Pro-Inflammatory Activation Suppresses TRAIL-induced Apoptosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL/Apo2L) is a promising agent for treatment of AML due to its specific apoptosis-inducing effect on tumor cells but not normal cells. However, emergence of resistance to TRAIL in the AML cells limits its potential as an antileukemic agent. Previously, we revealed increase in the resistance of the human AML THP-1 cells to the TRAIL-induced death during their LPS-dependent proinflammatory activation and in the in vitro model of LPS-independent proinflammatory activation - in a long-term high-density cell culture. In this study, we investigated mechanisms of this phenomenon using Western blot analysis, caspase 3 enzymatic activity analysis, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, and flow cytometry. The results showed that the increased resistance to the TRAIL-induced cell death of AML THP-1 cells during their pro-inflammatory activation is associated with the decrease in the surface expression of the proapoptotic receptors TRAIL-R1/DR4 and TRAIL-R2/DR5, as well as with the increased content of members of the IAPs family - Livin and cIAP2. The results of this article open up new insights into the role of inflammation in formation of the resistance of AML cells to the action of mediators of antitumor immunity, in particular TRAIL.

Low-Temperature Calcium Phosphate Ceramics Can Modulate Monocytes and Macrophages Inflammatory Response In Vitro

Creating bioactive materials for bone tissue regeneration and augmentation remains a pertinent challenge. One of the most promising and rapidly advancing approaches involves the use of low-temperature ceramics that closely mimic the natural composition of the extracellular matrix of native bone tissue, such as Hydroxyapatite (HAp) and its phase precursors (Dicalcium Phosphate Dihydrate-DCPD, Octacalcium Phosphate-OCP, etc.). However, despite significant scientific interest, the current knowledge and understanding remain limited regarding the impact of these ceramics not only on reparative histogenesis processes but also on the immunostimulation and initiation of local aseptic inflammation leading to material rejection. Using the stable cell models of monocyte-like (THP-1ATRA) and macrophage-like (THP-1PMA) cells under the conditions of LPS-induced model inflammation in vitro, the influence of DCPD, OCP, and HAp on cell viability, ROS and intracellular NO production, phagocytosis, and the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines was assessed. The results demonstrate that all investigated ceramic particles exhibit biological activity toward human macrophage and monocyte cells in vitro, potentially providing conditions necessary for bone tissue restoration/regeneration in the peri-implant environment in vivo. Among the studied ceramics, DCPD appears to be the most preferable for implantation in patients with latent inflammation or unpredictable immune status, as this ceramic had the most favorable overall impact on the investigated cellular models.

Composite Remineralization of Bone-Collagen Matrices by Low-Temperature Ceramics and Serum Albumin: A New Approach to the Creation of Highly Effective Osteoplastic Materials

This study examined the effectiveness of coating demineralized bone matrix (DBM) with amorphous calcium phosphate (DBM + CaP), as well as a composite of DBM, calcium phosphate, and serum albumin (DBM + CaP + BSA). The intact structure of DBM promotes the transformation of amorphous calcium phosphate (CaP) into dicalcium phosphate dihydrate (DCPD) with a characteristic plate shape and particle size of 5-35 µm. The inclusion of BSA in the coating resulted in a better and more uniform distribution of CaP on the surface of DBM trabeculae. MG63 cells showed that both the obtained forms of CaP and its complex with BSA did not exhibit cytotoxicity up to a concentration of 10 mg/mL in vitro. Ectopic (subcutaneous) implantation in rats revealed pronounced biocompatibility, as well as strong osteoconductive, osteoinductive, and osteogenic effects for both DBM + CaP and DBM + CaP + BSA, but more pronounced effects for DBM + CaP + BSA. In addition, for the DBM + CaP + BSA samples, there was a pronounced full physiological intrafibrillar biomineralization and proangiogenic effect with the formation of bone-morrow-like niches, accompanied by pronounced processes of intramedullary hematopoiesis, indicating a powerful osteogenic effect of this composite.

Soft Biomimetic Approach for the Development of Calcinosis-Resistant Glutaraldehyde-Fixed Biomaterials for Cardiovascular Surgery

Pathological aseptic calcification is the most common form of structural valvular degeneration (SVD), leading to premature failure of heart valve bioprostheses (BHVs). The processing methods used to obtain GA-fixed pericardium-based biomaterials determine the hemodynamic characteristics and durability of BHVs. This article presents a comparative study of the effects of several processing methods on the degree of damage to the ECM of GA-fixed pericardium-based biomaterials as well as on their biostability, biocompatibility, and resistance to calcification. Based on the assumption that preservation of the native ECM structure will enable the creation of calcinosis-resistant materials, this study provides a soft biomimetic approach for the manufacture of GA-fixed biomaterials using gentle decellularization and washing methods. It has been shown that the use of soft methods for preimplantation processing of materials, ensuring maximum preservation of the intactness of the pericardial ECM, radically increases the resistance of biomaterials to calcification. These obtained data are of interest for the development of new calcinosis-resistant biomaterials for the manufacture of BHVs.

