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Introduction: Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) plays an extremely important role in the regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal azis. It is believed that chronic inflammation is the main cause of cancerogenesis and TNF-α plays a significant role in both of these processes. Unfortunately, the function of TNF-α in human adrenal steroidogenesis has not been explained enough. Aim: To evaluate the changes in transcriptional activity of STAR, CYP11A1, CYP11B1, and CYP11B2 in H295R cell line exposed to TNF-α. Material and methods: NCI-H295R, human adrenocortical cell line was exposed to human recombinant TNF-α at the concentrations ranging from 0.001 to 10 nM for 3, 12, 24, and 48 h. Cells not exposed to TNF-α were the control of this experiment. RTqPCR assay was used to determine the changes in the expression of genes encoding STAR, CYP11A1, CYP11B1, and CYP11B2. Results: The highest differences between stimulated and non-stimulated cells were observed in the expressiion of STAR (FC = +2.2; 0.01 nM of TNF-a; 48 h); CYP11A1 (FC = +3.5; 0.1 nM of TNF-α; 24 h); CYP11B1 (FC = +7.0; 10 nM of TNF-α; 48 h); CYP11B2 (FC = +2.5; 10 nM of TNF-α; 48h). Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the expression were found only for CYP11B2 (FC = + 2.5; 10 nM of TNF-α on the expression of the key genes encoding enzymes involved in adrenal steroidogenesis. Different expression patterns of was observed, depending on time and TNF-α on the expression of the key genes encoding enzymes involved in adernal steroidogenesis. Different expression patterns of was observed, depending on time and TNF-α concentration increased synthesis of this pro- inflammatory cytokine may intensify adrenal steroidgenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfasalazine (SAS) and its therapeutically active derivative--5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) are used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. 5-ASA mechanism of action on the one hand, involves the inhibition of the cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase activity, and thus decrease of synthesis of prostaglandins, leukotrienes and free radicals, on the other hand, the suppression of the immune response in the intestinal mucosa. Myofibroblasts, which are located just below the basement membrane, are important element of the mucosa. Due to its secretory activity they may interact with other cells, including epithelial cells. Examining SAS and 5-ASA cytotoxic properties on human normal, colon subepithelial myofibroblasts (CSEMF) it was found that the first of these compounds in a concentration of 1 mM significantly reduced the number of these cells as compared to the control, while the latter exhibited an action at the 5-fold higher concentration (5 mM). Moreover, SAS concentration greater than 0.25 mM reduced IL-8 secretion by CSEMF, and 5-ASA had no effect in the tested range of concentrations, i.e., up to 7.5 mM.

Human malignant melanoma is a highly metastatic tumor with poor prognosis. The majority of metastatic melanomas are resistant to diverse chemotherapeutic agents. Consequently, the search for novel antimelanoma agents continues. In recent years, the interest in plants and their biologically active constituents as a source of novel potential drugs significantly increased. Inositol hexaphosphate (IP6) is a naturally occurring compound that has been shown to inhibit the growth of a wide variety of tumor cells in multiple experimental model systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antiproliferative and cytotoxic influence of IP6 on melanotic melanoma cells in vitro. The A2058 cells used as a model of human skin melanoma malignum were exposed to different concentrations of IP6 (0.1-5 mM) for a various period of time and their growth was determined by sulforhodamine B assay after 24, 48 and 72 h. The cytotoxicity of IP6 was measured at 24 and 72 h by XTT assay. IP6 has been found to cause dose-dependent growth suppression of A2058 melanoma cells. At low concentrations (0.1 and 0.5 mM) it did not exert any influence on the cell proliferation as compared to control cultures. Higher concentrations of IP6 (from 1 to 5 mM) had a statistically significant, suppressive effect on cell proliferation after 24 h incubation. When the experimental time period was increased up to 72 h, statistically significant inhibition of cell proliferation was monitored at all IP6 concentrations used. Data obtained from XTT assay indicated that IP6 had dose- and time-dependent cytotoxic effect on melanoma cells. The results demonstrate the antiproliferative and cytotoxic properties of IP6 in a wide range of concentrations on human A2058 melanoma cells. Hence, it can be suggested that IP6 could have a promising therapeutic significance in treating cancer.

Desulfovibrio desulfuricans anaerobes are constituents of human alimentary tract microflora. There are suggestions that they take part in the pathogenesis of periodontitis and some gastrointestinal inflammatory disorders, such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease. Endotoxin is one of Gram-negative bacteria cellular components that influence these microorganisms pathogenicity. Endotoxin is a lipid-polisaccharide heteropolymer consisting of three elements: lipid A, core oligosaccharide, and O-specific polysaccharide, also called antigen-O. The biological activity of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is determined by its structure. In this study, we show that rhamnose, fucose, mannose, glucose, galactose, heptose, and 2-keto-3-deoxyoctulosonic acid (Kdo) are constituents of D. desulfuricans endotoxin oligosaccharide core and O-antigen. Lipid A of these bacteria LPS is composed of glucosamine disaccharide substituted by 3-acyloxyacyl residues: ester-bound 3-(dodecanoyloxy)tetradecanoic, 3-(hexadecanoyloxy)tetradecanoic acid, and amide-bound 3-(tetradecanoyloxy)tetradecanoic acid.

