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Biomedical subjects

G Nocentini

Publications and source records attributed to G Nocentini.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Dexamethasone modulates CD2 expression.

Glucocorticoid hormones (GCs) are able to modulate leukocyte activity. We studied the effect of dexamethasone (DEX) on the expression of CD2, an adhesion molecule involved in T-lymphocyte homing and activation. Results of flow cytometry analysis and immunoprecipitation with anti-CD2 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) indicated that in vitro treatment with DEX augments CD2 expression in transformed T-cell lines. This effect correlated with a rapid increase in the mRNA and was inhibited by actinomycin-D (AD). The DEX-induced CD2 augmentation was transient, peaked at days 1-2 and returned to the levels of untreated controls at days 3-4. It was a dose-dependent phenomenon, mediated by the GC receptor (GCR), because it was inhibited by the GCR antagonist RU486, and was not induced by other steroids such as testosterone and progesterone. This CD2 modulation could presumably contribute to GC-induced effects on T-cell activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Furanfurin and thiophenfurin: two novel tiazofurin analogues. Synthesis, structure, antitumor activity, and interactions with inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase.

The syntheses of furan and thiophene analogues of tiazofurin (furanfurin and thiophenfurin, respectively) are described. Direct stannic chloride-catalyzed C-glycosylation of ethyl 3-furan-carboxylate (6) or ethyl 3-thiophencarboxylate (18) with 1,2,3,5-tetra-O-acetyl-D-ribofuranose gave 2- and 5-glycosylated regioisomers, as a mixture of alpha- and beta-anomers, and the beta-2,5-diglycosylated derivatives. Deprotection of ethyl 5-(2,3,5-tri-O-acetyl-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)furan-3-carboxylate (9 beta) and ethyl 5-(2,3,5-tri-O-acetyl-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)thiophene-3-carboxylate (20 beta) with sodium ethoxide afforded ethyl 5-beta-D-ribofuranosylfuran-3-carboxylate (12 beta) and ethyl 5-beta-D-ribofuranosylthiophene-3-carboxylate (23 beta) which were converted into 5-beta-D-ribofuranosylfuran-3-carboxamide (furanfurin, 4) and 5-beta-D-ribofuranosylthiophene-3-carboxamide (thiophenfurin, 5) by reaction with ammonium hydroxide. The anomeric configuration and the site of glycosylation were established by 1H-NMR and proton-proton nuclear Overhauser effect difference spectroscopy. The structure of compound 23 beta was confirmed by X-ray crystallography. Thiophenfurin was found to be cytotoxic in vitro toward murine lymphocytic leukemia P388 and L1210, human myelogenous leukemia K562, human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60, human colon adenocarcinoma LoVo, and B16 melanoma at concentrations similar to that of tiazofurin. In the same test furanfurin proved to be inactive. Thiophenfurin was found active in vivo in BD2F1 mice inoculated with L1210 cells with a % T/C of 168 at 25 mg/kg. K562 cells incubation with thiophenfurin resulted in inhibition of inosine monophosphate (IMP) dehydrogenase (63%) and an increase in IMP pools (6-fold) with a concurrent decrease in GTP levels (42%). Incubation of adenosine-labeled K562 cells with tiazofurin, thiophenfurin, and furanfurin resulted in a 2-fold higher NAD analogue formulation by thiophenfurin than by tiazofurin. Furanfurin was converted to the NAD analogue with only 10% efficiency. The results obtained support the hypothesis that the presence of S in the heterocycle in position 2 with respect to the glycosidic bond is essential for the cytotoxicity and IMP dehydrogenase activity of tiazofurin, while the N atom is not.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

T cell receptor iota an alternatively spliced product of the T cell receptor zeta gene.

It has been previously suggested that three alternative splicings of the murine T cell receptor (TCR) zeta gene are involved in the regulation of TCR/CD3 transduction signals. We here describe a new alternative splicing of this gene (TCR iota), cloned by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, that is encoded by exons 1-7 and 10. The protein putatively encoded by TCR iota mRNA differs in its carboxy terminus from that coded by TCR0 as a consequence of the reading frame shift of exon 10. The possible role of this new splicing in TCR modulation is briefly discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

In vitro evaluation of the potential antitumor activity of an N-acridyl-pentanoyloxypyridine-2-thione derivative.

The synthesis and in vitro evaluation of the antitumor activity of an N-acridyl-pentanoyloxypridine-2-thione derivative (APPT), hypothesized to act as a DNA-intercalating compound, are described. The compound showed dose-dependent antiproliferative activity against all of the tested murine and human tumor cell lines, as evaluated by using the tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay. In addition, a comparative evaluation of the cytotoxic property was performed also against primary cultures of normal bone marrow cells. The results demonstrated that APPT possesses preferential antitumor activity and is endowed with an in vitro therapeutic index very similar to those of well known DNA-binding anti-neoplastic compounds, such as daunorubicin (DNR) and amsacrine (mAMSA). Therefore, APPT can be considered to be a potential selective cytoreductive drug.

