Histopathological effects of cisplatin,doxorubicin and 5-flurouracil (5-FU) on the liver of male albino rats

Cisplatin, doxorubicin and fluorouracil (5-FU), drugs belonging to different chemical classes, have been extensively used for chemotherapy of various cancers. Despite extensive investigations into their hepatotoxicity, there is very limited information on their effects on the structure and ultra-structure of liver cells in vivo. Here, we demonstrate for the first time, the effects of these three anticancer drugs on rat liver toxicity using both light and electron microscopy. Light microscopic observations revealed that higher doses of cisplatin and doxorubicin caused massive hepatotoxicity compared to 5-FU treatment, including dissolution of hepatic cords, focal inflammation and necrotic tissues. Interestingly, low doses also exhibited abnormal changes, including periportal fibrosis, degeneration of hepatic cords and increased apoptosis. These changes were confirmed at ultrastructural level, including vesiculated rough endoplasmic reticulum and atrophied mitochondria with ill-differentiated cisternae, dense collection of macrophages and lymphocytes as well as fibrocytes with collagenous fibrils manifesting early sign of fibrosis, especially in response to cisplatin and doxorubicin -treatment. Our results provide in vivo evidence, at ultrastructural level, of direct hepatotoxicity caused by cisplatin, doxorubicin and 5-FU at both light and electron microscopi. These results can guide the design of appropriate treatment regimen to reduce the hepatotoxic effects of these anticancer drugs.     

Allylic substitutions in tri-O-acetyl-glycals and related compounds

The reaction of tri-O-acetyl-d-allal or -d-glucal, ethyl 4,6-di-O-acetyl-2,3-dideoxy-α-d)-erythro-hex-2-enopyranoside, or 1,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-α,β-d-erythro-hex-2-enopyranose with sodium azide in acetonitrile under catalysis by boron trifluoride diethyl etherate yields a mixture of 4,6-di-O-acetyl-3-azido-3-deoxy-d-allal and -d-glucal, together with both anomers of 4,6-di-O-acetyl-2,3-dideoxy-d-erythro-hex-2-enopyranosyl azide. The mechanism of these reactions is discussed. 3-Amino-3-deoxy-d-allal and -d-glucal and their derivatives are described.     

Effect of sheep and human follicular fluid on the maturation of sheep oocytes in vitro

This study examines the effect of sheep and human follicular fluid on the in vitro maturation (IVM) of sheep follicular oocytes. Oocyte cumulus complexes recovered post mortem were matured for 24 to 26 h at 38.6 degrees C, 5% CO(2) in air, in TCM-199 bicarbonate medium supplemented with 20% fetal calf serum (FCS) and, where stated, with maturation hormones, including FSH (5.0 ug/ml), LH (5.0 ug/ml) and estradiol (1 ug/ml), or with sheep follicular fluid recovered from large (>5mm) or small (2 to 5mm) ovarian follicles post mortem, or with human periovular follicular fluid obtained during routine IVF procedures. The matured oocytes were then denuded, and their maturation stage and developmental capacity were assessed by in vitro fertilization (IVF) and culture (IVC). It was found that inclusion of sheep or human follicular fluid or hormone supplements in the IVM media more than doubled the number of oocytes completing maturation (FCS alone 33%, compared with 76.2% for maturation hormones, 84.2% for fluid from large and 69.6% for fluid from small sheep follicles and 82.6% for human follicular fluid), and significantly increased fertilization rates (FCS alone 51.6%, compared with 71.9% for maturation hormones, 78.4% for fluid from the large and 75.7% for fluid from small sheep follicles and 73.1% for human follicular fluid) without discernible adverse effects on the development of the cleaving embryos to the morula or blastocyst stage in culture. Omission of FCS and supplements from the IVM medium resulted in a marked reduction (56%) in the number of oocytes maturing. This reduction could be offset to a large part, but not completely, by inclusion of human follicular fluid or human follicular fluid plus LH (5 ug/ml) in the medium. The results of this study show that addition of sheep or human follicular fluid to maturation medium can enhance rather than inhibit the maturation and fertilizability of sheep follicular oocytes in vitro.     

