Perifosine, a Bioavailable Alkylphospholipid Akt Inhibitor, Exhibits Antitumor Activity in Murine Models of Cancer Brain Metastasis Through Favorable Tumor Exposure

The combination of temozolomide and perifosine synergistically inhibit glioblastoma by impeding DNA repair and inducing apoptosis

Temozolomide (TMZ) is widely utilized as the primary chemotherapeutic intervention for glioblastoma. However, the clinical use of TMZ is limited by its various side effects and resistance to chemotherapy. The present study revealed the synergistic inhibition of glioblastoma through the combined administration of TMZ and perifosine. This combination therapy markedly diminished BRCA1 expression, resulting in the suppression of DNA repair mechanisms. Furthermore, the combination of TMZ and perifosine elicited caspase-dependent apoptosis, decreasing glioblastoma cell viability and proliferation. The observed synergistic effect of this combination therapy on glioblastoma was validated in vivo, as evidenced by the substantial reduction in glioblastoma xenograft growth following combined treatment with TMZ and perifosine. In recurrent glioma patients, higher BRCA1 expression is associated with worse prognosis, especially the ones that received TMZ-treated. These findings underscore the potent antitumor activity of the AKT inhibitor perifosine when combined with TMZ and suggest that this approach is a promising strategy for clinical glioblastoma treatment.

Corneal ring infiltrate- far more than Acanthamoeba keratitis: review of pathophysiology, morphology, differential diagnosis and management

OBJECTIVE

Ring infiltrates usually accompany numerous infectious and sterile ocular disorders. Nevertheless, systemic conditions, drugs toxicity and contact lens wear may present with corneal ring infiltrate in substantial part. Considering its detrimental effect on vision, detailed knowledge on etiology, pathophysiology, differential diagnosis, and management should be considered essential for every ophthalmologist.

METHODS

The PUBMED database was searched for "corneal ring infiltrate" and "ring infiltrate" phrases, "sterile corneal infiltrate" and "corneal infiltrate". We analyzed articles written in English on risk factors, pathophysiology, clinical manifestation, morphological features, ancillary tests (anterior-segment optical coherence tomography, corneal scraping, in vivo confocal microscopy), differential diagnosis and management of corneal ring infiltrate.

RESULTS

Available literature depicts multifactorial origin of corneal ring infiltrate. Dual immunological pathophysiology, involving both antibodies-dependent and -independent complement activation, is underlined. Furthermore, we found that the worldwide most prevalent among non-infectious and infectious ring infiltrates are ring infiltrates related to contact-lens wear and bacterial keratitis respectively. Despite low incidence of Acanthamoeba keratitis, it manifests with corneal ring infiltrate with the highest proportion of the affected patients (one third). However, similar ring infiltrate might appear as a first sign of general diseases manifestation and require targeted treatment. Every corneal ring infiltrate with compromised epithelium should be scraped and treat as an infectious infiltrate until not proven otherwise. Of note, microbiological ulcer might also lead to immunological ring and therefore require anti-inflammatory treatment.

CONCLUSION

Corneal ring infiltrate might be triggered not only by ocular infectious and non-infectious factors, but also by systemic conditions. Clinical assessment is crucial for empirical diagnosis. Furthermore, treatment is targeted towards the underlying condition but should begin with anti-infectious regimen until not proven otherwise.

ISOC1 Modulates Inflammatory Responses in Macrophages through the AKT1/PEX11B/Peroxisome Pathway

Inflammation underlies a variety of physiological and pathological processes and plays an essential role in shaping the ensuing adaptive immune responses and in the control of pathogens. However, its physiological functions are not completely clear. Using a LPS-treated RAW264.7 macrophage inflammation model, we found that the production of inflammatory cytokines in ISOC1-deficient cells was significantly higher than that in the control group. It was further proved that ISOC1 deficiency could activate AKT1, and the overactivation of AKT1 could reduce the stability of PEX11B through protein modification, thereby reducing the peroxisome biogenesis and thus affecting inflammation. In this study, we reported for the first time the role of ISOC1 in innate immunity and elucidated the mechanism by which ISOC1 regulates inflammation through AKT1/PEX11B/peroxisome. Our results defined a new role of ISOC1 in the regulatory mechanism underlying the LPS-induced inflammatory response.