scholarly journals Modulated Electrohyperthermia: A New Hope for Cancer Patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Huda F. Alshaibi ◽  
Bashayr Al-shehri ◽  
Basmah Hassan ◽  
Raghad Al-zahrani ◽  
Taghreed Assiss
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
World Health ◽  
Preclinical Research ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Prevalence Of Cancer ◽  
Research Studies

According to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of cancer has increased worldwide. Oncological hyperthermia is a group of methods that overheat the malignant tissues locally or systematically. Nevertheless, hyperthermia is not widely accepted, primarily because of the lack of selectivity for cancer cells and because the temperature-triggered higher blood flow increases the nutrient supply to the tumor, raising the risk of metastases. These problems with classical hyperthermia led to the development of modulated electrohyperthermia (mEHT). The biophysical differences of the cancer cells and their healthy hosts allow for selective energy absorption on the membrane rafts of the plasma membrane of the tumor cells, triggering immunogenic cell death. Currently, this method is used in only 34 countries. The effectiveness of conventional oncotherapies increases when it is applied in combination with mEHT. In silico, in vitro, and in vivo preclinical research studies have all shown the extraordinary ability of mEHT to kill malignant cells. Clinical applications have improved the quality of life and the survival of patients. For these reasons, many other research studies are presently in progress worldwide. Thus, the objective of this review is to highlight the capabilities and advantages of mEHT and provide new hopes for cancer patients worldwide.

Antimicrobial peptides for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, allies or foes?

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 1138-1147
Author(s):  
Bruno Rivas-Santiago ◽  
Flor Torres-Juarez
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Tuberculosis ◽  
Antimicrobial Peptides ◽  
Experimental Models ◽  
New Drugs ◽  
World Health ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Drug Resistant Strains

Tuberculosis is an ancient disease that has become a serious public health issue in recent years, although increasing incidence has been controlled, deaths caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis have been accentuated due to the emerging of multi-drug resistant strains and the comorbidity with diabetes mellitus and HIV. This situation is threatening the goals of World Health Organization (WHO) to eradicate tuberculosis in 2035. WHO has called for the creation of new drugs as an alternative for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis, among the plausible molecules that can be used are the Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs). These peptides have demonstrated remarkable efficacy to kill mycobacteria in vitro and in vivo in experimental models, nevertheless, these peptides not only have antimicrobial activity but also have a wide variety of functions such as angiogenesis, wound healing, immunomodulation and other well-described roles into the human physiology. Therapeutic strategies for tuberculosis using AMPs must be well thought prior to their clinical use; evaluating comorbidities, family history and risk factors to other diseases, since the wide function of AMPs, they could lead to collateral undesirable effects.

Targeting PKM2 promotes chemosensitivity of breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Yu Wang ◽  
Han Zhao ◽  
Ping Zhao ◽  
Xingang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Poor Prognosis ◽  
Breast Cancer Cells ◽  
Breast Cancer Patients ◽  
Cancer Tissues

BACKGROUND: Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) was overexpressed in many cancers, and high PKM2 expression was related with poor prognosis and chemoresistance. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the expression of PKM2 in breast cancer and analyzed the relation of PKM2 expression with chemotherapy resistance to the neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). We also investigated whether PKM2 could reverse chemoresistance in breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed in 130 surgical resected breast cancer tissues. 78 core needle biopsies were collected from breast cancer patients before neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The relation of PKM2 expression and multi-drug resistance to NAC was compared. The effect of PKM2 silencing or overexpression on Doxorubicin (DOX) sensitivity in the MCF-7 cells in vitro and in vivo was compared. RESULTS: PKM2 was intensively expressed in breast cancer tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. In addition, high expression of PKM2 was associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. The NAC patients with high PKM2 expression had short survival. PKM2 was an independent prognostic predictor for surgical resected breast cancer and NAC patients. High PKM2 expression was correlated with neoadjuvant treatment resistance. High PKM2 expression significantly distinguished chemoresistant patients from chemosensitive patients. In vitro and in vivo knockdown of PKM2 expression decreases the resistance to DOX in breast cancer cells in vitro and tumors in vivo. CONCLUSION: PKM2 expression was associated with chemoresistance of breast cancers, and could be used to predict the chemosensitivity. Furthermore, targeting PKM2 could reverse chemoresistance, which provides an effective treatment methods for patients with breast cancer.

