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2022 MAY 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- Investigators discuss new findings in endotoxemia. According to news reporting out of [...]

Guidelines for managing the accidental extravasation of a cytotoxic drug during intravenous therapy are presented. Quick treatment is needed to prevent the destruction of cells and disfigurement.

Anti-apoptotic signaling by the insulin receptor kinase was studied with a chimeric receptor (CSF1R/IR) consisting of the ligand binding domain of the CSF-1 receptor spliced to the insulin receptor kinase [...]

Background: Activation of the transcription factor NF-[Kappa]B is part of the immediate early response of tissues to ionizing irradiation. This pathway has been shown to protect cells from tumor necrosis factor-[Alpha], chemotherapy, and radiation therapy-induced apoptosis (programmed cell death). However, because the role of NF-[Kappa]B as a modifier of the intrinsic radiosensitivity of cancer cells is less clear, we have studied the impact of NF-[Kappa]B on the intrinsic radiosensitivity of human cancer cells. Methods: We used PC3 prostate cancer cells and HD-MyZ Hodgkin's lymphoma cells transduced with an adenovirus vector that contains a gene encoding a form of I[Kappa]B (an inhibitor of NF-[Kappa]B) that cannot be phosphorylated. This form of I[Kappa]B will remain bound to NF-[Kappa]B; thus, NF-[Kappa]B cannot be activated. We monitored NF-[Kappa]B activity with a gel-shift assay and used a colony-forming assay to assess clonogenicity and radiosensitivity. Results: Constitutive DNA-binding activity of NF-[Kappa]B was dramatically decreased in PC3 cells transduced with the I[Kappa]B super-repressor gene. The clonogenicity of transduced PC3 cells declined to 19.6% of that observed for untreated control cells, a finding similar to one we have previously demonstrated for I[Kappa]B-transduced HD-MyZ cells. However, inhibition of NF-[Kappa]B activity in the surviving PC3 and HD-MyZ cells failed to alter their intrinsic radiosensitivity. Conclusions: We conclude that activation of NF-[Kappa]B does not determine the intrinsic radiosensitivity of cancer cells, at least for the cell lines tested in this study. [J Natl Cancer Inst 1999;91: 1956-60]

BACKGROUND: Inhibition of apoptosis may allow cells with drug-induced damage to escape programmed cell death. The bcl-2 protein inhibits apoptosis and bcl-2 overexpression has been associated with drug resistance. It is our hypothesis that higher levels of bcl-2 expression will be seen in colon cancer cells resistant to PYY treatment. METHODS: Caco2 and HCT116 colon cancer cells were treated with 2 [micro]M PYY for 24 hours. Protein was extracted from cells surviving PYY treatment; bcl-2 expression was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and confirmed by Western blotting. RESULTS: Caco2 and HCT116 cells surviving PYY treatment demonstrated increased bcl-2 from 20.54 [+ or -] 2.7 to 28.63 [+ or -] 2.20 units/mL (P [is less than] 0.05) and 21.98 [+ or -] 1.28 to 29.32* [+ or -] 2.26 units/mL, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Increased expression of bcl-2 is seen in a population of colon cancer cells resistant to PYY. Hence, bcl-2 may protect neoplastic cells from apoptosis; its levels may be useful in predicting chemotherapy response and in selecting appropriate drug regimens. Am J Surg. 1999;178:411-414. [C] 1999 by Excerpta Medica, Inc.

New studies suggest that the enzyme telomerase may have a key role in the treatment of cancer and aging diseases. According to a team of researchers led by Calvin B. Harley, the introduction of clones of the telomerase gene inhibits the growth of cancer cells and results to tumor death. For aging diseases, telomerase reverses the aging process and promotes the elongation of telomere length, which increases cell replication capacity and delays aging of the cell., Source: Science, September 1, 1995 Tolemerase, an enzyme that researchers say gives cancer cells their 'immortality,' may hold vital clues to an eventual treatment for cancer and other diseases of [...]