OBJECTIVE: To study the effects of the overexpression of autophagy-related gene 3 (ATG3) on autophagy and salinomycin-induced apoptosis in breast cancer cells and explore the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: We used the lentivirus approach to establish a breast cancer cell line with stable overexpression of ATG3. Western blotting, immunofluorescence staining and transmission electron microscopy were used to analyze the effect of ATG3 overexpression on autophagy in breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Using the AKT/mTOR agonists SC79 and MHY1485, we analyzed the effect of AKT/mTOR signal pathway activation on ATG3 overexpression-induced autophagy. Western blotting and flow cytometry were used to analyze the effect of autophagy on apoptosis of the ATG3-overexpressing cells treated with salinomycin and 3-MA (an autophagy inhibitor). RESULTS: In ATG3-overexpressing MCF-7 cells, ATG3 overexpression obviously promoted autophagy, inhibited the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, significantly weakened salinomycin-induced apoptosis ( < 0.01), caused significant reduction of the levels of the pro-apoptotic proteins cleaved-caspase 3 ( < 0.01) and Bax ( < 0.05), and enhanced the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 ( < 0.05). The inhibition of autophagy obviously weakened the inhibitory effect of ATG3 overexpression on salinomycin-induced apoptosis. CONCLUSIONS ATG3 overexpression promotes autophagy possibly by inhibiting the AKT/mTOR signaling pathway to decrease salinomycin-induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells, suggesting that autophagy induction might be one of the mechanisms of drug resistance in breast cancer cells.
Acetates ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; genetics ; Autophagy ; drug effects ; Autophagy-Related Proteins ; metabolism ; Benzopyrans ; pharmacology ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm ; Female ; Gene Expression Regulation ; Humans ; MCF-7 Cells ; Morpholines ; pharmacology ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Pyrans ; pharmacology ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Triazines ; pharmacology ; Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzymes ; metabolism

PURPOSE: Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are very serious forms of drug-induced cutaneous adverse reaction. SJS/TEN induced by certain drug is well known to be associated with some human leukocyte antigen (HLA) gene type. We aimed to explore HLA allele frequencies and their association with SJS/TEN according to culprit drugs in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 5802 subjects who had results of HLA typing test from August 2005 to July 2014. Total 28 SJS/TEN patients were categorized based on culprit drugs (allopurinol, lamotrigine, carbamazepine) and identified the presence of HLA-B*58:01, HLA-B*44:03, HLA-B*15:02, and HLA-A*31:01. RESULTS: HLA-A*24:02 (20.5%), HLA-B*44:03 (10.0%), and HLA-Cw*01:02 (17.1%) were the most frequent type in HLA-A, -B, and -C genes, respectively. Allele frequencies of HLA-B*58:01, HLA-B*44:03, HLA-A*31:01, and HLA-B*15:02 were 7.0%, 10.0%, 5.0%, and 0.3%, respectively. In 958 allopurinol users, 9 subjects (0.9%) were diagnosed with SJS/TEN. Among them, 8 subjects possessed HLA-B*58:01 allele. SJS/TEN induced by allopurinol was more frequently developed in subjects with HLA-B*58:01 than in subjects without it [odds ratio: 57.4; confidence interval (CI) 7.12-463.50; p<0.001]. Allopurinol treatment, based on screening by HLA-B*58:01 genotyping, could be more cost-effective than that not based on screening. HLA-B*44:03 may be associated with lamotrigine-induced SJS/TEN (odds ratio: 12.75; CI 1.03-157.14; p=0.053). Among carbamazepine users, only two patients experienced SJS/TEN and possessed neither HLA-B*15:02 nor HLA-A*31:03. CONCLUSION: HLA gene frequencies varied in Korea. Screening of HLA-B*58:01 before the use of allopurinol might be needed to anticipate probability of SJS/TEN.
Adult ; Aged ; *Alleles ; Allopurinol/adverse effects/*pharmacology ; Anticonvulsants/*adverse effects ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group/*genetics ; Carbamazepine/adverse effects/*pharmacology ; Case-Control Studies ; Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions/*genetics/immunology ; Female ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; HLA-B Antigens/*genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Stevens-Johnson Syndrome/ethnology/etiology/*genetics ; Triazines/adverse effects/*pharmacology