scholarly journals Virtual Screening and Statistical Analysis in the Design of New Caffeine Analogues Molecules with Potential Epithelial Anticancer Activity

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 576-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josivan da Silva Costa ◽  
Karina da Silva Lopes Costa ◽  
Josiane Viana Cruz ◽  
Ryan da Silva Ramos ◽  
Luciane Barros Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anticancer Activity ◽  
Binding Free Energy ◽  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Parametric Models ◽  
World Health ◽  
Pharmacokinetic Properties ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
Health Organization

About 132 thousand cases of melanoma (more severe type of skin cancer) were registered in 2014 according to the World Health Organization. This type of cancer significantly affects the quality of life of individuals. Caffeine has shown potential inhibitory effect against epithelial cancer. In this study, it was proposed to obtain new caffeine-based molecules with potential epithelial anticancer activity. For this, a training set of 21 molecules was used for pharmacophore perception procedures. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to propose mono-, bi-, tri-, and tetra-parametric models applied in the prediction of the activity. The generated pharmacophore was used to select 350 molecules available at the ZINCpharmer server, followed by reduction to 24 molecules, after selection using the Tanimoto index, yielding 10 molecules after final selection by predicted activity values > 1.5229. These ten molecules had better pharmacokinetic properties than the other ones used as reference and within the clinically significant limits. Only two molecules show minor hits of toxicity and were submitted to molecular docking procedures, showing BFE (binding free energy) values lower than the reference values. Statistical analyses indicated strong negative correlations between BFE and pharmacophoric properties (high influence on BFE lowering) and practically null correlation between BFE and BBB. The two most promising molecules can be indicated as candidates for further in vitro and in vivo analyzes.

scholarly journals Therapeutic Effectiveness and Safety of Repurposing Drugs for the Treatment of COVID-19: Position Standing in 2021

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Safaet Alam ◽  
Taslima Binte Kamal ◽  
Md. Moklesur Rahman Sarker ◽  
Jin-Rong Zhou ◽  
S. M. Abdur Rahman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
World Health ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Drug Candidates ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Meta Analyses

COVID-19, transmitted by SARS-CoV-2, is one of the most serious pandemic situations in the history of mankind, and has already infected a huge population across the globe. This horrendously contagious viral outbreak was first identified in China and within a very short time it affected the world's health, transport, economic, and academic sectors. Despite the recent approval of a few anti-COVID-19 vaccines, their unavailability and insufficiency along with the lack of other potential therapeutic options are continuing to worsen the situation, with valuable lives continuing to be lost. In this situation, researchers across the globe are focusing on repurposing prospective drugs and prophylaxis such as favipiravir, remdesivir, chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, lopinavir-ritonavir, azithromycin, doxycycline, ACEIs/ARBs, rivaroxaban, and protease inhibitors, which were preliminarily based on in vitro and in vivo pharmacological and toxicological study reports followed by clinical applications. Based on available preliminary data derived from limited clinical trials, the US National Institute of Health (NIH) and USFDA also recommended a few drugs to be repurposed i.e., hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, and favipiravir. However, World Health Organization later recommended against the use of chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, remdesivir, and lopinavir/ritonavir in the treatment of COVID-19 infections. Combining basic knowledge of viral pathogenesis and pharmacodynamics of drug molecules as well as in silico approaches, many drug candidates have been investigated in clinical trials, some of which have been proven to be partially effective against COVID-19, and many of the other drugs are currently under extensive screening. The repurposing of prospective drug candidates from different stages of evaluation can be a handy wellspring in COVID-19 management and treatment along with approved anti-COVID-19 vaccines. This review article combined the information from completed clinical trials, case series, cohort studies, meta-analyses, and retrospective studies to focus on the current status of repurposing drugs in 2021.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Quality of Life of Gynecological Cancer Patients Submitted to Antineoplastic Chemotherapy

