Preparation, characterization, and applications of polyacrylonitrile/ball clay nanocomposite synthesized by gamma radiation

Elimination of hazardous metals is of extreme worry for their toxicity at trace levels and accumulation in the biosystem. Polyacrylonitrile ball clay nanocomposite was prepared by gamma irradiation at 20 kGy. Different analytical tools were applied to prove morphology, functional groups, and chemical structure for prepared composite; SEM, TEM, IR, XRD, and XRF. From TEM and XRD data expose the studied composite has nanoscale and crystalline. The adsorption of Cs⁺, Co²⁺ and Fe³⁺ onto studied material took place after 24 h. Second order was preceded by the kinetic system. The capacity and effect of pH on k_d reflect selectivity sequence; Co²⁺  > Fe³⁺  >  > Cs⁺. Both Freundlich and Langmuir are applicable for investigated material. Finally, PAN/BC nanocomposite is suitable for the column technique.

Effect of l-carnitine on cardiotoxicity and apoptosis induced by imatinib through PDGF/ PPARγ /MAPK pathways

A tyrosine kinase inhibitor Imatinib (IM) is used in the treatment of different varieties of cancers. The current study was designed to explore the beneficial role of l-carnitine against IM-induced cardiotoxicity in rats. Male albino rats received IM (40 mg/kg, i.p.) either alone or/in combination with l-carnitine (100 mg/kg, i.p.) for 7 days. IM increased serum inflammatory cytokines, concomitant with activation of cardiac MAPK, α-SMA, malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide(NO), decreased cardiac peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) level, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and glutathione (GSH) content. The expression levels of Bcl-2 and PDGF were significantly decreased, while the expression levels of CTGF and BAX were significantly increased in the IM group. The l-carnitine treatment successfully protected the heart as indicated by the improvement of the biochemical and histopathological parameters. l-carnitine didn't affect the serum concentration of IM and increased intracellular concentration in the combination-treated group as measured by the mass spectrometer. Conclusion: l-carnitine abrogated IM-induced cardiac damage and apoptosis via PDGF/PPARγ/MAPK pathways.

Simvastatin Evokes An Unpredicted Antagonism For Tamoxifen In MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells

Purpose

Tamoxifen (TAM) is a non-steroidal antiestrogen drug, used in the prevention and treatment of all stages of hormone-responsive breast cancer. Simvastatin (SIM) is a lipid-lowering agent and has been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth. The study aimed to investigate the effect of the combination of TAM and SIM in the treatment of estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, and in mice-bearing Ehrlich solid tumors.

Methods

MCF-7 cells were treated with different concentrations of TAM or/and SIM for 72 hours and the effects of the combination treatment on cytotoxicity, oxidative stress markers, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and metastasis were investigated using different techniques. In addition, tumor volume, oxidative markers, and inflammatory markers of the combined therapy were explored in mice bearing solid EAC tumors.

Results

The results showed that treatment of MCF-7 cells with the combination of 10 µM TAM, and 2 µM SIM significantly inhibited the increase in oxidative stress markers, LDH, and NF-kB induced by TAM. In addition, there was a significant decrease in the total apoptotic ratio, caspase-3 activity, and glucose uptake, while there was a non-significant change in Bax/bcl-2 ratio compared to the TAM-treated group. Using the isobologram equation, the drug interaction was antagonistic with combination index, CI=1.18. On the other hand, the combination regimen decreased VEGF, and matrix metalloproteinases, MMP 2&9 compared to TAM-treated cells. Additionally, in vivo, the combination regimen resulted in a non-significant decrease in the tumor volume, decreased oxidative markers, and the protein expression of TNF-α, and NF-κB compared to the TAM treated group.

Conclusion

Although the combination regimen of TAM and SIM showed an antagonistic drug interaction in MCF-7 breast cancer, it displayed favorable antiangiogenic, anti-metastatic, and anti-inflammatory effects.