Acridines↗
PubMed1995

A predictive screening model for in vitro selection of agents with potential antitumor activity.

In vitro methods are often used to pre-select compounds with potential antitumor activity before animal testing. This study presents a second stage screening model used to further evaluate compounds which demonstrate interesting antiproliferative activity towards tumor cell lines. The model is based on an antiproliferative assay evaluating 125I-5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine incorporation in DNA after 66 h compound-cells contact, carried out on a human leukemic cell line (HL-60) and bone marrow cells (BM) from healthy donors. The model identifies compounds which are more toxic against normal cells than tumor cells (unsuitable compounds) and focuses attention on the highly selective compounds. Compounds belonging to a third group identified by the model need to be further studied to ascertain their anticancer properties.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1994

Dexamethasone and interleukins modulate apoptosis of murine thymocytes and peripheral T-lymphocytes.

Glucocorticoid hormones (GCH) induce apoptotic cell death in immature thymocytes through an active process, characterized by extensive DNA fragmentation into oligonucleosomal subunits. This requires macromolecular synthesis and is inhibited by interleukins (ILs). We performed experiments to analyse the possible effect of GCH on more differentiated lymphocytes, i.e. peripheral (from lymph nodes and spleen) T-lymphocytes. The results show that in vitro dexamethasone (DEX) induces DNA fragmentation and cell death not only in thymocytes but also in mature T cells. We also tested the possible role of interleukins (ILs) in the modulation of apoptotic cell death. We show that DEX-induced apoptosis is inhibited by IL-2 and IL-4 and that the IL-4 induced inhibition correlates with induction of c-jun (a component of AP-1 transcription factor). Furthermore high doses of IL-2 are able to induce apoptosis in both thymocytes and peripheral T cells. These data indicate that both thymocytes and peripheral T cells undergo apoptosis in response to appropriate stimuli and suggest that GCH and ILs interact in regulating T-lymphocytes apoptotic death.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

2,2'-Bipyridyl-6-carbothioamide and its ferrous complex: their in vitro antitumoral activity related to the inhibition of ribonucleotide reductase R2 subunit.

2,2'-Bipyridyl-6-carbothioamide (BPYTA), a synthetic compound with antitumoral activity, is characterized by chelating properties because of the N*-N*-S* tridentate ligand system and is therefore comparable to alpha-(N)-heterocyclic carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazones which are potent inhibitors of ribonucleotide reductase (RR). Electron paramagnetic resonance studies on the small subunit of mouse recombinant RR (R2) demonstrated that BPYTA can destroy the R2 tyrosyl radical only if Fe(II) is present (73% destruction at 50 microM, after 20 min of contact). The R2 inhibition was reversible and time dependent. Studies on tumoral lines confirmed that the main cell target of BPYTA is RR and demonstrated that the iron-complexed form compared to the nonchelated form has some difficulty in crossing the cell membrane. Spectrophotometric and electron paramagnetic resonance studies clearly indicated that BPYTA chelates iron only when this is reduced and that the BPYTA-Fe(II) complex is stable in the presence of oxygen. From reported results we conclude that BPYTA is a powerful RR inhibitor (R2 subunit) which has a different mechanism of action from that of Desferal. It has some properties in common with alpha-(N)-heterocyclic carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazones, but they are not identical. It would be interesting to do further studies on the BPYTA mechanism of action and evaluate the in vivo antitumoral activity of the preformed complex.

2,2'-Dipyridyl↗
PubMed1990

Implications and problems in analysing cytotoxic activity of hydroxyurea in combination with a potential inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase.

The cytotoxicity of hydroxyurea in combination with 2.2'-bipyridyl-6-carbothioamide (a potential inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase) on P388 murine leukemia is reported. Synergistic activity was studied using various interpretations of the isobologram method and the combination index method. We evaluated the pros and cons of these methods and their overall usefulness. In our opinion, to obtain all possible information from a compound association, it is important to choose a formally correct method that (a) can quantitatively evaluate synergism or antagonism, (b) may offer the possibility of averaging final results, (c) needs a minimal amount of experimental data, and (d) is rapid. Moreover, we emphasize both the utility of testing at least three molar ratios of compound association and the importance of carefully choosing the fractional inhibition used in calculating the combination effect. Such evaluation of drug combinations gives information essential to the preparation of new anticancer drug regimens and to the early assessment of biochemical interactions.

2,2'-Dipyridyl↗
PubMed1990

Synthesis and antitumor activity of 2-beta-D-ribofuranosyloxazole-4-carboxamide (oxazofurin).

