Twenty-four healthy, mixed breed dogs were divided into four groups. Group I received a placebo PO BID, group II received an average 16.5 (range, 15.1-17.8) mg/kg buffered aspirin PO BID, group III received an average 2.2 (range, 2.0-2.4) mg/kg carprofen PO BID, and group IV received an average 12.8 (range, 11.7-13.8) mg/kg etodolac PO QD (with a placebo in the P.M.). All treatments continued for 28 consecutive days. Gastroduodenal endoscopy was performed on days – 9, 0, 5, 14 and 28. Multiple gastric biopsies were obtained endoscopically on day – 9 to determine each dog's Helicobacter spp. status. Five areas, consisting of four regions in the stomach and one in the proximal duodenum, were evaluated endoscopically, and each was assigned a score from 1 to 11 based on qualitative assessment of submucosal hemorrhage, erosion, or ulceration. These scores for each region were then summed to give a total score for each endoscopic evaluation. Erosions and submucosal hemorrhages were seen in all dogs receiving aspirin. Only minor gastric lesions were observed in the carprofen, etodolac, and control groups. No adverse clinical signs were noted in any dog given any treatment during the course of the study. There was no predilection site for lesion development in any group. Median total score on days 0, 5, 14, and 28 were as follows: group I, 5.0, 5.0, 5.0, 5.0; group II, 5.0, 27.0, 26.0, 27.5; group III, 5.0, 5.0, 6.0, 5.0; group IV, 5.0, 7.0, 5.0, 5.0, respectively. There was no significant difference between dogs receiving carprofen, etodolac, or placebo. The administration of carprofen, etodolac, or placebo to healthy dogs resulted in significantly less gastroduodenal lesion development than in dogs receiving buffered aspirin. Thirty healthy, random source, dogs were evaluated to determine the prevalence of Helicobacter spp., and to compare the ‘Campylobacter-like organism’ test (CLOtest®) to histopathologic identification of Helicobacter spp. organisms. Gastric mucosal biopsies from each of four gastric regions (cardia, pyloric antrum, greater curvature, and angularis incisura) were obtained endoscopically for use in the CLOtest® and for histopathologic evaluation. Twenty-seven of 30 dogs (90%) were positive for spiral bacteria suspected to be Helicobacter spp. by histopathologic evaluation in at least one of the four gastric regions. Three dogs (10%) were negative for Helicobacter spp. in all gastric regions by histopathologic evaluation. The CLOtest® was found to have a sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of 84%, 81%, and 92%, respectively, when compared to histopathologic evaluation. When only the angularis incisura was evaluated, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value increased to 92%, 94%, and 96%, respectively. The angularis incisura had the highest, whereas the pyloric antrum had the lowest, prevalence of positive test results when compared to dogs determined to be overall Helicobacter spp. positive (histopathologic positive in at least one gastric region). The results of this study suggest the prevalence of Helicobacter spp. in apparently healthy dogs is high. For accurate and economical detection of Helicobacter spp. in a dog undergoing upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, a tissue sample should be taken from the angularis incisura for CLOtest® sampling. / Master of Science

