Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the world. One of the objectives of this thesis is to biologically evaluate a series of anti-cancer polymeric aromatic/heterocyclic bis-sulfonamides and pyridinium sulfonamides which were synthesized from three established aminosulfonamide carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) inhibitor pharmacophores. Testing of these novel inhibitors and their precursors against a panel of membrane-bound CA isoforms, including tumor-overexpressed CA IX and XII and cytosolic isozymes, identified nanomolar-potent inhibitors against both classes and several compounds with medium isoform selectivity. In the case of pyridinium sulfonamides we used complexes of the inhibitors with cyclodextrins or sulfocalixarene to enhance aqueous solubility for biological testing. The ability of CA inhibitors to kill tumor cells overexpressing CA IX and XII was tested under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, using 2D and 3D in vitro cellular models. The study identified a nanomolar potent PEGylated bis-sulfonamide CA inhibitor (25), as well as cyclodextrin and sulfocalixarenes complexes, which were able to significantly reduce the viability of colon HT-29, breast MDA-MB231, and ovarian SKOV-3 cancer cell lines, thus revealing the potential of polymer conjugates in CA inhibition and cancer treatment. As a different disease state yet still a concern, cognitive dysfunction markedly impacts patients with a host of psychiatric conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, drug addiction, schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and of course, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and other types of dementia. Another objective of this thesis was to profile several series of bis-imidazoles for physicochemical, in-vitro and in-vivo properties as potential memory and learning enhancers (nootropics). Biological testing on eight isozymes of carbonic anhydrase (CA) present in the human brain revealed compounds with nanomolar potency against at least one membrane bound, cytosolic or mitochondrial CA isozymes, combined with good physicochemical properties. We also identified lead compounds with the ability to rescue experimental animals from drug-induced memory deficits, using an optimized Novel Object Recognition Task (NORT) procedure. / Pharmaceutical Sciences

Yes / Aims: There is a clear association between alcohol use and offending behaviour and significant police time is spent on alcohol-related incidents. This study aimed to test the feasibility of a trial of screening and brief intervention in police custody suites to reduce heavy drinking and re-offending behaviour. Short summary: We achieved target recruitment and high brief intervention delivery if this occurred immediately after screening. Low rates of return for counselling and retention at follow-up were challenges for a definitive trial. Conversely, high consent rates for access to police data suggested at least some outcomes could be measured remotely. Methods: A three-armed pilot Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial with an embedded qualitative interview-based process evaluation to explore acceptability issues in six police custody suites (north east and south west of the UK). Interventions included: 1. Screening only (Controls), 2. 10 min Brief Advice 3. Brief Advice plus 20 min of brief Counselling. Results: Of 3330 arrestees approached: 2228 were eligible for screening (67%) and 720 consented (32%); 386 (54%) scored 8+ on AUDIT; and 205 (53%) were enroled (79 controls, 65 brief advice and 61 brief counselling). Follow-up rates at 6 and 12 months were 29% and 26%, respectively. However, routinely collected re-offending data were obtained for 193 (94%) participants. Indices of deprivation data were calculated for 184 (90%) participants; 37.6% of these resided in the 20% most deprived areas of UK. Qualitative data showed that all arrestees reported awareness that participation was voluntary, that the trial was separate from police work, and the majority said trial procedures were acceptable. Conclusion: Despite hitting target recruitment and same-day brief intervention delivery, a future trial of alcohol screening and brief intervention in a police custody setting would only be feasible if routinely collected re-offending and health data were used for outcome measurement. / NIHR School for Public Health Research (SPHR) (SPHR-SWP-ALC-WP2). Fuse is a UK Clinical Research Collaboration (UKCRC) Public Health Research Centre of Excellence. Funding for Fuse from the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research, under the auspices of the UKCRC, is gratefully acknowledged.

