Search results for "Cell killing"
showing 10 items of 30 documents
The Proton-Boron Reaction Increases the Radiobiological Effectiveness of Clinical Low- and High-Energy Proton Beams: Novel Experimental Evidence and …
2021
Protontherapy is a rapidly expanding radiotherapy modality where accelerated proton beams are used to precisely deliver the dose to the tumor target but is generally considered ineffective against radioresistant tumors. Proton-Boron Capture Therapy (PBCT) is a novel approach aimed at enhancing proton biological effectiveness. PBCT exploits a nuclear fusion reaction between low-energy protons and 11B atoms, i.e. p+11B→ 3α (p-B), which is supposed to produce highly-DNA damaging α-particles exclusively across the tumor-conformed Spread-Out Bragg Peak (SOBP), without harming healthy tissues in the beam entrance channel. To confirm previous work on PBCT, here we report new in-vitro data obtained…
Galectin-3 Impairment of MYCN-Dependent Apoptosis-Sensitive Phenotype Is Antagonized by Nutlin-3 in Neuroblastoma Cells
2012
MYCN amplification occurs in about 20-25% of human neuroblastomas and characterizes the majority of the high-risk cases, which display less than 50% prolonged survival rate despite intense multimodal treatment. Somehow paradoxically, MYCN also sensitizes neuroblastoma cells to apoptosis, understanding the molecular mechanisms of which might be relevant for the therapy of MYCN amplified neuroblastoma. We recently reported that the apoptosis-sensitive phenotype induced by MYCN is linked to stabilization of p53 and its proapoptotic kinase HIPK2. In MYCN primed neuroblastoma cells, further activation of both HIPK2 and p53 by Nutlin-3 leads to massive apoptosis in vitro and to tumor shrinkage an…
Impact of Localized Microwave Hyperthermia on the Oxygenation Status of Malignant Tumors
1982
Considerable insight into the mechanisms of heat induced cell death in vitro has been gained during recent years (for reviews see 1–3). Besides the direct cell killing effect of heat, many microenvironmental or milieu factors seem to play an important role during heat treatment of solid tumors in vivo, such that a preferential effect of hyperthermia on tumors has been postulated for the in situ conditions. Environmental factors affecting the tumor milieu, such as tissue oxygen partial pressures, pH values, glucose (?) and lactate levels, nutrient supply and drainage of wastes, have thus become a subject of topical interest.
Apoptosis induced by (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine in varicella zoster virus thymidine kinase-expressing cells is driven by activation of c-Ju…
2003
The molecular mode of cell killing by the antiviral drug (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl-2'-deoxyuridine (BVDU) was studied in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably transfected with the thymidine kinase gene (tk) of varicella zoster virus (CHO-VZVtk). The colony-forming ability of the cells was reduced to <1% at a concentration of approximately 1 microM BVDU, whereas for nontransfected cells or cells transfected with tk gene of herpes simplex virus type 1 (CHO-HSVtk), a 1000-fold higher dose was required to achieve the same response. BVDU inhibited thymidylate synthase in CHO-VZVtk but not in CHO-HSVtk and control cells. On the other hand, the drug was incorporated into DNA of VZVtk- and HSVtk-expre…
Comparison of the genotoxic and apoptosis-inducing properties of ganciclovir and penciclovir in Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with the thym…
2000
We studied the genotoxic and apoptosis-inducing properties of ganciclovir (GCV) and penciclovir (PCV) using Chinese hamster ovary cells stably transfected with the thymidine kinase (tk) gene of herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1). Cells expressing HSVtk were 300 and 100 times more sensitive than their isogenic HSVtk- counterparts to the cytotoxic effects of GCV and PCV, respectively. Using radiolabeled drugs, GCV was found to be incorporated into the genomic DNA much more effectively than PCV. GCV was highly potent in inducing chromosomal aberrations compared with PCV, which provoked less sister chromatid exchanges and chromosomal changes using equimolar or equitoxic doses. For both agents, apop…
Mechanisms and consequences of methylating agent-induced SCEs and chromosomal aberrations: a long road traveled and still a far way to go.
2003
Since the milestone work of Evans and Scott, demonstrating the replication dependence of alkylation-induced aberrations, and Obe and Natarajan, pointing to the critical role of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) as the ultimate trigger of aberrations, the field has grown extensively. A notable example is the identification of DNA methylation lesions provoking chromosome breakage (clastogenic) effects, which made it possible to model clastogenic pathways evoked by genotoxins. Experiments with repair-deficient mutants and transgenic cell lines revealed both O<sup>6</sup>-methylguanine (O<sup>6</sup>MeG) and N- methylpurines as critical lesions. For S<sub>N</sub&g…
Lovastatin causes sensitization of HeLa cells to ionizing radiation‐induced apoptosis by the abrogation of G2 blockage
2003
To investigate the effect of inhibition of Ras/Rho-regulated signalling by 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins) on radiation-induced cell killing and apoptosis.Different human cell lines were pretreated or not with lovastatin before exposure to gamma-rays. Afterwards, radiation-induced cell killing, formation and repair of double-strand breaks, activation of radiation-inducible signal mechanisms (i.e. p53, p21, extracellular-signal-related kinase (ERK), NF-kappaB), changes in cell cycle progression and apoptosis were analysed.As shown by a colony formation assay, lovastatin sensitized HeLa cells to gamma-radiation-induced cell killing. The lovastati…
Effect of hyperthermia on tumor blood flow.
1984
Differences in blood perfusion rates between tumors and normal tissue can be utilized to selectively heat many solid tumors. Blood flow in normal tissues is considerably increased at temperatures commonly applied during localized hyperthermia. In contrast, tumor blood flow may respond to localized heat typically in two different blood flow patterns: Flow may either decrease continuously with increasing exposure time and/or temperature or flow may exhibit a transient increase followed by a decline. A decrease in blood flow at high thermal doses can be observed in most of the tumors, whereas an increase in flow at low thermal doses seems to occur less frequently. The inhibition of blood flow …
Effective infection, apoptotic cell killing and gene transfer of human hepatoma cells but not primary hepatocytes by parvovirus H1 and derived vector…
2001
Autonomous parvoviruses preferentially replicate in and kill in vitro–transformed cells and reduce the incidence of spontaneous and implanted tumors in animals. Because of these natural oncotropic and oncolytic properties, parvoviruses deserve to be considered as potential antitumor vectors. Here, we assessed whether parvovirus H1 is able to kill human hepatoma cells by induction of apoptosis but spares primary human liver cells, and whether the former cells can efficiently be transduced by H1 virus–based vectors. Cell death, infectivity, and transgene transduction were investigated in Hep3B, HepG2, and Huh7 cells and in primary human hepatocytes with natural and recombinant H1 virus. All h…
Combination of intravesical chemotherapy and hyperthermia for the treatment of superficial bladder cancer: preliminary clinical experience
2003
The prevalence of superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder (STCCB) is still increasing in spite of improved adjuvant chemotherapic and/or immunoprophylaxis approaches. Thus, there is certainly an urgent need to improve our ability to control this disease. Local hyperthermia has a therapeutical potential for the treatment of many solid tumors, especially when used in combination with other treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy. In particular, a synergistic or, at least, supra-additive antitumor cell killing effect was documented when local hyperthermia was administered in combination with selected cytostatic drugs. Recently, advances in miniaturized technology have all…