Melamine in combination with cyanuric acid has been considered to be more toxic than either melamine or cyanuric acid alone. The objective of this study was designed to evaluate the combined genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of melamine (M) and cyanuric acid (C) at three mass ratios (1:1, 1:2, 2:1). MC (1:1), MC (1:2), and MC (2:1) were evaluated for their potential genotoxic risk, at gene level by Ames test, and at chromosomal level by micronucleus test. In order to evaluate cytotoxicity in HEK-293 cells, the MTT assay was included. Western blot was also employed to investigate the renal injury molecule-1 (Kim-1) expression in HEK-293 cells exposed to MC. Neither genotoxicity at gene level nor at chromosomal level was observed for MC (1:1), MC (1:2), and MC (2:1). Based on MTT assay, three ratios of MC at 82.5 and 165 µg/mL slightly inhibited viability of HEK-293 cells (P<0.05). MC (1:1) at 41.25 and 82.50 µg/mL could elevate the Kim-1 expression in HEK-293 cells.
Cell Survival ; drug effects ; HEK293 Cells ; Hepatitis A Virus Cellular Receptor 1 ; Humans ; Membrane Glycoproteins ; metabolism ; Receptors, Virus ; metabolism ; Triazines ; pharmacology

Hypoxia, a state of low oxygen, is a common feature of solid tumors and is associated with disease progression as well as resistance to radiotherapy and certain chemotherapeutic drugs. Hypoxic regions in tumors, therefore, represent attractive targets for cancer therapy. To date, five distinct classes of bioreactive prodrugs have been developed to target hypoxic cells in solid tumors. These hypoxia-activated prodrugs, including nitro compounds, N-oxides, quinones, and metal complexes, generally share a common mechanism of activation whereby they are reduced by intracellular oxidoreductases in an oxygen-sensitive manner to form cytotoxins. Several examples including PR-104, TH-302, and EO9 are currently undergoing phase II and phase III clinical evaluation. In this review, we discuss the nature of tumor hypoxia as a therapeutic target, focusing on the development of bioreductive prodrugs. We also describe the current knowledge of how each prodrug class is activated and detail the clinical progress of leading examples.
Anthraquinones ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Antineoplastic Agents ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Aziridines ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Cell Hypoxia ; drug effects ; Humans ; Indolequinones ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Molecular Structure ; NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone) ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Nitrogen Mustard Compounds ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Nitroimidazoles ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Phosphoramide Mustards ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Prodrugs ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Triazines ; chemistry ; pharmacology

Glial cells play a critical role in morphine tolerance, resulting from repeated administration of morphine. Both the development and the expression of tolerance are suppressed by the analgesic lamotrigine. This study investigated the relationship between the ability of lamotrigine to maintain the antinociceptive effect of morphine during tolerance development and glial cell activation in the spinal cord. In a rat model, morphine (15 microg) was intrathecally injected once daily for 7 days to induce morphine tolerance. Lamotrigine (200 microg) was co-administered with morphine either for 7 days or the first or last 3 days of this 7 day period. Thermal nociception was measured. OX-42 and GFAP immunoreactivity, indicating spinal microglial and astrocytic activation were evaluated on day 8. Tolerance developed after 7 days of intrathecal morphine administration; however, this was completely blocked and reversed by co-administration of lamotrigine. When lamotrigine was coinjected with morphine on days 5-7, the morphine effect was partially restored. Glial cell activation increased with the development of morphine tolerance but was clearly inhibited in the presence of lamotrigine. These results suggest that, in association with the suppression of spinal glial cell activity, intrathecally coadministered lamotrigine attenuates antinociceptive tolerance to morphine.
Analgesics/*pharmacology ; Animals ; Antigens, CD11b/metabolism ; Astrocytes/cytology ; Drug Tolerance ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Microglia/cytology ; Morphine/*pharmacology ; Nerve Tissue Proteins/metabolism ; Neuroglia/cytology/*metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spinal Cord/*cytology ; Triazines/*pharmacology

OBJECTIVETo study the derivatives of 1,2,4-triazino[5,6-b]indole-3-thione for antidepressant activity in olfactory bulbectomized (OBX) rats. Out of various derivatives tested for acute tail suspension test, the two derivatives showing prominent action were selected for bilateral olfactory bulbectomy model of chronic depression in rats.