A nanoemulsão lipídica (LDE) se concentra nas células neoplásicas e pode ser utilizada como transportador de derivado lipofílico da daunorrubicina, como o Noleil- daunorrubicina (oDNR). Neste estudo, a LDE-oDNR foi preparada por homogeneização em alta pressão e sua toxicidade e atividade anti-tumoral testadas. A associação LDE-oDNR teve rendimento elevado e permaneceu estável por longo período. Em camundongosC57BL/6J, a dose máxima tolerada (DMT) foi 65 vezes maior e a DL50 48 vezes maior no tratamento LDE-oDNR comparado ao tratamento DNR comercial, resultando em alta redução da toxicidade. Em camundongos implantados com células de melanoma B16, a preparação LDE-oDNR (7,5 mol/kg) levou a redução de 59 ± 2% do crescimento do tumor comparado a redução de 23 ± 2% para o tratamento DNR comercial na mesma dose (p<0,001). A probabilidade de sobrevida teve aumento pronunciado nos animais tratados com LDE-oDNR comparado à DNR comercial (p <0,01). Além disso, apenas 30% dos animais portadores de melanoma submetidos ao tratamento com LDE-oDNR apresentaram metástases, comparado a 82% quando tratados com DNR comercial. Uma forte redução de toxicidade também foi observada pela redução da anemia e leucopenia nos animais tratados com LDE-oDNR, em comparação com DNR comercial. A preparacao LDE-oDNR foi eficaz também no quadro de trombocitose induzida por tumor. Os testes com fragmentos extraídos de tumores dos animais tratados mostraram que a LDE-oDNR foi mais eficaz na destruição das células neoplásicas comparado ao tratamento DNR comercial (9% de células viáveis com tratamento LDE-oDNR, 27% sob tratamento DNR). O estudo mostrou que o tratamento proposto com o derivado ODNR associado à nanoemulsão (LDE-oDNR) é efetivo no combate às células tumorais, seletivo, menos tóxico e melhor tolerado. Os estudos de farmacocinética e biodistribuição somam a este protocolo informações importantes relacionadas às propriedades de absorção, distribuição, metabolismo e excreção da formulação em estudo comparado à DNR comercial / A lipidic nanoemulsion (LDE) that concentrates in neoplastic cells can be used as vehicle to daunorubicin lipophylic derivatives, such as N-oleyl-daunorubicin (oDNR). Here, LDE-oDNR was prepared by high pressure homogenization to test toxicity and anti-tumor activity. LDE-oDNR association yield was high and stable for long period. In mice, maximum tolerated dose was 65 and LD50 was 48-fold greater in LDE-oDNR than in commercial DNR treatment, showing very strong toxicity reduction. In melanoma B16-tumor bearing mice, LDE-oDNR (7.5 mol/Kg) reduced tumorgrowth by of 59±2%, and DNR by only 23±2% at same dose level (p<0.001). Survival was pronouncedly increased in LDE-oDNR compared to DNR treatment (p<0.01). Furthermore, the number of melanoma-bearing mice with metastasis was 30% under LDE-oDNR, compared to 82% under DNR treatment. Strong reduction of toxicity was also observed by reduction of anemia and leucopenia under LDE-oDNR, compared to commercial DNR tumor-induced thrombocytosis was more effective with LDE-oDNR than with DNR. Tests with fragments extracted from tumors of treated animals showed that LDE-oDNR was more effective in killing neoplastic cells than DNR (9% of viable cells under LDE-oDNR; 27% under DNR). The pharmacokinetics and biodistribution studies add important information to this protocol related to the properties of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of the formulation under study compared to free DNR. The remarkable toxicity reduction and increase in pharmacological action supports novel LDE-oDNR as a promising weapon in cancer treatment

Cell replication and division are central to the proliferation of life, and have implications for normal growth and development as well as disease state. Assembly of a complete picture of the systems which control this process requires identification of individual genetic components, but the identity and complete sequence of events that trigger initiation of cell division, at a point called START in yeast, remain unknown. Here, we evaluated panels of non-essential single gene deletion strains and tested the effects of FDA-approved drugs on cell-cycle progression, using flow cytometry to detect altered DNA content. Previous studies relied mainly on cell size changes to systematically identify genes required for the timely completion of START. This analysis revealed that most gene deletions that altered cell-cycle progression did not change cell size. Our results highlight a strong requirement for ribosomal biogenesis and protein synthesis for initiation of cell division. We also identified numerous factors that have not been previously implicated in cell-cycle control