Evaluation of tamoxifen and simvastatin as the combination therapy for the treatment of hormonal dependent breast cancer cells

Tamoxifen (TAM) is a nonsteroidal antiestrogen drug, used in the prevention and treatment of all stages of hormone-responsive breast cancer. Simvastatin (SIM), a lipid-lowering agent, has been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth. The study aimed at investigating the impact of using SIM with TAM in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer cell line, T47D, as well as in mice-bearing Ehrlich solid tumor. The cell line was treated with different concentrations of TAM or/and SIM for 72 h. The effects of treatment on cytotoxicity, oxidative stress markers, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and metastasis were investigated. Our results showed that the combination treatment decreased the oxidative stress markers, glucose uptake, VEGF, and MMP 2 &9 in the cell line compared to TAM- treated cells. Drug interaction of TAM and SIM was synergistic in T47D by increasing the apoptotic makers Bax/BCL-2 ratio and caspase 3 activity. Additionally, in vivo, the combination regimen resulted in a non-significant decrease in the tumor volume compared to TAM treated group. Moreover, the combined treatment decreased the protein expression of TNF-α, NF-kB compared to control. In conclusion, our results suggest that SIM may serve as a promising treatment with TAM for improving the efficacy against estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer.

Intranasal haloperidol-loaded miniemulsions for brain targeting: Evaluation of locomotor suppression and in-vivo biodistribution

Haloperidol is a commonly prescribed antipsychotic drug currently administered as oral and injectable preparations. This study aimed to prepare haloperidol intranasal miniemulsion helpful for psychiatric emergencies and exhibiting lower systemic exposure and side effects associated with non-target site delivery. Haloperidol miniemulsions were successfully prepared by spontaneous emulsification adopting 2(3) factorial design. The effect of three independent variables at two levels each namely; oil type (Capmul®-Capryol™90), lipophilic emulsifier type (Span 20-Span 80) and HLB value (12-14) on globule size, PDI and percent locomotor activity inhibition in mice was evaluated. The optimized formula (F4, Capmul®, Tween 80/Span 20, HLB 14) showed globule size of 209.5±0.98nm, PDI of 0.402±0.03 and locomotor inhibition of 83.89±9.15% with desirability of 0.907. Biodistribution study following intranasal and intravenous administration of the radiolabeled (99m)Tc mucoadhesive F4 revealed that intranasal administration achieved 1.72-fold higher and 6 times faster peak brain levels compared with intravenous administration. Drug targeting efficiency percent and brain/blood exposure ratios remained above 100% and 1 respectively after intranasal instillation compared to a maximum brain/blood exposure ratio of 0.8 post intravenous route. Results suggested the CNS delivery of major fraction of haloperidol via direct transnasal to brain pathway that can be a promising alternative to oral and parenteral routes in chronic and acute situations. Haloperidol concentration of 275.6ng/g brain 8h post intranasal instillation, higher than therapeutic concentration range of haloperidol (0.8 to 5.15ng/ml), suggests possible sustained delivery of the drug through nasal route.

Modulatory effects of l-carnitine on tamoxifen toxicity and oncolytic activity

The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of l-carnitine (l-CAR) in tamoxifen (TAM)-induced toxicity and antitumor activity. Adult female rats were randomly divided into four groups. Group I was served as control, groups II and III were treated with TAM (10 mg/kg, periorally) and l-CAR (300 mg/kg, intraperitoneally), respectively, while group IV was treated with both compounds. The treatment continued daily for 28 days. Administration of TAM resulted in significant increase in serum lipid profiles, liver enzymes, and bilirubin level. TAM produced a significant increase in lipid peroxides (LPO) level and nonsignificant change in nitrogen oxide (NO( x)) level accompanied with significant decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of hepatic and uterus tissues and significant decrease in glutathione (GSH) content of uterus tissue. Administration of l-CAR for 1 h prior to TAM treatment decreased serum lipids and liver enzymes significantly and significantly increased SOD activity in liver and uterus tissues compared with TAM-treated group. Furthermore, it restored LPO and GSH levels and increased NO( x) level in uterus tissue. DNA fragmentation and the apoptotic marker, caspase-3, were not detected in the liver of all treated groups. Histopathologically, alterations in the liver and uterus structures after TAM treatment, which was attenuated after l-CAR administration. The antitumor effect and survival of the combined treatment of Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC)-bearing mice was less than each one alone. l-CAR interestingly increased survival rate of EAC-bearing mice more than TAM-treated group. In conclusion, l-CAR has beneficial effects regarding TAM toxicity; however, it interferes with its antitumor effect.