Condensation of 3,4,6-tri-O-benzoyl-2,5-anhydro-D-allonyl chloride (4) with ethyl 2-amino-2-cyanoacetate (5) provided 2-[(3',4',6'-tri-O-benzoyl-2',5'-anhydroallonyl)amino]-2-cyanoa cetate (6). Compound 6 was treated with hydrogen chloride gas to give ethyl 5-amino-2-(2',3',5'-tri-O-benzoyl-beta-D- ribofuranosyl)oxazole-4-carboxylate (8). Reductive dediazotization of blocked nucleoside 8 provided ethyl 2-(2',3',5'-tri-O- benzoyl-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)oxazole-4-carboxylate (10), which after deblocking with sodium methoxide and ammonolysis was converted to 2-beta-D-ribofuranosyl-oxazole-4-carboxamide (oxazofurin, 3), an analogue of the antitumor and antiviral C-nucleoside tiazofurin (1). Oxazofurin (3) was found to be cytotoxic toward B16 murine melanoma cells in culture but inactive against murine leukemia P388 and L1210.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Isolation of two cellular lines resistant to ribonucleotide reductase inhibitors to investigate the inhibitory activity of 2,2'-bipyridyl-6-carbothioamide.

The mechanism of action of a synthetic compound--2,2'-bipyridyl-6-carbothioamide--was investigated by developing tumor lines resistant to it (P388-R1.5 and P388-R4). P388-R4 is resistant to inhibitors of ribonucleotide reductase (RR) while no resistance was observed to antitumor drugs having other targets (except to bleomycin). The resistance to inhibitors of the RR M2 subunit is higher than that to compounds active on the RR M1 subunit. Moreover, murine chromosome 12, in which the M2 structural gene was recently localized, was trisomic in the resistant lines. We conclude that it is possible to consider BPYTA a new inhibitor of the RR M2 subunit.

2,2'-Dipyridyl↗
PubMed1989

3,7-Dideazapurine nucleosides. Synthesis and antitumor activity of 1-deazatubercidin and 2-chloro-2'-deoxy-3,7-dideazaadenosine.

1-Deazatubercidin (5) has been synthesized by glycosylation of the anion of 4,6-dichloro-1H-pyrrolo[3,2-c]pyridine (9) with 1-chloro-2,3-O-isopropylidene-5-O-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-alpha-D-r ibofuranos e (12). The reaction gave a mixture of blocked nucleosides with beta- and alpha-configuration (13a and 13b). Deprotection of 13a provided 4,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylpyrrolo[3,2-c]pyridine (14), which on treatment with hydrazine, followed by reduction of the resulting 4-hydrazino compound with Raney nickel, gave 4-amino-6-chloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylpyrrolo[3,2-c]pyridine (15), 1-deazatubercidin, and a small quantity of 4,6-diamino-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylpyrrolo[3,2-c]pyridine (16). Dehalogenation of 15 provided another route to 5. 2-Chloro-2'-deoxy-3,7-dideazaadenosine (6) together with 2'-deoxy-3,7-dideazaadenosine (18) was obtained by hydrazinolysis of 4,6-dichloro-1-(2-deoxy-beta-D-erythro-pentofuranosyl)pyrrolo- [3,2-c]pyridine (17), followed by reduction of the resulting 4-hydrazino compound. Nucleosides 5, 6, 15, and 18 are devoid of any significant antitumor activity in vitro. Compound 16 showed significant activity against P388 leukemia in cell culture.

Aminoglycosides↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Glucocorticoid hormones in the regulation of cell death.

The immune T-cell compartment maintains the capability to respond to a wide variety of antigens (Ag). This whole process is regulated by lymphocyte apoptosis (programmed cell death, PCD) and involves the coordinated expression of a great number of genes including those coding for cytokines and their receptors, such as for example IL-2/IL-2R and the Fas/FasL systems and those coding for transcription factors, including the NF-kB complex, involved in T-cell activation and apoptosis in that they simultaneously activate cell suicide and an anti-death programme. This binary effect, PCD activation and inhibition, is due on one hand to GCH-induced activation of the caspases cascade and on the other to the induction of expression of a new gene that we have named GILZ. In fact, GILZ over-expression in transfected cells inhibits the sequential increase of NF-kB/DNA-binding activity, IL-2 production and IL-2R expression, and transcription of the Fas/FasL complex that follows TCR triggering and plays an important role in the control of T-lymphocyte apoptosis. These results indicate a new mechanism responsible for the GCH-mediated inhibition of T-cell death and activation that could contribute to anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive efficacy.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A 4-day chemosensitivity assay in vitro reliably predicts clinical response of patients with acute leukemia.

To assess the individual chemosensitivity of human acute leukemias to anticancer agents, a rapid in vitro assay based on 125[I]-5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine (125IUdR) incorporation into the DNA of neoplastic cells was tested. It was found that: a) the assay reflects the higher in vivo responsiveness of acute lymphoid leukemias with respect to acute non-lymphoid leukemias; b) samples from responder patients were more sensitive in vitro to antileukemic agents than were samples from non-responder patients; c) the assay in this study had an 86% accuracy in predicting response and a 90% accuracy in predicting resistance.

Adolescent↗