Cisplatin is a first-line anticancer drug widely used in clinic. However, its resistance reduces its efficacy. With a non-specific cell cycle, cisplatin's main targets are nucleophilic protein, DNA and RNA in cells. Among cisplatin's multi-factorial resistance mechanisms, abnormal expression of transport protein, intracellular detoxification enhancement, DNA repair capacity increase and apoptosis blocking are the main mechanisms. Because traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) have unique advantages in cancer treatment, their combination with cisplatin can improve the efficacy. In this paper, the authors summarized the advance in studies on cisplatin's resistance and the combination of TCMs and cisplatin in recent years.
Antineoplastic Agents ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ; therapeutic use ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Cell Cycle ; drug effects ; Cisplatin ; administration & dosage ; pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; methods ; trends ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; therapy

Endothelial dysfunction in various vascular diseases is associated with reduced nitric oxide(NO) bioavailability.It has been clearly demonstrated that endothelial nitric oxide synthase(eNOS) uncoupling plays a key role in above vascular pathological status.eNOS uncoupling is characterized by eNOS generating super oxide rather than NO which may resulted from the increased oxidative stress,lack of eNOS protein cofactor tetrahydrobiopterin(BH4),or supplement shortage of eNOS substrate L-arginine.Accumulating evidences suggest that reversal of eNOS uncoupling by ether reduction of oxidative stress or promotion the bioavailability of BH4 and L-arginine may serve as a novel therapeutic strategy for endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular diseases,such as hypertension,diabetes,and atherosclerosis.

Objective To determine the roles and underlying molecular mechanism of MicroRNA-203 on the migration of human hypo-pharyngeal carcinoma cells. Methods The potential MicroRNA-203 target genes were searched by bioinformatic miRNA target prediction tools and KEGG database,and a large number of candidates was identified. The MEKK1 was selected for further investigation. This gene is known to play a role in tumor metastasis. The MicroRNA-203’s binding sites in MEKK1’s mRNA 3’UTR were analyzed by luciferase report-er assays. Nextly,the protein expression of MEKK1 in Fadu-Lv-MicroRNA-203 cells was determined by Western blot assay. The regulation of MEKK1’s mRNA expression by MicroRNA-203 was analyzed by qRT-PCR. Transwell cell migration assays were performed to confirm the im-pact of MicroRNA-203 on hypopharyngeal carcinoma metastasis. Results The expression level of endogenous MicroRNA-203 was negatively correlated with the mRNA and protein expression levels of MEKK1 in hypopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Transwell migration assay results showed that MicroRNA-203 overexpression inhibited hypopharyngeal carcinoma cell migration ability. Furtherly,MEKK1 can promote hypo-pharyngeal carcinoma cell migration ability. Conclusion MEKK1 is a direct target of MicroRNA-203. MicroRNA-203 plays a role in hypo-pharyngeal carcinoma cell migration ability through MEKK1.

Stroke is one of the major diseases that threaten human health, early diagnosis and treatment are very important for stroke. Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is measured noninvasively to diagnosis stroke, and it is a independent predictor for stroke because its thickening can timely predict the incidence and development of stroke. As an important predictor of cardiovascular disease, more and more attention is played on CIMT. In this review, we will make a summary on the important role of CIMT in stroke and the mechanisms of carotid intima-media thickening in stroke as well as the potential use of traditional Chinese medicine in treating carotid intima-media thickening.
Animals ; Carotid Arteries ; drug effects ; physiopathology ; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Stroke ; diagnosis ; drug therapy ; physiopathology

Objective To evaluate the inflammatory response and the expressions of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor(PPAR)isoforms(PPARα,PPARβ/δ,and PPARγ)in the brain(cortex,striatum,cerebellum)of spontaneously hypertensive rats(SHR).Methods Brain tissues(cortex,striatum,and cerebellum)were dissected from SHR and age-matched control Wistar-Kyoto rats.Myeloperoxidase(MPO)activity was measured in brain tissues as an index of neutrophil accumulation and the carbonyl protein content was analyzed by spectrophotometry to evaluate the protein oxidation.RT-PCR and Western blotting were performed to examine the expressions of inflammatory mediators(IL-1β,TNFα,ICAM-1,and iNOS)and nuclear factor PPARs(PPARα,PPARβ/δ,and PPARγ),respectively.Results(1)Systolic blood pressure of SHR was significantly higher than that of Wistar-Kyoto rats,(205.4±9.4)mm Hg versus(130.4±7.9)mm Hg(t=14.96,P＜0.01).(2)MPO activity of cortex,striatum,and cerebellum were markedly higher in SHR than in Wistar-Kyoto rats.Carbonyl protein levels of cortex,striatum,and cerebellum in Wistar-Kyoto rats and SHR were(3.27±0.43)nmol/mg versus(11.87±1.11)nmol/mg,(4.02±1.04)nmol/mg versus(14.06±1.36)nmol/mg,(5.94±0.71)nmol/mg versus(14.95±1.82)nmol/mg,indicating significantly higher levels of protein oxidation in SHR than Wistar-Kyoto rats(t=17.70,14.36,11.30,P＜0.05).Consistently,the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators(IL-1β,TNFα,ICAM-1,and iNOS)was upregulated when compared with Wistar-Kyoto rats.The difference between SHR and control Wistar-Kyoto rats was statistically significant except the mRNA expression of IL-1β in striatum,cerebellum and TNFα in cerebellum of SHR.All the above experimental data indicated the occurrence of inflammatory status in the brain tissue of hypertension.(3)mRNA and protein levels of brain PPAR isoforms(PPARα,PPARβ/δ,and PPARγ)of SHR increased significantly when compared with Wistar-Kyoto rats.Specifically.protein levels of PPARα in cortex.striatum,and cerebellum of SHR increased by 644.78%,791.95%,and 42.85%;PPARβ/δ increased by 106.72%,94.12%,and 161.44%;PPARγ was up-regulated by 2700.16%,790.81%,and 875.00%compared with that of Wistar-Kyoto rats,respectively.Conclusions The brain(cortex,striatum,and cerebellum)from SHR shows marked inflammatory status and increased expression of all PPAR isoforms.Increases in PPARs expression may play a compensatory role in the inflammatory response of the brain in SHR.

