β-Lapachone is a natural quinone compound from Lapacho trees, which has various pharmacological effects such as anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the effect of β-lapachone on metastasis of melanoma cells is unclear. In this study, β-lapachone reduced cell viability of metastatic melanoma cancer cell lines B16F10 and B16BL6 through induction of a...

β-lapachone is a naturally occurring quinone that selectively induces apoptotic cell death in a variety of human cancer cells in vitro and in vivo; however, its mechanism of action needs to be further elaborated. In this study, we investigated the effects of β-lapachone on the induction of apoptosis in human gastric carcinoma AGS cells. β-lapachone significantly inhibited cellular proliferation...

Addition of beta-lapachone, an o-naphthoquinone endowed with trypanocidal properties to respiring Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes induced the release of O2- and H2O2 from the whole cells to the suspending medium. The same beta-lapachone concentration (4 micron) that released H2O2 at maximal rate completely inhibited T. cruzi growth in a liquid medium. The position isomer, alpha-lapachone, did ...

Infectious diseases are a worldwide public health problem. There is growing research in the field of new plant-based drugs for treating such diseases. Our objective was to perform a systematic literature review to evaluate the anti-infectious activity (antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and antiparasitic) attributed to plants of the Tabebuia (Bignoniaceae) genus. We conducted a search for the...

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. Patients treated with current chemotherapies for non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) have a survival rate of approximately 15% after 5 years. Novel approaches are needed to treat this disease. We show elevated NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1) levels in tumors from NSCLC patients. beta-Lapachone, an effective chem...

Improving patient outcome by personalized therapy involves a thorough understanding of an agent's mechanism of action. β-Lapachone (clinical forms, Arq501/Arq761) has been developed to exploit dramatic cancer-specific elevations in the phase II detoxifying enzyme NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1). NQO1 is dramatically elevated in solid cancers, including primary and metastatic [e.g., triple...

beta-Lapachone markedly increased the generation of superoxide anions and hydrogen peroxide by subcellular membranes of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus stearothermophilus. Peroxide generation by beta-lapachone was parallel to the inhibition of growth in both microorganisms.

A method to specifically ablate melanocytes in a genetically tractable organism would facilitate the analysis of melanocyte regeneration and regulation. We have demonstrated that a Q-switched neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet dermatology laser kills larval melanocytes in zebrafish. Following melanocyte ablation, new melanocytes regenerate from unpigmented precursors. We show that melanocyte reg...

CASE REPORT Two-phase Surgery Using a Dermal Regeneration Material for Nail Unit Melanoma: Three Case Reports Shiro Iino, Suguru Sato, Natsuki Baba, Naoki Maruta, Wataru Takashima, Noritaka Oyama, Takahiro Kiyohara, Masato Yasuda and Minoru Hasegawa Department of Dermatology, Division of Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan Department of Dermatology, Kansai M...

UNLABELLED Cisplatin is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of various tumors. In addition to its antitumor activity, cisplatin affects normal cells and may induce adverse effects, such as ototoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and neuropathy. Various mechanisms, such as DNA adduct formation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses, are critically involv...