2010 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 849-855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lívia Loamí Ruyz Jorge ◽  
Sueli Riul da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Gynecological Cancer ◽  
World Health ◽  
Outpatient Chemotherapy ◽  
General Quality ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Professional Interventions ◽  
Antineoplastic Chemotherapy

This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life of female gynecological cancer patients submitted to antineoplastic chemotherapy Between August 2007 and April 2009, 50 patients who were undergoing chemotherapy at an outpatient chemotherapy unit in Uberaba - MG were interviewed, by applying the instrument of evaluation of Quality of Life of the World Health Organization, WHOQOL-BREF. The results showed that the domain most affected was the Physical and the more preserved, the Social, with the mean of the general quality of life above the means obtained in other studies. All domains correlated significantly with the general quality of life. It was evident then that the quality of life of these women is satisfactory, however it is suggested that the domains with lower scores be the targets of more accurate observations during multi-professional interventions in order to provide a better quality of life during the chemotherapy treatment.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF IN VIVO MODELS IN PREDICTING TRANSDERMAL PERMEABILITY

2021 ◽  
Vol 91 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-98
Author(s):  
S. S. Malchenkova ◽  
◽  
N. S. Golyak ◽  
V. M. Tsarenkov ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structural Features ◽  
World Health ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Tape Stripping ◽  
In Vivo Models ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Transdermal Permeability

The article presents the main types of laboratory animals that are used to study the transdermal permeability of chemical compounds. We described the structural features of epidermis, derma and skin appendages in humans and laboratory animals (small rodents, pigs, monkeys). We also emphasized advantages and disadvantages of various laboratory animals as objects for in vivo transdermal modeling. A method of extrapolation called “The parallelogram method” or «Triple Pack» has been singled out to predict the permeability of the human skin in the presence of experimental data on the permeability of the skin of animals in vivo and humans in vitro. The article describes the experimental design (including preparation of animals, premises and the substance applied) to determine transdermal permeability of substances in vivo under the guidelines of the World Health Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Tissue microdialysis in volunteers has been identified as the most perfect and safest ways to promptly detect substances in the derma and tape stripping has been made in the cells of the stratum corneum.

scholarly journals Accelerated repurposing and drug development of pulmonary hypertension therapies for COVID-19 treatment using an AI-integrated biosimulation platform

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaushik Chakravarty ◽  
Victor Antontsev ◽  
Aditya Jagarapu ◽  
Yogesh Bundey ◽  
Hypatia Hou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Hypertension ◽  
Renin Angiotensin System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mechanistic Modeling ◽  
World Health ◽  
Channel Blockers ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Line Of Therapy

Abstract A World Health Organization-declared pandemic, COVID-19, has affected more than 4 million people worldwide with over 100,000 deaths and growing in the United States. Due to the fast-spreading and multi-targeted nature of the virus, it is clear that drugs and/or vaccines need to be developed at an accelerated rate, and a combinatorial approach may stand to be more successful than a single drug therapy. Among several targets and pathways that are under investigation, the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and specifically Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), and Ca2+ -mediated SARS-CoV-2 cellular entry and replication are noteworthy. A combination of ACE inhibitors (e.g. benazepril) and calcium channel blockers (CCB, e.g. amlodipine), a critical line of therapy for pulmonary hypertension, has shown therapeutic relevance in COVID-19 when investigated independently. To that end, we conducted in silico modeling using BIOiSIM, an AI-integrated mechanistic modeling platform by utilizing known preclinical in vitro and in vivo datasets to accurately simulate systemic therapy disposition and site-of-action penetration of the CCB and ACEI compounds to tissues implicated in COVID-19 pathogenesis.

scholarly journals Definition and Measurement of Follicle Stimulating Hormone

2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew P. Rose ◽  
Rose E. Gaines Das ◽  
Adam H. Balen
Keyword(s):  
Single Molecule ◽  
Early Recognition ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
World Health ◽  
In Vitro Assays ◽  
Assay Method ◽  
Endocrine Activity ◽  
Health Organization