Background. Bone grafts are used in the treatment of nonunion of fractures, bone tumors and in arthroplasty. Tissues preserved by lyophilization or deep freezing are used as implants nowadays. Lyophilized grafts are utilized in the therapy of birth defects and bone benign tumors, while deep-frozen ones are applied in orthopedics. The aim of the study was to compare the pyrolytic pattern, as an indirect means of the analysis of organic composition of deep-frozen and lyophilized compact part of the human bone. Methods. Samples of preserved bone tissue were subjected to thermolysis and tetrahydroammonium-hydroxide- (TMAH-) associated thermochemolysis coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). Results. Derivatives of benzene, pyridine, pyrrole, phenol, sulfur compounds, nitriles, saturated and unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons, and fatty acids (C12-C20) were identified in the pyrolytic pattern. The pyrolyzates were the most abundant in derivatives of pyrrole and nitriles originated from proteins. The predominant product in pyrolytic pattern of the investigated bone was pyrrolo[1,2-α]piperazine-3,6-dione derived from collagen. The content of this compound significantly differentiated the lyophilized graft from the deep-frozen one. Oleic and palmitic acid were predominant among fatty acids of the investigated samples. The deep-frozen implants were characterized by higher percentage of long-chain fatty acids than lyophilized grafts.

Bacteria of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans species are Gram-negative, anaerobic rods selectively reducing sulphates and colonizing oxygen-free ecosystems. They are ubiquitous in the natural environment and have been also found to reside in the human digestive tract. They are suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis ofulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The D. desulfuricans wild strains were isolated from feces and bioptate of patients suffering from various digestive tract disorders. LPSs were isolated from the wild enteric strains and soil type strain La 2226 of D. desulfuricans and analyzed in terms of their 2-keto-3-deoxyoctulosonic acid (Kdo) component content. The obtained spectrophotometric data indicate that Kdo content is characteristic of each of the investigated strains and it ranges from 0.48% to 2.86% (w/w) of the total LPS mass. Statistically significant interstrain differences of Kdo quantity seem to suggest the differences in the O-antigen content. Comparative analysis of Kdo content in LPSs of D. desulfuricans strains in relation to that of the reference endotoxin from Salmonella spp. allows us to suggest that D. desulfuricans bacteria possess O-antigen polysaccharides composed of diverse number of carbohydrate units.

The majority of Gram-negative bacteria are pathogenic to humans and animals. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the most biologically active component of these microorganisms. This compound is also called endotoxin to emphasize its negative impact on a macroorganism. Lipid A, one of the three structural components of the LPS molecule, is responsible for the pathophysiological effects associated with Gram-negative bacteria infections. Although lipid A is considered the conservative component of endotoxin, differences in its structure among species and even strains may occur. These differences concern the type of aminosugars, the degree of substitution of the disaccharide core by fatty acids, phosphate, and/or ethanolamine, and also the type, quantity, and distribution of fatty acids. The lipid A saccharide backbone of the majority of Gram-negative bacteria consists of two glucosamine units in beta (1-->6) glycosidic linkage. Amino groups (at positions 2 and 2') and hydroxy groups (at positions 3 and 3') of glucosamines are commonly substituted by 3-hydroxyfatty acids, most often by 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid. Other fatty acids (usually saturated, unbranched) are ester-linked to hydroxyacids by their hydroxy group. In lipid A of different microorganisms there is a high diversity of fatty acids, from mirystic (tetradecanoic, 14:0) and lauric (dodecanoic, 12:0) acids and their hydroxylated derivatives to such unique structures as cis-11-octadecenoic acid (Rhodospirillum salinarum 40), 3-hydroxy-5-dodecenoic acid (Phenylobacterium immobile), and iso-2,3-dihydroxytetradecanoic acid (Legionella pneumophila). The saccharide core of some bacterial lipid A may consist of sugars different from glucosamine, e.g., 2,3-diamino-2,3-dideoxy-D-glucose. Other substituents of this part of LPS, besides phosphate groups and ethanolamine, are beta -mannopyranose, 4-aminoarabinose, galacturonic acid, and glycine. Therefore, lipid A, though considered the relatively conservative component of endotoxin, reveals relatively large structural diversity, which influences the variety of LPS biological activity.