Improving the Stability and Effectiveness of Immunotropic Squalene Nanoemulsion by Adding Turpentine Oil

Turpentine oil, owing to the presence of 7-50 terpenes, has analgesic, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, antibacterial, anticoagulant, antioxidant, and antitumor properties, which are important for medical emulsion preparation. The addition of turpentine oil to squalene emulsions can increase their effectiveness, thereby reducing the concentration of expensive and possibly deficient squalene, and increasing its stability and shelf life. In this study, squalene emulsions were obtained by adding various concentrations of turpentine oil via high-pressure homogenization, and the safety and effectiveness of the obtained emulsions were studied in vitro and in vivo. All emulsions showed high safety profiles, regardless of the concentration of turpentine oil used. However, these emulsions exhibited dose-dependent effects in terms of both efficiency and storage stability, and the squalene emulsion with 1.0% turpentine oil had the most pronounced adjuvant and cytokine-stimulating activity as well as the most pronounced stability indicators when stored at room temperature. Thus, it can be concluded that the squalene emulsion with 1% turpentine oil is a stable, monomodal, and reliably safe ultradispersed emulsion and may have pleiotropic effects with pronounced immunopotentiating properties.

Biomimetic Remineralized Three-Dimensional Collagen Bone Matrices with an Enhanced Osteostimulating Effect

Bone grafts with a high potential for osseointegration, capable of providing a complete and effective regeneration of bone tissue, remain an urgent and unresolved issue. The presented work proposes an approach to develop composite biomimetic bone material for reconstructive surgery by deposition (remineralization) on the surface of high-purity, demineralized bone collagen matrix calcium phosphate layers. Histological and elemental analysis have shown reproduction of the bone tissue matrix architectonics, and a high-purity degree of the obtained collagen scaffolds; the cell culture and confocal microscopy have demonstrated a high biocompatibility of the materials obtained. Adsorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, microcomputed tomography (microCT) and infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction have proven the efficiency of the deposition of calcium phosphates on the surface of bone collagen scaffolds. Cell culture and confocal microscopy methods have shown high biocompatibility of both demineralized and remineralized bone matrices. In the model of heterotopic implantation in rats, at the term of seven weeks, an intensive intratrabecular infiltration of calcium phosphate precipitates, and a pronounced synthetic activity of osteoblast remodeling and rebuilding implanted materials, were revealed in remineralized bone collagen matrices in contrast to demineralized ones. Thus, remineralization of highly purified demineralized bone matrices significantly enhanced their osteostimulating ability. The data obtained are of interest for the creation of new highly effective osteoplastic materials for bone tissue regeneration and augmentation.

Long-term pharmacological torpor of rats with feedback-controlled drug administration

The maintenance of pharmacological torpor and hypothermia (body temperature 28 °C - 33 °C) in rats for a week is presented. For this purpose, our laboratory has developed a device (BioFeedback-2) for the feed-back controlled multiple injections of small doses of a pharmacological composition that we created earlier. On the 7th day, the rat spontaneously come out of the pharmacological torpor, the body temperature returned to normal, and on the 8th day, the animal could consume food and water. The proposed approach for maintaining multi-day pharmacological torpor can be applied in medicine, as well as for protecting astronauts during long missions in space.

Study of Biointegration and Elastic-Strength Properties of a New Xenopericardium-Based Biomaterial for Reconstructive Cardiovascular Surgery

We analyzed biocompatibility, elastic-strength properties, and biointegration potential of a new biomaterial made of xenopericardium for reconstructive cardiovascular surgery. The biomaterial manufactured by the proposed technology demonstrated high biocompatibility and biointegration potential and its elastic-strength properties 2-4-fold surpassed that of native pericardium. The obtained results attested to good prospects of using the proposed technology for preparing biomaterials for reconstructive cardiovascular surgery.

Chronic Alcohol Intoxication Is Not Accompanied by an Increase in Calpain Proteolytic Activity in Cardiac Muscle of Rats