Same day outpatient transjugular liver biopsies in haemophilia

Patients with haemophilia are at increased risk of hepatitis C infection because of prior transfusion of blood products. Virtually all haemophiliacs who received pooled blood products before the mid-1980s have been infected with hepatitis C. A liver biopsy is important to identify the extent of liver disease, and to help determine the necessity of interferon therapy. With factor replacement, in-hospital liver biopsy is safe. Thirty patients with haemophilia were evaluated for chronic hepatitis C infection. Eleven patients subsequently underwent successful transjugular liver biopsy in the outpatient setting after appropriate factor replacement. Mean +/- SD pre- and posthaemoglobin values were 15.8 +/- 0.79 and 14.4 +/- 0.71 g dL(-1) (P = ns). There was no significant change in heart rate, systolic or diastolic blood pressure during the monitoring period (P = ns) and no major complication was noted in perioperative follow-up. The mean length of the liver biopsy specimens was 1.7 +/- 0.3 cm, mean grade was 2 +/- 0.6 and mean stage was 2.3 +/- 1.2. Our experience demonstrates that outpatient transjugular liver biopsy can be safely performed in patients with haemophilia in the outpatient setting, avoiding the cost and need for hospital admission.

Seroepidemiology of hepatitis A in patients with chronic liver disease

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) rarely causes fulminant hepatic failure in the general population. Yet it is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD), in whom routine HAV vaccination is recommended. However, studies of HAV seroprevalence and exposure predictors in populations with CLD are scarce. We have studied a cohort of 473 patients with various causes of CLD between July 2000 and June 2002. Patients were stratified on the basis of age, gender, ethnicity and aetiology of liver disease. The HAV seroprevalence in patients with CLD was compared with that in the general population. We used a logistic regression analysis to identify independent predictors of HAV exposure. Of the 473 patients studied, HAV seroprevalence was available for 454 individuals. HCV, HBV, alcohol, and HCV and alcohol were the causes of CLD in 337, 72, 37 and eight patients, respectively. The overall HAV seroprevalence was 55% in the studied cohort. The age-stratified HAV prevalence for ages 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70 and greater than 70 years was 44, 51, 44, 63, 65 and 64%, respectively. Hispanic ethnicity, Asian ethnicity, alcohol use and ages of 51-70 years were found to be independent predictive variables of prior exposure to HAV. HAV infection in patients with CLD causes considerable morbidity and mortality. We demonstrated that age-stratified seroprevalence of HAV in patients with CLD of various aetiologies is significantly higher than that of the general population, and identified several independent predictors of HAV prior exposure.

Dietary fat affects immune response, production of antiviral factors, and immune complex disease in NZB/NZW mice

Autoimmune-prone (NZB x NZW)F1 (B/W) mice fed three nearly isocaloric diets with varied fat content showed a marked difference in their spontaneous development of immune complex disease and their immune response. Those animals received the diets high in either unsaturated or saturated fats had more severe immune complex nephritis and died earlier than mice on the low-fat diet. Endogenous production of the mouse xenotropic virus was unaffected by dietary fats, but the serum lipoproteins associated with antiviral activity were increased to levels as high as 1:600,000 in the B/W mice on the high-fat diets. These lipoproteins may be partially responsible for the decreased mitogenic response of spleen cells from mice fed the two high-fat diets. The mice receiving a diet high in saturated fats produced substantially higher titers of natural thymocytotoxic autoantibody, an IgM class of antibody, than did the mice maintained either on the high-unsaturated-fat or low-fat diet. In contrast, the mice receiving the diet high in unsaturated fats made significantly greater levels of antibodies to double-stranded DNA, an IgG, than did the mice kept on the two other diets. These results suggest that the type of fat in the diet could affect the serum level of different immunoglobulin classes. The data provide further evidence that the amount of dietary lipids alone can influence cellular and humoral immune responses and the spontaneous development of immune complex disease.

