经急性胰腺炎NO-POF 127例和POF 38例临床资料及实验室数据比较, 血清Ca²⁺ POF组明显低于NO-POF组, 差异有统计学意义(P<0.001); 多因素Logistic回归分析, 血清Ca²⁺是急性胰腺炎POF的独立危险因素(OR = 0.30, 95%CI: 0.12-0.76); ROC分析结果显示: 血清Ca²⁺预测急性胰腺炎POF的曲线下面积为0.764(95%CI: 0.27-0.58, P<0.001), 其最佳预测截点1.84 mmol/L, 预测POF的敏感性为75.4%, 特异性为72.5%.

结论

入院患者血清Ca²⁺与急性胰腺炎POF独立相关, 可作为一个潜在的预后因素.