Objective: To construct the eukaryotic expression vector pSurp-EGFP regulated by the survivin gene promoter and to detect the specific expression of the promoter in human laryngeal cancer Hep-2 cells by green fluorescent protein assay.Methods: Thesurvivin gene promoter was generated by polymerase chain reaction(PCR) and the CMV promoter of the pShuttle vector replaced by the survivin gene promoter to generate the plasmid pSurp.The three plasmids pShuttle,pSurp and pEGFP-C1 were respectively double-enzyme digested so as to produce the plasmids pCMV-EGFP and pSurp-EGFP carrying the CMV or survivin promoter.The purified pCMV-EGFP and pSurp-EGFP were transfected into Hep-2 cell and vascular endothelial cell ECV304 using liposome transfection reagent and the expressions of EGFP detected by the fluorescent microscope.Results: Thesurvivin gene promoter was successfully cloned by PCR,and thesurvivin gene promoter-regulated pSurp-EGFP was constructed.Green fluorescence was observed in Hep-2 cells but not in ECV304. Conclusion: The high specific activity of the survivin gene promoter in Hep-2 cells that we successfully constructed attributes to the studies of tumor specific gene therapy.

Macrophages are heterogeneous and diversified, and can be polarized into different phenotypes in various microenvironments and physiological or pathological conditions. Major macrophage subpopulations including classically activated(M1) and alternatively activated(M2) macrophages, which represent different surface receptors, secret different cytokines and chemokines, are regulated by different signal paths of transcriptions and epigenetic levels, and play distinctive roles in tumor progress. TCMs may improve the microenvironment by regulating phenotype polarization of macrophages. So far, specific biomarkers and polarized molecules mechanisms generated through the macrophage polarization approach are still unclear. In this article, we merely summarize the advance in domestic and foreign studies on phenotype polarization of macrophages and regulatory mechanisms and look into the future of intervention with TCMs.
Animals ; Cell Polarity ; Humans ; Macrophages ; physiology ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; immunology ; Phenotype

Aim To evaluate the endothelial dysfunction level of different arteries at different stages of SHR,and the recovery after administration.Methods SHR model was used,captopril(3.375 g·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)) was administered from week 7 to week 24 and the effects were observed continuously until 8 weeks post treatment.Pathological changes of aorta,mesenteric and apex cordis arteries were examined at the time points of 6,18,24,32 wk,and the endothelial-dependent relaxation of the former two preparations were tested by acetylcholine(ACh)(n=6).Results There were pathological changes in the thoracic aorta,mesenteric artery and arteriole at 18 wk,and aggravated along the age.The thoracic aorta demonstrated the most severe pathological changes appearing endothelial cells ablated and tunica media thickening.The significant decline of endothelium-dependent relaxation in aorta,and mesenteric arteries of SHR reflected an aging dependent change of vascular function with the most severe situation in the aorta(P=0.10,18 wk,P<0.01 24,32 wk);captopril increased the aorta vasodilatation of SHR at 18 wk time point,without the effect in mesenteric artery(P<0.05 vs SHR).Conclusions During the progress of SHR,endothelial damages have been observed in all three kinds of vasculatures together with the reduced endothelial-dependent relaxation.The aorta presents earlier and deeper damage than middle and small size vessels,and is sensitive towards the antihypertensive therapy such as the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor.

To study the mechanisms of total flavonoid from Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (TFGR) and its ingredient isoliquiritigenin (ISL) on their regulation of M2 phenotype polarization of macrophages. IL-4 (60 μg x L(-1)) induced RAW264.7 cells for 6 h to establish the M2 macrophage model. TFGR and ISL restrained breast cancer cells migration with the aid of M2 macrophages in vitro. TFGR and ISL inhibited gene and protein expression of Arg-1, up-regulated gene of HO-1 and protein expression of iNOS, enhanced the expression of microRNA 155 and its target gene SHIP1, meanwhile down-regulated.the phosphorylation of STAT3 and STAT6. So TFGR and ISL were the bioactive fraction and ingredient in Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma to reverse M2 phenotype macrophages polarization. TFGR and ISL inhibited the promotion of M2 macrophages to breast cancer cells migration in vitro, STAT signal pathways and miR155 were partly involved.
Animals ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement ; drug effects ; Cell Polarity ; drug effects ; Chalcones ; pharmacology ; Flavonoids ; pharmacology ; Glycyrrhiza ; chemistry ; Interleukin-4 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Macrophages ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Mice ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Rhizome ; chemistry