Although the molecular mechanisms underlying the onset and progression of cancer has been unraveled to a great extend, cancer continues to remain a leading cause of death around the world. Clinical efficacy of the existing anticancer drugs are largely compromised by the inherent and acquired resistance of cancer cell types and the severe side effects evoked by chemotherapeutic agents. Hence, the search for novel anticancer drugs with minimum side effects remains an active area of cancer research. Although molecular targeted drugs are preferred over the conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy, the screening of natural compounds with cytotoxic potentialities continues as they can serve as lead structures for the development of tumor selective anticancer drugs. Plants and microorganisms have been the prominent sources of therapeutic agents. Microorganisms being readily renewable, inexhaustible sources of diverse bioactive secondary metabolites are preferred over plants as sources of bioactive compounds. Endophytes are microorganisms that reside within the living tissue of host plant and they enhance the survival value of the host plant by mediating various stress tolerance mechanisms. Endophytic fungi have gained attention as potential sources of bioactive secondary metabolites following the discovery of a taxol producing endophytic fungus Taxomyces adrenae, from Taxus brevifolia. Moreover, endophytes occupy a unique biological niche in which they maintain a balanced interaction with the host organism and other co-inhabiting microorganisms. All these factors contribute to the chemical diversity of the metabolites they produce. Plants restricted to extreme or unique habitats or those with ethnobotanical value are likely to lodge endophytes that possess a unique hoard of secondarymetabolites. Saraca asoca is a traditionalmedicinal plant with its occurrence restricted to countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Burma and Malaysia. The purpose of the present study is to explore the endophytic fungal population associated with S. asoca in search of novel anticancer lead structures. S. asoca was found to house a diverse endophytic fungal population belonging to 37 different species. Identification of the fungal isolates was based on ITS (internal transcribed spacer region) sequence analysis as well as colony and spore characteristics. The organic extracts of all fungal species were assessed for their in vitro cytotoxicities in three human cancer cell lines, HeLa, HepG2 and PC3 byMTT assay. 18 species exhibited remarkable cytotoxic activities, among which Pestalotiopsis sp. 6 exhibited themost significant cytotoxicity. The strain with second highest activity was Lasiodiplodia theobromae. In order to identify the active principle present in the organic extracts of Pestalotiopsis sp. 6 and L. theobromae, the organic extracts were chromatographed on TLC plates and individual compounds were recovered by scraping off from the TLC plates and extracting with methanol. The cytotoxicity assay of the TLC purified compounds suggested the cytotoxic activity of Pestalotiopsis sp.6 to be a synergetic effect of two or more compounds whereas the cytotoxicity of L. theobromae organic extract was largely due to a single compound. Hence the active principle present in L. theobromae organic extract was purified by bioassay - guided column chromatography. Repeated chromatography of the crude extract using three silica gel columns resulted in the isolation of anticancer compound. Based on the analysis of ESI-MS, IR, NMR and UV spectral data, the isolated compound was identified as a novel steroidal saponin, cholestan-3-O-¯-Dglucopyranoside (cholestanol glucoside - CG). The in vitro cytotoxic effects of CG towards seven human cancer cell lines, HeLa, HepG2, PC3, U251,MCF 7, OVCAR3 and A549 were examined. Among the cell lines screened, HeLa cells weremost vulnerable to CG treatment, with an IC50 value of 3.2 ¹M. Hence themode of cell death induction in HeLa cells by CG was further investigated. Analysis of cell cycle progression by propidium iodide (PI) staining revealed that CG arrests the cells in S phase of cell cycle prior to the induction of cell death. The morphological and biochemical features of apoptosis were investigated by nuclear staining, DNA fragmentation assay and Annexin V-FITC/ PI dual staining. All these results suggested that CG effectively induced apoptosis in HeLa cells in a concentration dependent manner. It was also found that CG treatment induced remarkable ROS generation and mitochondrial membrane potential loss. The pretreatment of cells with an antioxidant, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), blocked CG induced ROS generation, mitochondrialmembrane depolarization and apoptotic cell death. Hence it could be concluded that CG kills the cancer cells by augmenting their basal oxidative stress and hence is less likely to be toxic to normal cells. Moreover, a high Bax to Bcl-2 ratio, high levels of Apaf-1 and p53, activation of procaspase-3 and procaspase-9 and cleavage of PARP were observed in CG treated HeLa cells. Taken together, our results suggested that CG induced apoptosis in HeLa cells via ROS mediated mitochondria dependent pathway. Biosynthesis of secondarymetabolites by filamentous fungi is influenced by the availability of nutrient factors. Therefore, it is essential to optimize the culturemedium components to ensure a maximum and consistent yield of desired metabolite by the fungal isolate. We designed a chemically defined production medium for CG production by L. theobromae. Carbon source, nitrogen source and microelements in the production medium were further optimized in stationary flask cultures to improve the mycelial growth and yield of CG by L. theobromae. The conventional one-factor at a time (OFAT)method was employed for the optimization of carbon and nitrogen sourceswhose contribution effects towards the final yield are large. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed for the optimization of microelements. Optimization of culturemedium enhanced the yield of CG from 10mg L¡1 to 50mg L¡1. Various secondarymetabolites are produced by organisms in response to different stress conditions. This knowledge has been exploited in plant cell culture systems to increase the yield of particular secondary metabolites by artificial implementation of stress conditions. We investigated the effect of oxidative, osmotic and heat shock stresses on the production of CG by L. theobromae. Heat shock and osmotic stresses in liquid cultures were found to enhance the yield of CG by 1.2-fold, relative to the controls. Oxidative stress by both menadione and H2O2 enhanced the yield by 1.8-fold compared to the controls. Thus oxidative stress proved to be an efficient enhancer of CG production by L. theobromae. These findings ensure a large scale, cost-effective production of CG.