mechanisms. We found that cystathionine-beta-synthase (CBS) advances START in two ways: by promoting cell growth, which requires CBS's catalytic activity, and by a separate function which does not require that activity. CBS defects cause disease in humans, and in animals CBS has vital, non-catalytic, unknown roles. Hence, our results may be relevant for human biology. Screening chemical libraries to identify compounds that affect overall cell proliferation is common. However, it is generally not known whether the compounds tested alter the timing of particular cell-cycle transitions. Our approach revealed strong cell-cycle effects of several commonly used pharmaceuticals. We show that the antilipemic gemfibrozil delays initiation of DNA replication, while cells treated with the antidepressant fluoxetine severely delay progression through mitosis. We discovered a strong suppressive interaction between gemfibrozil and fluoxetine. The novel interaction between gemfibrozil and fluoxetine suggests that identifying and combining drugs that show cell-cycle effects might streamline identification of drug combinations with a pronounced impact on cell proliferation. Our studies not only transform our view of START, but also expand the repertoire of genetic and chemical means to modulate the eukaryotic cell cycle.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2004. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / A piplartina à um alcalÃide/amida conhecido encontrado em espÃcies do gÃnero Piper com propriedade citotÃxica interessante. Para avaliar o seu potencial antineoplÃsico, um estudo farmacolÃgico de suas propriedades anticÃncer foi realizado em vÃrios modelos biolÃgicos. A piplartina apresentou potente atividade citotÃxica em todas as linhagens tumorais testadas. Por comparaÃÃo da citotoxicidade de molÃculas com estruturas relacionadas com a piplartina, foi identificado que a presenÃa da carbonila &#945;,&#946;-insaturada do anel amÃdico à essencial para a sua atividade citotÃxica. Em cÃlulas mononucleares de sangue perifÃrico de doadores saudÃveis expostas a piplartina, foi observada apenas fraca atividade citotÃxica. Adicionalmente, a piplartina induziu apoptose em cÃlulas leucÃmicas HL-60, com participaÃÃo da via intrÃnseca, de maneira dependente da concentraÃÃo, como observado pelo padrÃo de morfologia celular, integridade da membrana citoplasmÃtica, alteraÃÃo no potencial transmembrÃnico da mitocÃndria e aumento da fragmentaÃÃo do DNA. Na anÃlise do ciclo celular, foi observado bloqueio na fase G2. A piplartina foi capaz de induzir dano ao DNA em cÃlulas V79, como observado pelo ensaio do cometa alcalino e neutro. Seu mecanismo de aÃÃo genotÃxico parece ser semelhante ao da sua atividade citotÃxica. NÃo foi observada atividade mutagÃnica, com ou sem ativaÃÃo metabÃlica (S9), nas linhagens de Salmonella (modelo procariÃtico) testadas. Por outro lado, a piplartina foi mutagÃnica e recombinogÃnica em linhagens de Saccharomyces cerevisiae (modelo eucariÃtico). Isto pode ser explicado pela diferenÃa fisiolÃgica entre a enzima topoisomerase II de eucariÃticos e procariÃticos, refletindo uma possÃvel interferÃncia da piplartina sobre a atividade desta enzima. No ensaio do micronÃcleo in vivo, a piplartina induziu aumento da freqÃÃncia de micronÃcleo na maior dose testada (100 mg/kg). Entretanto, nÃo alterou a proporÃÃo de eritrÃcitos policromÃticos/normocromÃticos. Em estudo farmacocinÃtico, um mÃtodo bioanalÃtico por LC-MS/MS foi desenvolvido e validado para a quantificaÃÃo da piplartina em plasma de ratos. O mÃtodo apresentou-se linear, sensÃvel, preciso e exato. No estudo de disposiÃÃo cinÃtica, a piplartina apresentou um perfil de absorÃÃo tÃpico de um modelo monocompartimentado. Adicionalmente, os nÃveis plasmÃticos sÃo compativeis com o valor obtido na citotoxicidade in vitro o que nos leva a propor que a atividade anticÃncer da piplartina deve-se as suas propriedades citotÃxica direto. No ensaio de atividade antitumoral, a combinaÃÃo da piplartina com o 5-fluourouracil levou a um aumento da inibiÃÃo do crescimento in vitro e in vivo. AlÃm disso, anÃlises hematolÃgicas mostraram leucopenia apÃs tratamento dos animais com o 5-fluourouracil, o qual foi revertido pela combinaÃÃo com a piplartina. Esses dados sugerem que a piplartina apresenta um potencial anticÃncer promissor / Piplartine is a known alkaloid/amide from Piper species with interesting cytotoxic properties. In order to understand the antineoplasic potential of piplartine, a pharmacological study was performed in several biological models. Piplartine displayed potent cytotoxicity against all cancer cell lines. By comparing the cytotoxicity of selected molecules that differ in structural elements, it was identified that the presence of the &#945;,&#946;-unsaturated carbonyl moiety of the amide ring is an important structural requirement for cytotoxic activity. In healthy peripheral blood mononuclear cells exposed to piplartine, it was observed only weak cytotoxic activity. Moreover, piplartine treatment induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells, by the intrinsic pathway, in a dose-dependent manner, as observed by morphology and cytoplasmatic membrane integrate changes, alteration in mitochondrial membrane potential and an increase in internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. In the cell cycle analysis, piplartine induced G2 cell cycle arrest. Piplartine treatment induced DNA strand breaks in V79 cells, as detected by neutral and alkaline comet assay. Its genotoxic mechanism of action seems to be similar to its cytotoxic activity. No mutagenic effect, with or without metabolic activation (S9 mix), in Salmonella strains (prokaryotic model) was observed under experimental conditions. On the other hand, piplartine was mutagenic and recombinogenic in Saccharomyces cerevisiae assays (eukaryotic model). This can be explained due to the differences in physiological between eukaryote and prokaryote DNA topoisomerase II, reflecting a possible interference of piplartine upon this enzyme activity. In vivo micronucleus test, piplartine increased in the levels of micronuclei in the highest dose tested (100 mg/kg). Nevertheless, no bone marrow cytotoxicity was found after piplartine-treated animals as observed by the polychromatic/normochromatic erythrocyte ratio. In pharmacokinetic study, a LCâMS/MS bioanalytical method for the determination of piplartine in rat plasma was established. The method developed shows great linearity and low quantification limit; precision and accuracy were within the acceptable ranges for bioanalytical purposes. In the concentrationâtime profiles, piplartine showed absorption kinetic of a monocompartimental model. Additionally, the plasma levels are compatible with the in vitro cytotoxicity which leads us to propose that the anticancer activity of piplartine is due to its direct cytotoxic properties. In antitumor assay, the combination of piplartine with 5-fluourouracil led to an in vitro and in vivo increasing of the tumor growth inhibition. In addition, hematological analysis showed leukopenia after 5-fluourouracil treatment, which was reversed by the combined use of piplartine. These data suggest that piplartine has promising anticancer potential

A nanoemulsão lipídica (LDE) se concentra nas células neoplásicas e pode ser utilizada como transportador de derivado lipofílico da daunorrubicina, como o Noleil- daunorrubicina (oDNR). Neste estudo, a LDE-oDNR foi preparada por homogeneização em alta pressão e sua toxicidade e atividade anti-tumoral testadas. A associação LDE-oDNR teve rendimento elevado e permaneceu estável por longo período. Em camundongosC57BL/6J, a dose máxima tolerada (DMT) foi 65 vezes maior e a DL50 48 vezes maior no tratamento LDE-oDNR comparado ao tratamento DNR comercial, resultando em alta redução da toxicidade. Em camundongos implantados com células de melanoma B16, a preparação LDE-oDNR (7,5 mol/kg) levou a redução de 59 ± 2% do crescimento do tumor comparado a redução de 23 ± 2% para o tratamento DNR comercial na mesma dose (p<0,001). A probabilidade de sobrevida teve aumento pronunciado nos animais tratados com LDE-oDNR comparado à DNR comercial (p <0,01). Além disso, apenas 30% dos animais portadores de melanoma submetidos ao tratamento com LDE-oDNR apresentaram metástases, comparado a 82% quando tratados com DNR comercial. Uma forte redução de toxicidade também foi observada pela redução da anemia e leucopenia nos animais tratados com LDE-oDNR, em comparação com DNR comercial. A preparacao LDE-oDNR foi eficaz também no quadro de trombocitose induzida por tumor. Os testes com fragmentos extraídos de tumores dos animais tratados mostraram que a LDE-oDNR foi mais eficaz na destruição das células neoplásicas comparado ao tratamento DNR comercial (9% de células viáveis com tratamento LDE-oDNR, 27% sob tratamento DNR). O estudo mostrou que o tratamento proposto com o derivado ODNR associado à nanoemulsão (LDE-oDNR) é efetivo no combate às células tumorais, seletivo, menos tóxico e melhor tolerado. Os estudos de farmacocinética e biodistribuição somam a este protocolo informações importantes relacionadas às propriedades de absorção, distribuição, metabolismo e excreção da formulação em estudo comparado à DNR comercial / A lipidic nanoemulsion (LDE) that concentrates in neoplastic cells can be used as vehicle to daunorubicin