The effects of desferrioxamine and quercetin on hepatic ischemia-reperfusion induced renal disturbance

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of 45min of hepatic ischemia and 1h of reperfusion on renal oxidative stress parameters, on renal tissue damage, and the role of Desferrioxamin (Dfx) and Q on these parameters. METHODS: Thirty Wistar albino rats were randomized to five groups. Group I was the control group. Group II received no treatment. Groups III and IV received intramuscular injections of desferrioxamine (100mg/kg) and quercetin (50mg/kg), respectively. Group V was administered Dfx and quercetin in combination. After treatment for 3 days, groups II, III, IV, and V were exposed to total hepatic ischemia for 45min. Plasma alanine aminotransferase levels, renal malondialdehyde and reduced glutathione (GSH) activities were measured after reperfusion for 1h. Histopathological and ultrastructural analysis of renal tissues was carried out. RESULTS: Plasma creatinine and BUN levels were markedly increased in the IR group and pretreated groups. Kidney MDA increased in the IR group, Q and Dfx+Q significantly decreased kidney MDA Kidney GSH levels markedly decreased in the IR group, Dfx significantly increased kidney GSH. No evidence of overt injury was observed in any renal tissue under light and electron microscopy. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrated that 45min of hepatic ischemia and 1h of reperfusion may alter renal functions and may cause oxidative stress on renal tissue. Q and Dfx seem to have a beneficial effect via the GSH system and modulation of MDA levels.     

The anatomical and micromorphological characteristics of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salvia vermifolia</Emphasis> (Section <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aethiopis</Emphasis> Bentham,Lamiaceae) from Central Anatolia,Turkey

The gross anatomical features, namely stem, blade and petiole and the micromorphological features, trichome, pollen and nutlet of Salvia vermifolia Hedge & Hub.-Mor. (Sect. Aethiopis Bentham, Lamiaceae) were examined using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). S. vermifolia is a perennial endemic herb growing on igneous and serpentine slopes in Sivas province, Central Anatolia, Turkey. The results obtained from anatomical studies show that the stem is made up of 4–8-layers of collenchyma cells and 1-3-layers chlorenchyma cells. The blade is amphistomatic, bifacial, with 2-3-layered palisade cells on the adaxial. The petiole has three large central bundles and six small subsidiary bundles. Peltate glandular, capitate glandular and non-glandular trichomes are present in S. vermifolia. The peltate glandular trichomes are present in abundance on the calyx and corolla, and capitate glandular trichomes are predominant on the calyx, inflorescence axis, pedicel and stem. The acicular non-glandular trichomes are mainly situated on the calyx, corolla, inflorescence axis and pedicels whereas the floccose non-glandular trichomes are common on both sides of the leaf, inflorescence axis and petiole. The pollen grains are hexacolpate to octacolpate, medium to large (P, polar axis=45.29–62.49 μm; E, equatorial axis=45.32-62.38 μm), oblate-spheroidal to prolate-spheroidal (P/E=0.91–1.02) and their exine ornamentation is bireticulate. The nutlets are 2.70–2.90 mm long and 1.90–2.13 mm wide, brown, ovoid-oblong in their outline, rounded-trigonous in transverse section, and their surface is glabrous and colliculate.     

Development, characterization, segregation, and mapping of microsatellite markers for European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) from enriched genomic libraries and usefulness in genetic diversity studies

Eighty-six new microsatellite loci were developed for European hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) by screening two genomic libraries enriched for dinucleotide repeats. The loci, 73 developed from a GA-enriched library and 13 from a CA-enriched library, showed a high level of polymorphism in 50 accessions. The number of alleles per locus ranged from five to 21, with a mean of 10.55. Mean values for expected heterozygosity, observed heterozygosity, and polymorphism information content were high, averaging 0.76, 0.69, and 0.73, respectively. In a mapping population, loci segregated 1:1, 1:2:1, and 1:1:1:1. Segregation distortion and null alleles were observed at some loci. Eighty-one of the 86 loci were assigned to linkage groups. A neighbor-joining dendrogram reflected great diversity among the 50 accessions and showed clustering by geographic origin.     