Este trabalho trata do estudo de complexos de rutênio contendo antiinflamatórios não-esteróides, com o objetivo de contribuir para ampliar as pesquisas na área de potenciais metalofármacos antitumorais. A partir de reações do precursor dimetálico [Ru2(O2CCH3)4Cl] com os fármacos carboxílicos sulindaco (HSulin) e diclofenaco de sódio (NaDiclofen) foram isolados, respectivamente, os correspondentes complexos [Ru2(Sulin)4Cl] e [Ru2(Diclofen)4Cl]. A reação entre o monômero [RuCl2(dmso)4] e o meloxicam (H2Melox) deu origem ao derivado misto [Ru(dmso)2(HMelox)2]. Os compostos foram caracterizados por meio de análise elementar, medidas de condutância molar, medidas de susceptibilidade magnética, espectroscopia de absorção eletrônica UV-VIS-IR, espectroscopia vibracional FTIR e Raman, e estudos de análise térmica (TG/DSC/MS). As interações da albumina de soro humana HSA, importante proteína do plasma, com os complexos obtidos, com o análogo [Ru2(IBP)4Cl] (HIBP = ibuprofeno) e também com os fármacos orgânicos não-complexados foram investigadas empregando-se dicroísmo circular, SDS-Page e fluorescência. A atividade antitumoral dos metalofármacos foi avaliada, através de ensaios com MTT, com base nos seus efeitos citotóxicos para a linhagem celular de leucemia humana K562. / This work describes the study of ruthenium complexes containing non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs with the aim of helping to expand the research in the field of potential anticancer metallodrugs. Reactions of the [Ru2(O2CCH3)4Cl] dimetal complex with sulindac (HSulin) and sodium diclofenac (NaDiclofen) carboxylic drugs gave the correspondent complexes [Ru2(Sulin)4Cl] and [Ru2(Diclofen)4Cl], respectively. The reaction between the [RuCl2(dmso)4] monomer and the meloxicam drug (H2Melox) led to the mixed derivative [Ru(dmso)2(HMelox)2]. The compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductance measurements, magnetic susceptibility, UV-VIS-IR electronic absorption spectroscopy, Raman and FTIR vibrational spectroscopies and by studies of thermal analysis (TG / DSC / MS). The interactions of human serum albumin (HSA), the major plasma protein, with the obtained complexes, the analogous [Ru2(IBP)4Cl] (= HIBP ibuprofen) and also with the noncoordinated organic drugs have been investigated by circular dichroism, SDS-Page and fluorescence. The antitumor activity of the metallodrugs has been evaluated by MTT assays, on the basis of their cytotoxic effects on K562 human leukemia cell line.