lipophylic derivatives, such as N-oleyl-daunorubicin (oDNR). Here, LDE-oDNR was prepared by high pressure homogenization to test toxicity and anti-tumor activity. LDE-oDNR association yield was high and stable for long period. In mice, maximum tolerated dose was 65 and LD50 was 48-fold greater in LDE-oDNR than in commercial DNR treatment, showing very strong toxicity reduction. In melanoma B16-tumor bearing mice, LDE-oDNR (7.5 mol/Kg) reduced tumorgrowth by of 59±2%, and DNR by only 23±2% at same dose level (p<0.001). Survival was pronouncedly increased in LDE-oDNR compared to DNR treatment (p<0.01). Furthermore, the number of melanoma-bearing mice with metastasis was 30% under LDE-oDNR, compared to 82% under DNR treatment. Strong reduction of toxicity was also observed by reduction of anemia and leucopenia under LDE-oDNR, compared to commercial DNR tumor-induced thrombocytosis was more effective with LDE-oDNR than with DNR. Tests with fragments extracted from tumors of treated animals showed that LDE-oDNR was more effective in killing neoplastic cells than DNR (9% of viable cells under LDE-oDNR; 27% under DNR). The pharmacokinetics and biodistribution studies add important information to this protocol related to the properties of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of the formulation under study compared to free DNR. The remarkable toxicity reduction and increase in pharmacological action supports novel LDE-oDNR as a promising weapon in cancer treatment

Les leucémies aiguës myéloïdes (LAM) avec dysplasie, identifiées par la classification OMS 2008 sous le nom de LAM-MRC (« AML with myelodysplasia-related changes »), sont actuellement définies par la présence de critères cliniques, cytologiques et cytogénétiques. Elles forment un groupe hétérogène tant sur le plan biologique que pronostique. Nous avons fait l'hypothèse que la caractérisation moléculaire des LAM-MRC pourrait permettre d'identifier des marqueurs spécifiques associés à ces pathologies et d'en distinguer différents sous-groupes. Nous avons mis en évidence que les LAM-MRC de risque cytogénétique intermédiaire présentent un profil mutationnel spécifique caractérisé par un taux élevé de mutation d'ASXL1 et une faible proportion de mutations de DNMT3A, NPM1 et FLT3. Les LAM-MRC de risque cytogénétique défavorable, essentiellement complexes et/ou monosomales, sont quant à elle associées aux mutations de TP53. Alors que les critères actuels des LAM-MRC ne permettent pas d'en stratifier le pronostic, nous avons montré que les mutations d'ASXL1 ou de TP53 sont des facteurs pronostics péjoratifs majeurs. Ainsi, une reclassification basée sur la présence de ces altérations moléculaires exclusives entre elles permettrait d'affiner le diagnostic et la stratification pronostique de ces maladies. Enfin, dans une stratégie de médecine personnalisée combinant le séquençage à haut débit à des tests de sensibilité thérapeutique in vitro, l'identification de tels marqueurs moléculaires permettraient de prédire la réponse aux traitements, de guider les choix thérapeutiques et d'orienter le développement de nouvelles drogues. / Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC) as reported in the WHO 2008 classification are defined by the presence of clinical, morphological and cytogenetic criteria. AML-MRCs are heterogeneous diseases with prognostic heterogeneity. We hypothesized that molecular characterization of AML-MRC could identify specific molecular markers and disease subgroups. We showed that AML-MRCs with intermediate cytogenetic risk harbor a specific mutational profile characterized by a high frequency of ASXL1 mutations and a low incidence of DNMT3A, NPM1 and FLT3 mutations. Unfavorable cytogenetic risk AML-MRCs, especially due to complex and/or monosomal karyotypes, are associated with TP53 mutations. While WHO criteria do not stratify the prognosis of AML-MRC patients, we showed that the mutations of ASXL1 or TP53 are major poor prognostic factors. The criteria defining AML-MRC do not identify distinct clinical and biological subgroups and do not predict outcome of patients with AML-MRC. In contrast, ASXL1 and TP53-mutated AML identify two distinct biological subgroups of AML-MRC with very poor outcome. This molecular characterization could be useful to redefine AML-MRC in a future classification aiming at merging biological characterization and specific prognostic value. Finally, we showed that a personalized treatment approach combining next generation sequencing and in vitro drug screening could be useful to predict therapeutic response and to guide both treatment choices and new targeted drug developments.

No description available.

No description available.