Mechanistic perspective of protective effects of nilotinib against cisplatin-induced testicular injury in rats: Role of JNK/caspase-3 signaling inhibition

Cisplatin is an effective anticancer used widely in treatment of solid and germ cell tumors, however, the immense toxicity on healthy tissues discourages cisplatin use in prolonged treatment protocols. Testicular toxicity is amongst its undesired adverse effects. Nilotinib is a second generation multityrosine kinase inhibitor which is used as an anticancer agent with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. In the present study, a single dose of cisplatin (7 mg/kg, I.P) to rats induced a significant testicular injury. Daily administration of nilotinib (20 mg/kg, orally) 24 h post cisplatin injection for 10 days ameliorated testicular damage. Nilotinib significantly increased serum testosterone and sperm concentration outside frame of oligospermia with simultaneous full recovery of sperm viability. Nevertheless, biomarkers of apoptosis such as JNKs and Caspase -3, were significantly reduced. Moreover, improved antioxidant status of the testes was inferred by significant elevation of GSR, SOD and TAC alongside with reduction in lipid peroxidation biomarkers; MDA and 4-HNE. Flow Cytometry analysis of the cell cycle confirmed a significant increase in the percentage of testicular cells present in G2/M phase and a significant decrease in the percentage of apoptotic testicular cells after nilotinib administration. Histopathologically, nilotinib preserved testicular architecture showing significant numbers of sperm and spermatids within lumens of seminiferous tubule. Furthermore, nilotinib enhanced testicular expression of Ki67 significantly, providing evidence of testicular regeneration. In conclusion, nilotinib refinement of cisplatin induced testicular toxicity is attributed to enhancing antioxidant capabilities, decreasing apoptotic signals and restoring regenerative capacity of testes suggesting nilotinib to be used in conjunction with cisplatin in treatment protocols to avoid cisplatin induced long term testicular toxicity.

The c-Met inhibitor capmatinib alleviates acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity

Acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity comes among the most frequent humans' toxicities caused by drugs. So far, therapeutic interventions for such type of drug-induced toxicity are still limited. In the current study, we examined the influence of capmatinib (Cap), a novel c-Met inhibitor, on APAP-induced hepatotoxicity in mice when administered 2 h prior, 2 h post and 4 h post APAP-challenge. The results revealed that Cap administration significantly attenuated APAP-induced liver injury when administered only 2 h prior and post APAP-administration. Cap hepatoprotective effect was mediated by lowering the excessive formation of lipid peroxidation and nitrosative stress products caused by APAP. Besides, Cap attenuated APAP-induced overproduction and release of proinflammatory mediators like TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-17A, IL-6, and MCP-1. Cap treatment also led to avoidance of APAP-subsequent repair by abating APAP-induced elevation of hepatic IL-22 and PCNA expressions. In conclusion, c-Met receptor inhibition may be a potential strategy for alleviating APAP-hepatotoxicity, especially when administered in the early phase of intoxication.

Numerical solutions of the fractional Fisher's type equations with Atangana-Baleanu fractional derivative by using spectral collocation methods

The main objective of this paper is to investigate an accurate numerical method for solving a biological fractional model via Atangana-Baleanu fractional derivative. We focused our attention on linear and nonlinear Fisher's equations. We use the spectral collocation method based on the Chebyshev approximations. This method reduced the nonlinear equations to a system of ordinary differential equations by using the properties of Chebyshev polynomials and then solved them by using the finite difference method. This is the first time that this method is used to solve nonlinear equations in Atangana-Baleanu sense. We present the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method by computing the absolute error and the residual error functions. The results show that the given procedure is an easy and efficient tool to investigate the solution of nonlinear equations with local and non-local singular kernels.

Asymmetrical locomotor response to unilateral cortical injections of DSP-4

The role of norepinephrine depletion in the lateralized production of spontaneous hyperactivity was assessed by unilateral fronto-cortical injections of either 10 or 20 micrograms of the noradrenergic neurotoxin, DSP-4 (N-2-chlorethyl-N-ethyl-bromobenzylamine hydrochloride). Ten micrograms of DSP-4 produced significant hyperkinesis only when injected into the right hemisphere. A 20 micrograms dose produced hyperactivity when injected into either hemisphere. DSP-4 injections resulted in significant NE and ipsilateral and contralateral 5HT depletions in the frontal cortex. The 20 micrograms right hemispheric injection significantly increased both DOPAC and DA levels in the contralateral caudate in a manner unrelated to behavior. These findings, in conjunction with results from previous neurotoxin studies, support a hypothesis of greater relative sensitivity to injury of right hemispheric NE terminal fields compared with injury to left hemispheric fields as demonstrated by spontaneous hyperactivity.