Abstract FSH has a key role in the development and function of the reproductive system and is widely used both diagnostically and therapeutically in developmental and reproductive medicine. The accurate measurement of FSH levels, in patients for diagnosis and monitoring and in therapeutic preparations for clinical use, is essential for safe and successful treatment. Historically, FSH was defined on the basis of classical in vivo endocrine activity, and early therapeutic preparations were calibrated using in vivo bioassays. There was early recognition that reference preparations were required for calibration if the results from different laboratories were to be comparable. In response to the perceived need, the World Health Organization established the first standard for such preparations in 1959. Subsequent developments in biotechnology have led to recognition that there is no single molecule that can be uniquely defined as FSH, and that FSH can induce a range of biological activities. Several highly purified standards for FSH are now available, but discontinuity and heterogeneity of estimates of FSH activity in terms of these standards made using in vitro assays and binding assays have been noted. It is thus essential that any measurement of FSH include specification both of the standard with which the measured FSH is compared and the assay method used for that comparison.

scholarly journals Plasticity of fimbrial genotype and serotype within populations of Bordetella pertussis: analysis by paired flow cytometry and genome sequencing

Microbiology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 160 (9) ◽  
pp. 2030-2044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Vaughan ◽  
Catherine B. Pratt ◽  
Katie Sealey ◽  
Andrew Preston ◽  
Norman K. Fry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flow Cytometry ◽  
Genome Sequencing ◽  
Bordetella Pertussis ◽  
World Health ◽  
Human Respiratory Tract ◽  
Dna Elements ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Culture Variability

The fimbriae of Bordetella pertussis are required for colonization of the human respiratory tract. Two serologically distinct fimbrial subunits, Fim2 and Fim3, considered important vaccine components for many years, are included in the Sanofi Pasteur 5-component acellular pertussis vaccine, and the World Health Organization recommends the inclusion of strains expressing both fimbrial serotypes in whole-cell pertussis vaccines. Each of the fimbrial major subunit genes, fim2, fim3, and fimX, has a promoter poly(C) tract upstream of its −10 box. Such monotonic DNA elements are susceptible to changes in length via slipped-strand mispairing in vitro and in vivo, which potentially causes on/off switching of genes at every cell division. Here, we have described intra-culture variability in poly(C) tract lengths and the resulting fimbrial phenotypes in 22 recent UK B. pertussis isolates. Owing to the highly plastic nature of fimbrial promoters, we used the same cultures for both genome sequencing and flow cytometry. Individual cultures of B. pertussis contained multiple fimbrial serotypes and multiple different fimbrial promoter poly(C) tract lengths, which supports earlier serological evidence that B. pertussis expresses both serotypes during infection.

scholarly journals Standards for the assay of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease specimens

2004 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. 1777-1784 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Minor ◽  
J. Newham ◽  
N. Jones ◽  
C. Bergeron ◽  
L. Gregori ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Study ◽  
Sample Volume ◽  
World Health ◽  
Systematic Effect ◽  
The Status ◽  
Jakob Disease ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Sporadic Cjd

Assays for the agent of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) include measurement of infectivity in different animal systems, such as wild-type or transgenic mice, and detection of PrPSc by different methods and formats. The various assays could be best calibrated against each other by use of uniform readily available materials, and samples of four human brains, two from sporadic CJD patients, one from a variant CJD patient and one from a non-CJD patient, have been prepared as 10 % homogenates dispensed in 2000 vials each for this purpose. Results of in vitro methods, particularly immunoblot assays, were compared in the first collaborative study described here. While dilution end-points varied, the minimum detectable volume was surprisingly uniform for most assays and differences in technical procedure, other than the sample volume tested, had no detectable systematic effect. The two specimens from sporadic CJD cases contained both type 1 and type 2 prion proteins in approximately equal proportions. The materials have been given the status of reference reagents by the World Health Organization and are available for further study and assessment of other in vitro or in vivo assay procedures.

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