Cis-platinum is a widely used cytotoxic agent with known radiosensitising properties. It is used in the treatment of various types of lung cancer that may include radiation to the lung as part of the treatment protocol. There is little evidence and some conflict as to whether it sensitises pulmonary tissue to the effects of radiation treatment. This project investigates the effect of cis-platinum alone or in combination with radiation on mouse lung. Four end points were used to evaluate treatments. They were: the release of pulmonary surfactant, changes in breathing rate, a histology based score of damage and changes in TGF-β - a cytokine important in the development of fibrosis. Single doses of either cis-platinum or radiation, cis-platinum given immediately before a single dose of radiation, cis-platinum given immediately before the first of two fractions of radiation and cis-platinum given at various times before and after a single dose of radiation were investigated. Cis-platinum alone was observed to cause an increase in the phospholipid content of lavaged surfactant. Cis-platinum was observed to cause an early release in surfactant and a trend existed for it to induce an early increase in breathing rates as compared to that induced by radiation alone. Cis-platinum was observed to increase radiation damage as assessed using a histology based scoring system. Higher TGF-β levels in lavaged surfactant were observed in C57 /Bl mice as compared to Balb/C. No difference in TGF-β levels was seen in homogenised lung between the strains. Cis-platinum may cause changes in TGF-β in C57/Bl mice but further work is necessary to confirm this.

Leung, Jackie. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 117-131). / Abstract also in Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / 論文摘要 --- p.iii / Acknowledgement --- p.iv / List of publications --- p.vi / List of Tables --- p.vi / List of Figures --- p.vi / Table of Contents --- p.ix / Chapter Chapter 1: --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1. --- Liver cancer --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1. --- Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) --- p.2 / Chapter 1.2. --- Lung Cancer --- p.5 / Chapter 1.3. --- Pteris semipinnata L --- p.8 / Chapter 1.4. --- Extract of PsL: 5F --- p.10 / Chapter 1.5. --- Animal models in chemotherapy researches --- p.13 / Chapter 1.5.1. --- Model of HCC --- p.13 / Chapter 1.5.2. --- Model of lung cancer --- p.15 / Chapter 1.6. --- Apoptosis: Significance of programmed cell death --- p.17 / Chapter 1.6.1. --- The extrinsic pathway --- p.18 / Chapter 1.6.2. --- The intrinsic pathway --- p.19 / Chapter 1.7. --- Apoptotic molecules related to this study --- p.22 / Chapter 1.7.1. --- Bcl-2 family --- p.22 / Chapter 1.7.1.1. --- Bax --- p.22 / Chapter 1.7.1.2. --- Bcl-2 --- p.23 / Chapter 1.7.2. --- Nuclear factor kappa B --- p.25 / Chapter 1.7.3. --- Inducible nitric oxide synthase --- p.27 / Chapter 1.8. --- Side-effects of chemotherapy --- p.29 / Chapter 1.8.1. --- Chemotherapy and liver dysfunction --- p.30 / Chapter 1.8.2. --- Nephrotoxicity of chemotherapeutic agents --- p.31 / Chapter 1.9. --- Aim of study --- p.33 / Chapter Chapter 2: --- Materials and Methodology --- p.34 / Chapter 2.1. --- Animals --- p.34 / Chapter 2.1.1. --- HCC model --- p.34 / Chapter 2.1.2. --- Lung cancer model --- p.35 / Chapter 2.2. --- Tumors induction --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.1. --- HCC induction in C3H/HeJ mice --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.2. --- Lung cancer induction in A/J mice --- p.37 / Chapter 2.3. --- 5F preparation --- p.38 / Chapter 2.4. --- 5F treatment --- p.39 / Chapter 2.5. --- Harvest of samples and tissues --- p.41 / Chapter 2.6. --- Tumor assessment --- p.43 / Chapter 2.7. --- Investigation of apoptosis and cell proliferation --- p.44 / Chapter 2.8. --- Immunohistochemistry --- p.47 / Chapter 2.9. --- Biochemical test --- p.51 / Chapter 2.9.1. --- Liver Function Tests (LFT) --- p.52 / Chapter 2.9.1.1. --- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) & Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) --- p.52 / Chapter 2.9.2. --- Renal Function Test (RFT) --- p.53 / Chapter 2.9.2.1. --- Serum creatinine level (CRE) --- p.53 / Chapter 2.9.2.2. --- Blood Urea Nitrogen index (BUN) --- p.54 / Chapter 2.10. --- Statistical analysis --- p.55 / Chapter Chapter 3: --- Results --- p.56 / Chapter 3.1. --- Anti-tumor effect of 5F is dose- dependent --- p.56 / Chapter 3.2. --- 5F reduces cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in-vivo --- p.60 / Chapter 3.3. --- Effects of 5F on apoptotic signaling molecules --- p.68 / Chapter 3.3.1. --- 5F up-regulates pro-apoptotic Bax and Bak --- p.68 / Chapter 3.3.2. --- 5F down-regulates anti-apoptotic NF-kappa B and Bcl-2 --- p.76 / Chapter 3.3.3. --- 5F up-regulated iNOS in HCC but not in lung cancer --- p.88 / Chapter 3.3.4. --- Regulation on Erk1/2 was associated with treatment of 5F --- p.93 / Chapter 3.4. --- Side-effect studies of 5F --- p.97 / Chapter Chapter 4: --- Discussion --- p.105 / Chapter Chapter 5: --- Conclusion --- p.116 / Bibliography --- p.117