Chronic inflammation is intimately linked with cancer development and progression and therefore reducing or eliminating inflammation represents a logical treatment and prevention strategy. Studies have shown that anti-inflammatory agents have anti-tumour effects in cancers, with reduced metastases and mortality. Current use of anti-inflammatory agents in the treatment and prevention of cancer is limited by their toxicity and side effects. The emerging field of nanotechnology allows the fundamental properties of a drug to be altered, creating a product with improved reactivity and bioavailability, leading to more targeted treatments and reduced dosage. In the present study, the genotoxic effects of three commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs; aspirin, ibuprofen and hydrocortisone, in their bulk and nano forms were evaluated on peripheral blood lymphocytes of healthy donors using the comet assay and the micronucleus assay. In order to determine any anti-cancer effects, these agents were also tested in peripheral blood lymphocytes in patients with haematological cancers. The glucocorticoid hydrocortisone was also evaluated for anti-oxidant capacity. Our results demonstrate that the nano versions of each drug produced a different response than the bulk counterpart, indicating that a reduction in particle size had an impact on the reactivity of the drug. Our results also indicate that the nano versions of each drug were less genotoxic than the bulk formulation, further emphasising the potential of nanoparticles as an improvement to current treatment options. We also found an anti-oxidant effect with hydrocortisone, with a more profound effect seen with the nano formulation.

Este trabalho trata do estudo de complexos de rutênio contendo antiinflamatórios não-esteróides, com o objetivo de contribuir para ampliar as pesquisas na área de potenciais metalofármacos antitumorais. A partir de reações do precursor dimetálico [Ru2(O2CCH3)4Cl] com os fármacos carboxílicos sulindaco (HSulin) e diclofenaco de sódio (NaDiclofen) foram isolados, respectivamente, os correspondentes complexos [Ru2(Sulin)4Cl] e [Ru2(Diclofen)4Cl]. A reação entre o monômero [RuCl2(dmso)4] e o meloxicam (H2Melox) deu origem ao derivado misto [Ru(dmso)2(HMelox)2]. Os compostos foram caracterizados por meio de análise elementar, medidas de condutância molar, medidas de susceptibilidade magnética, espectroscopia de absorção eletrônica UV-VIS-IR, espectroscopia vibracional FTIR e Raman, e estudos de análise térmica (TG/DSC/MS). As interações da albumina de soro humana HSA, importante proteína do plasma, com os complexos obtidos, com o análogo [Ru2(IBP)4Cl] (HIBP = ibuprofeno) e também com os fármacos orgânicos não-complexados foram investigadas empregando-se dicroísmo circular, SDS-Page e fluorescência. A atividade antitumoral dos metalofármacos foi avaliada, através de ensaios com MTT, com base nos seus efeitos citotóxicos para a linhagem celular de leucemia humana K562. / This work describes the study of ruthenium complexes containing non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs with the aim of helping to expand the research in the field of potential anticancer metallodrugs. Reactions of the [Ru2(O2CCH3)4Cl] dimetal complex with sulindac (HSulin) and sodium diclofenac (NaDiclofen) carboxylic drugs gave the correspondent complexes [Ru2(Sulin)4Cl] and [Ru2(Diclofen)4Cl], respectively. The reaction between the [RuCl2(dmso)4] monomer and the meloxicam drug (H2Melox) led to the mixed derivative [Ru(dmso)2(HMelox)2]. The compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductance measurements, magnetic susceptibility, UV-VIS-IR electronic absorption spectroscopy, Raman and FTIR vibrational spectroscopies and by studies of thermal analysis (TG / DSC / MS). The interactions of human serum albumin (HSA), the major plasma protein, with the obtained complexes, the analogous [Ru2(IBP)4Cl] (= HIBP ibuprofen) and also with the noncoordinated organic drugs have been investigated by circular dichroism, SDS-Page and fluorescence. The antitumor activity of the metallodrugs has been evaluated by MTT assays, on the basis of their cytotoxic effects on K562 human leukemia cell line.

Thesis--University of Oklahoma. / Bibliography: leaves 159-175.