The pathogenicity of Gram-negative bacteria is mediated mainly by the outer membrane-associated lipid-polysaccharide structure, called endotoxin or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This structure consists of three parts, O-antigen, core oligosaccharide, and lipid A, which differ in chemical composition and biological properties. Gas-liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GLC/MS) is commonly used to determine LPS structure. The carbohydrate profiles of endotoxins are analyzed after derivation to alditol acetates or partially methylated alditol acetates, which enables one to establish the site of glycosidic linkages. The chromatographic analysis of LPS lipid components requires their modification to ester derivatives, most frequently to methyl esters.

Sulphasalazine (salicyl-azo-sulphapiridine, SAS) is a drug commonly used in the treatment of non-specific inflammatory bowel diseases, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn disease. Chronic inflammatory states of the colon can lead to neoplastic changes of the intestinal mucosa. There are some suggestions in the literature that the intestinal bacterial azo-reductases are involved in biotransformation of SAS into 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) and sulphapyridine (SP). For this reason, it seemed worth of investigating whether transformation of SAS could be performed by the colon epithelial cells themselves. No enzymatic systems presumably exist in Caco-2, which could be responsible for SAS metabolism, because after 72 h-incubation of cell cultures with 1 mM SAS, its metabolites i.e., 5-ASA and SP were not detected in cells, neither in culture media. SAS metabolism, therefore, seems to depend on the presence of intestinal bacterial enzymatic systems. It was confirmed that 5-ASA is converted by Caco-2 cells to N-acetyl-5-aminosalicylic acid (Ac-5-ASA), which migrates to the culture medium. The other metabolite of SAS i.e., SP, was not transformed in the human colon cancer cells at all.

The chemical structure determining properties and biological functions of endotoxins derived from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans species has not been recognized, which considerably hinders the choice of an effective extraction procedure of these lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from the bacterial outer cell membrane. We aimed at selecting the most effective method of LPS isolation from D. desulfuricans in terms of the most efficient extraction solution, the appropriate conditions of isolation and adequate purification technique. For this purpose we tested a few literature-based procedures utilizing various extraction mixtures (phenol-water, phenol-chloroform-petroleum ether and Tri-Reagent, i.e. aqueous solution of guanidinum thiocyanate and phenol). The best yield and purity of the isolated LPS were provided by the application of the extraction with phenol-water according to the modified by Shnyra et.al. (2000) procedure of Westphal et. al. (1952). A satisfactory method of isolation in micro scale appeared to be that based on Tri-Reagent and propagated by Yi and Hackett in 2000. The extraction of LPS from D. desulfuricans with phenol-chloroform-petroleum ether should not be recommended due to its low efficiency.

Mechanisms of action at the cellular level of a variety of drugs and xenobiotics may be assessed using Chlorella vulgaris cells. Synchronous culture, which consists of cells at the same phase of development, provides the most convenient model for studying processes at the cellular level. Stability of metabolic activity of synchronously growing cells is achieved by conducting cell culturing under strictly controlled conditions. The aim of the present study was to determine to what extent propranolol and metoprolol alter the Chlorella vulgaris metabolic activity, expressed by the number of progeny cells, the culture absorbance at lambda = 680 nm and the amount of selected photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, antheraxanthin, lutein, violaxanthin and beta-carotene). Three different concentrations (10(-4), 10(-5) and 10(-6) M) of propranolol and metoprolol were administered to the Chlorella vulgaris cultures. It has been demonstrated that the higher the propranolol and metoprolol concentrations (from 10(-6) M to 10(-4) M) the lower the number of progeny cells in the cultures, expressed by the lower values of division coefficient. Both the propranolol and metoprolol caused a decrease in the photosynthetic pigments production in the mother cells. This effect was more important in the propranolol-treated cultures. The higher values of photosynthetic pigments concentrations in the progeny cells grown under the presence of a drug indicate that both the drugs tested influence mainly the cell growth and in a lower manner--their metabolic activity, expressed by the production of photosynthetic pigments.

Sulphaselazine (SAS) is a drug commonly used to treat patients suffering from chronic inflammatory states such as inflammatory bowel diseases. It was shown that besides bacteriostatic, antiinflammatory and immunosuppressive activity of this drug, the risk of neoplastic changes in the colon and rectum was substantially diminished during ulcerative colitis therapy with SAS. In the present study the effects of SAS and its main metabolites--sulphapyridine (SP) and 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) on colon adenocarcinoma Caco-2 cells viability and proliferation was evaluated. Significant inhibitory impact of SAS was observed already at 1 mM concentration whereas 5-ASA and SP impaired cellular growth when used at 5 mM concentration. 5 mM SAS exerted a strong cytotoxic effect on Caco-2 cells resulting in their necrotic death. The inhibition of cellular proliferation and the cytotoxic effects of SAS and its metabolites (5-ASA and SP) on the colonic carcinoma cells (Caco-2) confirm the suggestions that these compounds at appropriate concentrations may reduce the risk of neoplastic changes frequently initiated by prolonged inflammatory states.