METHODSThe sub acute effects of 14-day oral pretreatment of two derivatives labeled as 3a (70 mg/kg) and 3r (70 mg/kg), imipramine (20 mg/kg), fluoxetine (30 mg/kg) and moclobemide (15 mg/kg) were evaluated on bilateral bulbectomy induced rise in body weight, hyperphagia, hyperactivity, and on sexual dysfunction. The serum sodium concentration, body temperature, and heart rate were also recorded.

RESULTSThe derivatives 3a and 3r showed reversal of drop in body weight, reversed OBX induced hyperactivity, normalized body temperature, heart rate, and serum sodium concentration. In elevated maze test, moclobemide, 3a, 3r treatment significantly reduced time spent in open arm as compared to OBX rats. 3a and 3r also improved sexual behavior parameters.

CONCLUSIONSThe present study shows promising antidepressant action and provides a proof of concept for the chronic treatment of 3a, 3r to treat depression.

Acetamides ; pharmacology ; Acetanilides ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Antidepressive Agents ; pharmacology ; Behavior, Animal ; drug effects ; Depression ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Female ; Fluoxetine ; pharmacology ; Imipramine ; pharmacology ; Male ; Moclobemide ; pharmacology ; Olfaction Disorders ; complications ; pathology ; Olfactory Bulb ; surgery ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Triazines ; pharmacology

Psychopharmacology has developed over approximately the past five decades. The remarkable proliferation of information in this area has made it difficult for clinicians to understand the characteristics of various psychotropic agents. Atypical antipsychotics including amisulpride, asenapine, aripiprazole, blonanserin, clozapine, iloperidone, lurasidone, olanzapine, paliperidone, quetiapine, risperidone, ziprasidone, and zotepine cause fewer extrapyramidal problems and have many clinical applications, but they can cause metabolic disturbances. Mood stabilizers and lamotrigine are widely used for bipolar disorder. Other novel anticonvulsants such as topiramate, oxcarbazepine, gabapentin, tiagabine, pregabalin, vigabatrin, levetiracetam, and riulzole have also been tested with diverging or inconclusive results. Antidepressants are commonly used in the clinical treatment of depression and anxiety disorder. However, the mechanism of action of medications used in the treatment of psychiatric disorders remains unclear. Understanding the mechanisms of action and clarifying the diagnosis may enhance the treatment outcome in psychiatry. In this review, we analyzed clinical pharmacology data for each drug within a class and discussed clinical strategies for administering currently available antipsychotics, mood stabilizer/anticonvulsants, and antidepressants widely used for various psychiatric indications.
Aripiprazole ; Amines ; Anticonvulsants ; Antidepressive Agents ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Anxiety Disorders ; Benzodiazepines ; Bipolar Disorder ; Carbamazepine ; Clozapine ; Cyclohexanecarboxylic Acids ; Depression ; Dibenzothiazepines ; Dibenzothiepins ; Fructose ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; Heterocyclic Compounds with 4 or More Rings ; Lurasidone Hydrochloride ; Isoindoles ; Isoxazoles ; Nipecotic Acids ; Quetiapine Fumarate ; Pharmacology, Clinical ; Pregabalin ; Piperazines ; Piperidines ; Piracetam ; Psychopharmacology ; Pyrimidines ; Quinolones ; Risperidone ; Sulpiride ; Thiazoles ; Treatment Outcome ; Triazines ; Vigabatrin

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVECombined hypoxic cytotoxic drugs and chemoradiotherapy is an important mean of oncotherapy, and Tirapazamine (TPZ) is one of the most remarkable drugs. It has been shown that TPZ has a synergistic effect with radiotherapy on tumor cells, but whether TPZ would down-regulate the expression of the hypoxia-induced genes has not been reported. This study was to investigate the hypoxia-induced mRNA expressions of hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) and osteopontin (OPN) in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma HNE-1 and CNE-1 cells and the radiosensitization of TPZ, a hypoxia-specific drug, on HNE-1 and CNE-1 cells in vitro.