Η ερευνητική προσπάθεια ανάπτυξης νέων αντινεοπλασματικών φαρμάκων, περιλαμβάνει μεταξύ άλλων και την τροποποίηση γνωστών χημειοθεραπευτικών ενώσεων, με σκοπό την ελάττωση των τοξικών τους παρανεργειών και τη βελτίωση της δραστικότητας των παραγώγων τους. Τέτοιες ενώσεις αποτελούν οι στεροειδικοί αλκυλιωτικοί παράγοντες, οι οποίοι αποτελούν και το αντικείμενο της παρούσας μελέτης. Ειδικότερα, μελετήθηκαν το προφίλ και η βιολογική δραστικότητα των χημικών αυτών ενώσεων έναντι της λευχαιμίας Ρ388, με απώτερο στόχο την προσπάθεια εξαγωγής Ποσοτικών Σχέσεων Δομής-Δράσης (QSAR). Αρχικά δημιουργήθηκε μια διαδραστική βάση δεδομένων-χημική βιβλιοθήκη, στην οποία περιελήφθησαν όλες οι πληροφορίες που αφορούν φυσικοχημικά χαρακτηριστικά και δεδομένα βιολογικής δραστικότητας των υπό μελέτη ενώσεων. Στη συνέχεια από τα δεδομένα της βάσης αυτής, συγκρίθηκαν μεταξύ τους και αναλύθηκαν διάφοροι συσχετισμοί μεταξύ των ενώσεων αυτών. Από την πρωταρχική μελέτη των ενώσεων που συμπεριλήφθηκαν στην βάση δεδομένων και εμφανίζουν αντινεοπλασματική δράση καθίσταται προφανές ότι άσχετα με το δοσολογικό σχήμα δραστικές έναντι της λευχαιμίας Ρ388 εμφανίστηκαν οι ίδιες (στην συντριπτική τους πλειοψηφία 43 έναντι 44 ανά κατηγορία δοσολογικού σχήματος) ενώσεις. Για τιμές λιποφιλικότητας LogP < 4, δεν καταγράφονται ενώσεις και αναγνωρίζεται μεγάλη ποικιλία συντεταγμένων, διότι είναι αρκετά δύσκολο να προκύψουν ενώσεις τόσο μικρής λιποφιλικότητας από το συνδυασμό στεροειδικού σκελετού και αλκυλιωτικού παράγοντα, εκτός αν προστεθούν στο στεροειδικό σκελετό και άλλες υδρόφιλες ομάδες. Από την παρούσα μελέτη προκύπτει ότι ο κατάλληλος συνδυασμός αλκυλιωτικού παράγοντα και στεροειδικού σκελετού οδηγεί σε ενώσεις υψηλής εκλεκτικότητας, ενώ η εισαγωγή στον Β δακτύλιο του στεροειδικού σκελετού του συζυγιακού συστήματος, οδηγεί κατά κανόνα σε μόρια υψηλής αντινεοπλασματικής ικανότητας και χαμηλής τοξικότητας. / -

Objective: To appraise whether adverse events following oral implant placement may be associated with peri-operative use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Methods: All patients with recorded implant failures between 1979 and 2012 in the Implant Prosthodontics Unit were contacted to solicit additional information about potential peri-operative use of NSAIDs. Results: From a total of 168 patients with 292 implant failures between 1979 and 2012, 122 consented to participate and had intact records. Just over half (56.6%) reported no peri-operative NSAID usage. However, compared to patients who did not use peri-operative NSAIDs, four times as many had complicated medical histories and twice as many patients taking NSAIDs suffered multiple implant failures. Conclusions: Patients with a variety of systemic diseases may be adversely affected by the inhibitory effect of NSAIDs on bone healing. Further prospective clinical studies are warranted to clarify this potential causative relationship in humans.

Objective: To appraise whether adverse events following oral implant placement may be associated with peri-operative use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Methods: All patients with recorded implant failures between 1979 and 2012 in the Implant Prosthodontics Unit were contacted to solicit additional information about potential peri-operative use of NSAIDs. Results: From a total of 168 patients with 292 implant failures between 1979 and 2012, 122 consented to participate and had intact records. Just over half (56.6%) reported no peri-operative NSAID usage. However, compared to patients who did not use peri-operative NSAIDs, four times as many had complicated medical histories and twice as many patients taking NSAIDs suffered multiple implant failures. Conclusions: Patients with a variety of systemic diseases may be adversely affected by the inhibitory effect of NSAIDs on bone healing. Further prospective clinical studies are warranted to clarify this potential causative relationship in humans.

Thesis (Ph.D. in Toxicology) -- University of Colorado Denver, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-176). Free to UCD affiliates. Online version available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations;