Glucose transport across glioblastoma membranes plays a crucial role in maintaining the enhanced glycolysis typical of high-grade gliomas and glioblastoma. We tested the ability of two inhibitors of the glucose transporters GLUT/SLC2A superfamily, indinavir (IDV) and ritonavir (RTV), and of one inhibitor of the Na/glucose antiporter type 2 (SGLT2/SLC5A2) superfamily, phlorizin (PHZ), in decreas...

BACKGROUND Gamma-tocotrienol (GTT), an isomer of vitamin E and hydroxy-chavicol (HC), a major bioactive compound in Piper betle, has been reported to possess anti-carcinogenic properties by modulating different cellular signaling events. One possible strategy to overcome multi-drug resistance and high toxic doses of treatment is by applying combinational therapy especially using natural bioacti...

PURPOSE The serine-threonine kinase mammalian target of rapamycin has emerged as a potential target for cancer therapy. Rapamycin and rapamycin analogs are undergoing clinical trials and have induced clinical responses in a subgroup of patients. Rapamycin has also been reported to enhance the efficacy of several cytotoxic agents. The aim of this study was to determine the nature of the interact...

PURPOSE RAD001 (everolimus), a mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway inhibitor in phase II clinical trials in oncology, exerts potent antiproliferative/antitumor activities. Many breast cancers are dependent for proliferation on estrogens synthesized from androgens (i.e., androstenedione) by aromatase. Letrozole (Femara) is an aromatase inhibitor used for treatment of postmenopausal wome...

The combined cytoactive effects of American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) and licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis) root extracts were investigated in a hepatocarcinoma cell line (Hep-G2). An isobolographic analysis was utilized to express the possibility of synergistic, additive or antagonistic interaction between the two extracts. Both ginseng and licorice roots are widely utilized in traditional ...

BACKGROUND Clinical studies have demonstrated that oxaliplatin, a novel platinum derivative, is a potent chemotherapeutic agent, especially when combined with other reagents. The aim of the present study was to explore the mechanism of such action. METHODS Using colon cancer cell lines, we examined changes in cell cycle, apoptosis and mitotic catastrophe induced by oxaliplatin and/or paclitax...

Interleukin-6 (IL-6)/IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) plays a major role in autocrine/paracrine growth regulation of myeloma cells. We investigated the effect of dexamethasone and all-trans retinoic acid, previously shown to modulate IL-6/IL-6R, on the in vitro growth of a human myeloma cell line, OPM-2. Both agents inhibited the clonogenic growth and 3H-thymidine incorporation in a concentration-dependen...

The BCR/ABL tyrosine kinase has been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph(+)) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). STI571 is a novel anticancer agent that selectively inhibits the BCR/ABL tyrosine kinase. The cytotoxic effects of STI571 were studied in combination with antileukemic agents against Ph(+) leukemia cell lines, ...

The anticancer agent etoposide (VP-16) produces DNA strand scission in intact tumor cells or isolated nuclei. This activity may be mediated by topoisomerase II, an enzyme capable of producing double strand breaks in mammalian cells. Two established tumor cell lines were examined to see whether polyamines, which alter DNA conformation and topoisom erase II activities, affected the cytotoxicity, ...

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease (NTDs), endemic in 88 countries, affecting more than 12 million people. The treatment consists in pentavalent antimony compounds, amphotericin B, pentamidine and miltefosine, among others. However, these current drugs are limited due to their toxicity, development of biological resistance, length of treatment and high cost. Thus, it is important to ...