Components of the human spindle checkpoint control mechanism localize specifically to the active centromere on dicentric chromosomes

The spindle checkpoint control mechanism functions to ensure faithful chromosome segregation by delaying cell division until all chromosomes are correctly oriented on the mitotic spindle. Initially identified in budding yeast, several mammalian spindle checkpoint-associated proteins have recently been identified and partially characterized. These proteins associate with all active human centromeres, including neocentromeres, in the early stages of mitosis prior to the commencement of anaphase. We have examined the status of proteins associated with the checkpoint protein complex (BUB1, BUBR1, BUB3, MAD2), the anaphase-promoting complex (Tsg24, p55CDC), and other proteins associated with mitotic checkpoint control (ERK1, 3F3/2 epitope, hZW10), on a human dicentric chromosome. Each of these proteins was found to specifically associate with only the active centromere, suggesting that only active centromeres participate in the spindle checkpoint. This finding complements previous studies on multicentric chromosomes demonstrating specific association of structural and motor-related centromere proteins with active centromeres, and suggests that centromere inactivation is accompanied by loss of all functionally important centromere proteins.     

DNA evidence that Ostertagia gruehneri and Ostertagia arctica (Nematoda: ostertagiinae) in reindeer from Norway and Svalbard are conspecific

DNA sequences of ITS-1 and ITS-2 of rDNA were determined for 16 individual adult males each of Ostertagia gruehneri and Ostertagia arctica from Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) and Eurasian tundra reindeer (R. t. tarandus). Each ITS was virtually identical in O. gruehneri and O. arctica and the three mixed bases detected were shared by both species. Our results strongly suggest that O. gruehneri and O. arctica are dimorphic males of the same species.     

The frequency of marker changes in sugarcane plants regenerated from callus culture

This study investigates the frequency of apparent and permanent expression of marker change following two types of tissue culture, conventional callus and direct regeneration cultures, and for two markers it relates this frequency to that following breeding. Each clone was used for only one marker. After conventional callus culture, plants of the sugarcane clone Arundoid B, a clone having a growth habit with shortened internodes and leaves, were freed of this marker at a rate of 1 in 172 plants. Marker remission in a second clone with a leaf blotch was enhanced in the presence of a mutagen. Callus culture alone gave a remission rate of 1/280 plants, while treatment of callus with ethyl methanesulfonate gave a remission rate of 1/42 plants. Of two markers subjected to vegetative and sexual transmission, the first, a leaf marker, was stable in callus culture with no remissions; crossing with non-marker parents produced progeny with 54% lacking the marker. The second, a stalk marker (multibud), showed epigenetic effects during two generations of vegetative propagation; plants lacking the multibud marker produced vegetative progeny in which the marker reappeared. Nine crosses to nonmarker parents produced progeny of which an average of 29% had the marker. The use of stalk chimeras as markers demonstrated that passage through conventional callus or direct regeneration culture resulted in the loss of the donor phenotype in all plants regenerated. Phenotypic variation in plants derived from callus culture appears to arise from several sources; chimeral segregants, epigenetic transients, and mutational variants.     

PTP1B inhibitors: synthesis and evaluation of difluoro-methylenephosphonate bioisosteres on a sulfonamide scaffold

We have synthesized and evaluated a series of triaryl sulfonamide-based PTP1B inhibitors in which a difluoro-methylenephosphonate group of a potent lead has been replaced by potential bioisosteric replacements. Several mono- or di-charged compounds (8a, 8b, and 15a) were shown exhibit inhibitory activity in the low micromolar range, demonstrating the feasibility of using this approach in identifying non-phosphonate pTyr mimetics in a small molecular scaffold. These results also provide a useful indication of the relative effectiveness of these pTyr mimetics.