PURPOSE Although the clinical efficacy of cyclosporin A (CSA) in retinoblastoma (RB) has been attributed to multidrug resistance reversal activity, the authors hypothesized that CSA is also directly toxic to RB cells through inhibition of calcineurin (CN)/nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) signaling. METHODS Antiproliferative effects of CSA, PSC-833 (a CSA analogue that does not inhib...

Studies show that kidneys produce 2 ,3 -cAMP, 2 ,3 -cAMP is exported and metabolized to 2 -AMP and 3 -AMP, 2 -AMP and 3 -AMP are metabolized to adenosine, 2 ,3 -cAMP inhibits proliferation of preglomerular vascular smooth muscle cells (PGVSMCs) and glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs), and A2B (not A1, A2A, or A3) adenosine receptors mediate part of the antiproliferative effects of 2 ,3 -cAMP. The...

In this study, syntheses of new pyrimidine-coupled N-ß-glucosides and tetra-O-acetyl derivatives were carried out. All glycoconjugates investigated in comparison with known chemotherapeutic agents terms their antimicrobial anticancer functions DNA/protein binding affinities. Spectral data showed that all glycoside obtained by diastereoselectivity as ß-anomers. Both tested groups exhibited stron...

BACKGROUND Glucocorticoids (GCs) not only regulate metabolic and inflammatory mechanisms, but also are known to suppress tumor growth. Despite previous detection of glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) in juvenile angiofibromas, their distribution and function have not further been studied. METHODS Juvenile angiofibroma tissue (n = 30), nasal mucosa specimens (n = 10), subepithelial stroma of nasal...

Ca(2+) is a pivotal signal in human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) proliferation. Capacitative Ca(2+) entry (CCE) via the store-operated channel (SOC), which encoded by the transient receptor potential (TRP) gene, is an important mechanism for regulating intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) in PASMCs. Sildenafil, a potent type 5 nucleotide-dependent phosphodiesterase ...

BACKGROUND We aimed to test the antiproliferative effect of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from bypass surgery patients and the role of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta1). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS VSMC were isolated from remaining internal mammary artery from patients who underwent bypass surgery. Cell proliferation and DNA fragmentation wer...

While chemotherapy remains to be one of the main approaches in the clinical treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), multidrug resistance (MDR) has become a serious problem which limits the therapeutic efficacy. The important roles of the PI3K/Akt pathway in modulating cell proliferation and MDR suggest that PI3K inhibitor might be effective for treatment of AML. In the present study, the ant...

Inorganic phosphate (Pi) is an essential nutrient for living organisms. It plays a key role in diverse physiological functions, including osteoblast differentiation and skeletal mineralization. Relevantly, Pi is emerging as an important signaling molecule capable of modulating multiple cellular functions by altering signal transduction pathways, gene expression, and protein abundance in many ce...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an angiogenic mitogen involved in promoting tumor angiogenesis inside the body. VEGF is a key protein required for progression of tumor from benign to malignant phenotype. In this study, we investigated the binding affinity of a previously selected 26-mer DNA aptamer sequence (SL(2)-B) against heparin binding domain (HBD) of VEGF(165) protein. The SL...