Angiogenesis in gynecological cancers and the options for anti-angiogenesis therapy

Angiogenesis is required in cancer, including gynecological cancers, for the growth of primary tumors and secondary metastases. Development of anti-angiogenesis therapy in gynecological cancers and improvement of its efficacy have been a major focus of fundamental and clinical research. However, survival benefits of current anti-angiogenic agents, such as bevacizumab, in patients with gynecological cancer, are modest. Therefore, a better understanding of angiogenesis and the tumor microenvironment in gynecological cancers is urgently needed to develop more effective anti-angiogenic therapies, either or not in combination with other therapeutic approaches. We describe the molecular aspects of (tumor) blood vessel formation and the tumor microenvironment and provide an extensive clinical overview of current anti-angiogenic therapies for gynecological cancers. We discuss the different phenotypes of angiogenic endothelial cells as potential therapeutic targets, strategies aimed at intervention in their metabolism, and approaches targeting their (inflammatory) tumor microenvironment.     

Prognostic Impact of [18F]Fluorothymidine and [18F]Fluoro-D-Glucose Baseline Uptakes in Patients with Lung Cancer Treated First-Line with Erlotinib

3′-deoxy-3′-[¹⁸F]fluoro-L-thymidine (FLT) and 2′-deoxy-2′-[¹⁸F]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) are used to visualize proliferative and metabolic activity of tumors. In this study we aimed at evaluating the prognostic value of FLT and FDG uptake measured by positron emission tomography (PET) in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) prior to systemic therapy with erlotinib. FLT and FDG maximum standardized uptake (SUVmax) values per patient were analyzed in 40 chemotherapy naive patients with advanced NSCLC (stage IV) before treatment with erlotinib. Prior therapy median SUVmax was 6.6 for FDG and 3.0 for FLT, respectively. In univariate analysis, patients with an FDG SUVmax <6.6 had a significantly better overall survival (16.3 months [95% confidence interval [CI] 7.1–25.4 months]) compared to patients with an FDG SUVmax ≥6.6 (3.1 months [95% CI 0.6–5.5 months]) (p<0.001, log rank). Similarly, low FLT uptake (SUVmax <3.0) was associated with significantly longer survival (10.3 months (0–23.3 months, 95% CI) compared to high FLT uptake (3.4 months (0–8.1 months, 95% CI) (p = 0.027). The independent prognostic value of baseline FDG uptake was demonstrated in multivariate analysis (p = 0.05, Cox regression). These data suggest that baseline SUVmax values for both FDG and FLT PET might be further developed as markers for prognostic stratification of patients in advanced NSCLC treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) directed against the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).

Trial Registration

Clinicaltrials.gov, Identifier: {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT00568841","term_id":"NCT00568841"}}NCT00568841     

The Effects of Levosimendan Exposure on Oxidant/Antioxidant Status and Trace Element Levels in the Pulmonary Artery of Rats

We investigated both the effect of levosimendan and the role of oxidant/antioxidant status and trace element levels in the pulmonary artery of rats. Fourteen male Wistar albino rats were randomly divided into two groups of seven animals each. Group 1 was not exposed to levosimendan and served as a control. Levosimendan (12 μg/kg) diluted in 10 ml 0.9 % NaCl was administered intraperitoneally to group 2. Animals of both groups were killed after 3 days, and their pulmonary arteries were harvested to determine changes in tissue oxidant/antioxidant status and trace element levels. The animals in both groups were killed 72 h after the levosimendan exposure treatment, and pulmonary arteries were harvested to determine levels of the lipid peroxidation product MDA and the antioxidant GSH as well as the decreased activity of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, GSH-Px and CAT. It was found that MDA levels increased in pulmonary artery tissues of rats after levosimendan administration. The GSH level decreased in the pulmonary artery of rats after levosimendan treatment. Co, Mn, Fe, Cd and Pb levels were significantly higher (P < 0.001) and Mg, Zn and Cu levels significantly lower (P < 0.001) in the levosimendan group compared to the control group. These results suggest that levosimendan treatment caused an increase in free radical production and a decrease in antioxidant enzyme activity in the pulmonary artery of levosimendan-treated rats. It also caused a decrease or increase in the levels of many minerals in the pulmonary artery, which is an undesirable condition for normal pharmacological function.     

Pollen morphology of some taxa of Vicia L. subgenus Vicia (Fabaceae) from Turkey

In this study, the pollen morphology of 11 taxa belonging to Atossa (Alef.) Asch. & Graebner, Hypechusa (Alef.) Asch. & Graebner, Peregrinae Kupicha, Wiggersia (Alef.) Maxted, Vicia L. and Narbonensis (Radzhi) Maxted sections of the genus Vicia L. subgenus Vicia (Fabeae, Fabaceae) naturally growing in Turkey has been studied using Light Microscopy (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to evaluate the taxonomic relevance of pollen characters. Twelve morphometric characters are analysed with one-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s honestly significant difference test for multiple comparisons. Of the taxa studied V. narbonensis var. narbonensis (sect. Narbonensis) has the largest pollen grains (P = 51.98 μm × E = 30.52 μm) and V. lathyroides (sect. Wiggersia) has the smallest pollen grains (P = 27.71 μm × E = 20.14 μm). The pollen grains are subprolate to perprolate (P/E = 1.16–2.11), but the prolate shape occurs in the majority of the taxa. The regular pollen grains of all taxa are trizonocolporate, isopolar, and released in monads. Ornamentation of the mesocolpium is psilate-perforate in V. lathyroides (sect. Wiggersia), reticulate-rugulate in V. narbonensis var. narbonensis (sect. Narbonensis), (micro)reticulate in V. sericocarpa var. sericocarpa (sect. Hypechusa), V. sativa subsp. sativa (sect. Vicia) and V. grandiflora var. grandiflora (sect. Vicia), and reticulate-perforate in the remaining taxa. The apocolpium and colpus area are psilate or perforate in all taxa except V. sericocarpa var. sericocarpa (sect. Hypechusa) and V. sativa subsp. sativa (sect. Vicia), which exhibit the obscurely reticulate-perforate pattern. Several palynological features have taxonomic importance in sectional level: polar axis, equatorial diameter, pollen shape (P/E ratio), colpus length, colpus width, size of pori, porus length/width ratio, lumina diameter, muri thickness and ornamentation. The results also indicate that pollen characters can be useful in distinguishing the examined taxa.     

The in vivo anthelmintic efficacy of some Verbascum species growing in Turkey

Verbascum L. (Scrophulariaceae) species are used for desiccating wounds and as a fish poison in Anatolia as well as for diarrhea and dysentery of animals in several countries. To further evaluate their activity, methanolic extracts obtained from 13 Verbascum species growing in Turkey, including V. chionophyllum Hub.-Mor., V. cilicicum Boiss., V. dudleyanum (Hub.-Mor.) Hub.-Mor., V. lasianthum Boiss., V. latisepalum Hub.-Mor., V. mucronatum Lam., V. olympicum Boiss., V. pterocalycinum var. mutense Hub.-Mor., V. pycnostachyum Boiss. & Heldr., V. salviifolium Boiss., V. splendidum Boiss., V. stachydifolium Boiss. & Heldr. and V. uschackense (Murb.) Hub.-Mor. were evaluated for their in vivo anthelmintic activity. The extracts from V. lasianthum, V. latisepalum, V. mucronatum and V. salviifolum showed the highest inhibitory rates against Aspiculuris tetraptera at 100 mg/kg in mice. Additionally, extracts from V. dudleyanum and V. pterocalycinum var. mutense were found generally highly effective. The remaining species did not show any activity. Results of the present study support the utilization of these plant species employed in Turkish folk medicine.     

Cyclooxygenase-2 gene and epithelial ovarian carcinoma risk

In this study, we aimed to investigate a possible association of the COX-2 polymorphisms (−765G→C and −1195A→G) and with the risk of developing epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). COX-2 gene polymorphisms was investigated in 111 healthy women and 57 patients with EOC. Individuals who had −765 CG, −1195 AA genotype, and −765 C allele had increased risk for ovarian carcinoma (P < 0.01) and individuals with −765 GG, −1195 AG genotypes and −1195 G allele seem to be protected from ovarian carcinoma (P < 0.01). Haplotype analysis confirmed the association of COX-2 gene variants with ovarian carcinoma and revealed that the frequencies of −765C: −1195A haplotype frequencies was significantly higher in patients as compared with those of controls (P = 0.048). We state that there appears to be a modulating role for the COX-2 −1195A→G and −765G→C polymorphisms in the development of EOC. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show such an association.