Immune response to hepatitis B surface antigen

A total of 69 persons were investigated for assessment of cell-mediated and humoral immunity to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Three groups, each consisting of 20 normal persons, 20HBsAg carriers, and 20 convalescent hepatitis B patients, were studied for HBsAg, anti-HBs, and leukocyte migration inhibition with purified HBsAg. Sequential sampling if an additional group of nine acute hepatitis B patients defined the cellular and humoral immune response to HBsAg. The antigen was eliminated rapidly by mounting of cell-mediated immune response detectable for a limited period, followed by antibody response in relatively few patients moore than 3 months after clearance of circulating HBsAg.

Studies on delayed hypersensitivity to hepatitis B antigen in chimpanzees

Twenty-eight chimpanzees were divided into six groups according to their history of previous immunization or exposure to hepatitis B antigen (HBAg) and studied for delayed hypersensitivity (DH) to HBAg. Purified HBAg derived from a normal human carrier was used for in vivo skin testing and in vitro leucocyte migration inhibition tests. Of seventeen chimpanzees immunized with HBAg in Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA), nine exhibited positive DH reactions to HBAg with good correlation between the in vivo and in vitro responses. Of the seventeen chimpanzees, fourteen also exhibited positive DH reactions to purified protein derivative of tuberculin (PPD) with marked erythema and induration; the other three exhibited only erythema with no induration. None of the seventeen animals exhibited any immediate reactivity to either HBAg or PPD. Intradermal injection of HBAg-negative human serum failed to elicit DH reactions in four animals who showed positive skin test with purified HBAg; the DH response was thus probably HBAg-specific. Nineteen chimpanzees, including six unimmunized animals, three chronic carriers of HBAg and two which had been injected with HBAg without FCA, failed to show DH response to HBAg. Thus, DH to HBAg was observed only in animals hyperimmunized with HBAg in FCA.

Experimental induction of anergy to coccidioidin by antigens of Coccidioides immitis

Failure to react to coccidioidin (anergy) often occurs in patients with disseminated coccidioidomycosis. One possible reason may be desensitization by excessive amounts of antigen. This was studied experimentally by injection of soluble and hyphal antigens of Coccidioides immitis into coccidioidin- and tuberculin-sensitive guinea pigs. Guinea pigs sensitized by injection of killed hyphal cells of C. immitis in complete Freund adjuvant were subsequently injected daily either with soluble coccidioidal antigen administered intraperitoneally or with hyphal antigen administered either subcutaneously or intraperitoneally. Gradual loss of cutaneous reactivity to coccidioidin occurred, but the reactivity to tuberculin remained unimpaired. The rapidity of desensitization was roughly proportional to the dose of antigen with desensitization occurring as early as 6 days after beginning injections. This anergic state was temporary, and reactivity returned several days after discontinuing injection of antigen. Injection of coccidioidal antigen led to production of coccidioidal complement-fixing antibody, but there was no consistent relationship between the antibody titer and state of cutaneous reactivity to coccidioidin. Peritoneal exudate or pulmonary alveolar cells from desensitized animals migrated freely in the presence of coccidioidin but were inhibited in the presence of tuberculin. Heat treatment did not impair the capacity of the soluble or hyphal antigen to induce anergy, thus suggesting that the antigen active in complement fixation was perhaps not involved in desensitization. Polysaccharide obtained by ethanol precipitation of dialyzed coccidioidin failed to induce anergy. Dialysis of the soluble coccidioidal antigen caused the loss of the desensitizing activity. Thus, specific desensitization could be induced by administration of large doses of coccidioidal antigen but dialyzable components appear important in this desensitization.

Australia antigen (hepatitis B antigen): a conformational antigen dependent on disulfide bonds

Reduction and alkylation of purified hepatitis-associated Australia antigen (hepatitis B antigen) resulted in a total loss of serologic activity. The reduced and alkylated protein formed a single band with a sedimentation coefficient of 31S on analytical ultracentrifugation, and no subunits were detected by Sephadex gel filtration. Although this preparation induced a delayed hypersensitivity response when injected into guinea pigs, it failed to stimulate humoral antibody formation. The data suggest that hepatitis B antigen is a conformational antigen critically dependent upon the disulfide bonds of the protein moiety.

Medical ecology and epidemiology

No abstract available.

Choriocarcinoma in a postmenopausal nulligravida

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