Enzymatic activity of Ca2+-dependent calpain proteases as well as the content and gene expression of μ-calpain (activated by micromolar calcium ion concentrations), calpastatin (inhibitor of calpains), and titin (substrate for calpains) were investigated in cardiac muscles of rats subjected to chronic alcoholization for 3 and 6 months. There was no increase in the "heart weight/body weight" parameter indicating development of heart hypertrophy in the alcoholized rats, while a decreasing trend was observed for this parameter in the rats after 6-month modeling of alcoholic cardiomyopathy, which indicated development of atrophic changes in the myocardium. Fluorometric measurements conducted using the Calpain Activity Assay Kit did not reveal any changes in total calpain activity in protein extracts of cardiac muscles of the rats alcoholized for 3 and 6 months. Western blot analysis did not show reliable changes in the contents of μ-calpain and calpastatin, and SDS-PAGE did not reveal any decrease in the titin content in the myocardium of rats after the chronic alcohol intoxication. Autolysis of μ-calpain was also not verified, which could indicate that proteolytic activity of this enzyme in myocardium of chronically alcoholized rats is not enhanced. Using Pro-Q Diamond staining, changes in phosphorylation level of titin were not detected in cardiac muscle of rats after chronic alcoholization during three and six months. A decrease in µ-calpain and calpastatin mRNA content (~1.3-fold, p ≤ 0.01 and ~1.9-fold, p ≤ 0.01, respectively) in the myocardium of rats alcoholized for 3 months and decrease in calpastatin mRNA (~1.4-fold, p ≤ 0.01) in animals alcoholized for 6 months was demonstrated using real-time PCR. These results indicate negative effect of chronic alcohol intoxication on expression of the abovementioned genes.

Antipsychotic inductors of brain hypothermia and torpor-like states: perspectives of application

Hypothermia and hypometabolism (hypometabothermia) normally observed during natural hibernation and torpor, allow animals to protect their body and brain against the damaging effects of adverse environment. A similar state of hypothermia can be achieved under artificial conditions through physical cooling or pharmacological effects directed at suppression of metabolism and the processes of thermoregulation. In these conditions called torpor-like states, the mammalian ability to recover from stroke, heart attack, and traumatic injuries greatly increases. Therefore, the development of therapeutic methods for different pathologies is a matter of great concern. With the discovery of the antipsychotic drug chlorpromazine in the 1950s of the last century, the first attempts to create a pharmacologically induced state of hibernation for therapeutic purposes were made. That was the beginning of numerous studies in animals and the broad use of therapeutic hypothermia in medicine. Over the last years, many new agents have been discovered which were capable of lowering the body temperature and inhibiting the metabolism. The psychotropic agents occupy a significant place among them, which, in our opinion, is not sufficiently recognized in the contemporary literature. In this review, we summarized the latest achievements related to the ability of modern antipsychotics to target specific receptors in the brain, responsible for the initiation of hypometabothermia.

[Inhibition of NF-kB Activation Decreases Resistance in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells to TRAIL-induced Apoptosis in Multicellular Aggregates]

Suppression of resistance in acute myeloid leukemia cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis in multicellular aggregates, was studied using small molecule inhibitors of the activation of the transcription factor NF-kB - NF-k9 Activation Inhibitor IV and JSH-23 at non-toxic concentrations. NF-kB Activation Inhibitor IV and JSH-23 reduced resistance in the acute myeloid leukemia cells in multicellular aggregates to cytotoxic action of recombinant protein izTRAIL. It is shown that the use of these inhibitors decreased the phosphorylation of the RelA (p65) as a main marker activation of the transcription factor NF-kB. We discuss a possible reason for increasing resistance in acute myeloid leukemia cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis in multicellular aggregates.

[Study of cytotoxicity of fullerene C60 derivatives]

We investigated the cytotoxicity of the fullerene C60 derivatives. We showed that complexes of C60 fullerene with polyvinylpyrrolidone (m.w. of polyvinylpyrrolidone 10000 and 25000), C60-NO2-proline and C60-alanine had no toxic effect on HEp-2 cells. Sodium salt of polycarboxylic derivative of fullerene C60 exerted a pronounced toxic effect on this cell culture.

Fullerenolates: metallated polyhydroxylated fullerenes with potent anti-amyloid activity

It has been revealed for the first time that sodium fullerenolate Na(4)[C(60)(OH)(∼30)] (NaFL), a water soluble polyhydroxylated [60]fullerene derivative, destroys amyloid fibrils of the Aβ(1-42) peptide in the brain and prevents their formation in in vitro experiments. The cytotoxicity of NaFL was found to be negligibly low with respect to nine different culture cell lines. At the same time, NaFL showed a very low acute toxicity in vivo. The maximal tolerable dose (MTD) and LD50 for NaFL correspond to 1000 mg kg(-1) and 1800 mg kg(-1), respectively, as revealed by in vivo tests in mice using intraperitoneal drug injection. The observed pronounced anti-amyloid activity and low toxicity of NaFL make it a very promising lead drug for the development of potent fullerene-based therapeutic approaches for the treatment of amyloidoses, such as Alzheimer's disease and others.

[The role of recipient cells in the mechanism of pathological calcification of heart valve and vascular transplants]

It was found using the model of subcutaneous implantation in rats that the calcification of the aorta wall occurs by two mechanisms of which one is dependent on, and the other independent of the migration of recipient cells to the transplant.