METHODSThe IC50 values of TPZ for HNE-1 and CNE-1 cells were measured using MTT assay, and the mRNA expressions of HIF-1alpha and OPN in HNE-1 and CNE-1 cells was determined using RT-PCR under aerobic and hypoxic conditions, respectively. The survival rates of HNE-1 and CNE-1 cells treated with or without TPZ at IC10 in the presence or absence of oxygen for 6 h were determined using colony formation assay following exposure to 1-6 Gy of 60Co radiation. The dose-survival curves were plotted and the values of D0, Dq and SER were calculated as a single-hit multitarget model.

RESULTSThe IC50 values of TPZ were 34.81 μmol/L and 35.02 μmol/L in HNE-1 and CNE-1 cells under aerobic condition, and 30.20 μmol/L and 28.48 μmol/L under hypoxic condition, respectively. The expressions of HIF-1alpha and OPN mRNA were reduced by TPZ in HNE-1 cells, but not in CNE-1 cells under hypoxic condition. For the HNE-1 cells, the respective values of D0 and Dq were 0.89 Gy and 0.28 Gy following normoxic irradiation versus 1.47 Gy and 0.44 Gy following hypoxic irradiation. For the CNE-1 cells, the respective values of D0 and Dq were 0.72 Gy and 0.68 Gy following normoxic irradiation versus 0.95 Gy and 0.56 Gy following hypoxic irradiation. The values of D0 and Dq for HNE-1 and CNE-1 cells treated with TPZ under hypoxic condition following irradiation were 0.66 Gy, 0.21 Gy and 0.85 Gy, 0.79 Gy, respectively.

CONCLUSIONTPZ can down-regulate hypoxia-induced expression of HIF-1alpha and OPN mRNA of HNE-1 cells and radiosensitize the HNE-1 cells but not CNE-1 cells, and act as a hypoxia modifier.

Antineoplastic Agents ; pharmacology ; Cell Hypoxia ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Survival ; drug effects ; radiation effects ; Cobalt Radioisotopes ; Down-Regulation ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; genetics ; metabolism ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Osteopontin ; genetics ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; metabolism ; Radiation Tolerance ; drug effects ; Radiation-Sensitizing Agents ; pharmacology ; Triazines ; pharmacology

Eight new diaryltriazine derivatives containing 4-allylamino and 4-azido substitutes guided by molecular docking have been designed and synthesized based on our previous work. The evaluation of HIV inhibitory activity demonstrated that all compounds were potent against HIV-1 replication. The most active compound 7c exhibited activity against HIV-1 (IC50 = 0.034 micromol x L(-1), SI = 6,475) and the double mutant strain (IC50 = 9.39 micromol x L(-1)) in the micromolar range, which was more potent than nevirapine.
Anti-HIV Agents ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Catalytic Domain ; HIV-1 ; drug effects ; Inhibitory Concentration 50 ; Molecular Structure ; Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Triazines ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacology

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of vardenafil (Levitra), a phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor, on cell proliferation in the hippocampal dentate gyrus and on 5-hyroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) synthesis and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) expression in the rat dorsal raphe nucleus. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 6 groups (n=5 in each group): a control group, a 0.5 mg/kg-1 day vardenafil-treated group, a 1 mg/kg-1 day vardenafil-treated group, a 2 mg/kg-1 day vardenafil-treated group, a 1 mg/kg-3 day vardenafil-treated group, and a 1 mg/kg-7 day vardenafil-treated group. 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) immunohistochemistry was then performed to evaluate cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus. In addition, 5-HT and TPH immunohistochemistry was conducted to evaluate serotonin expression in the dorsal raphe. The results revealed that treatment with vardenafil increased cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus and enhanced 5-HT synthesis and TPH expression in the dorsal raphe in a dose- and duration-dependent manner. The findings demonstrate that the increasing effect of vardenafil on cell proliferation is closely associated with the enhancing effect of vardenafil on serotonin expression under normal conditions.
Animals ; Cell Proliferation/*drug effects ; *Dentate Gyrus/cytology/drug effects/metabolism ; Imidazoles/*pharmacology ; Male ; Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors/*pharmacology ; Piperazines/*pharmacology ; *Raphe Nuclei/cytology/drug effects/metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Serotonin/*biosynthesis ; Sulfones/pharmacology ; Triazines/pharmacology ; Tryptophan Hydroxylase/metabolism