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Biomedical subjects

J Russell

Publications and source records attributed to J Russell.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

The relative effectiveness of analogues of cisplatin in the experimental chemotherapy of human non-small-cell lung cancer and neuroblastoma grown as multicellular spheroids.

We compared cisplatin (cis-DDP) and two of its analogues, carboplatin (JM8, CBDCA) and iproplatin (JM9, CHIP) for their ability to retard the growth of multicellular tumour spheroids. The spheroids were derived from two human tumours, a neuroblastoma and a non-small-cell lung cancer. To produce a given level of regrowth delay in lung cancer spheroids, carboplatin and iproplatin were required at concentrations approximately 10 times that of cis-DDP. In the neuroblastoma spheroid experiments, iproplatin and cis-DDP produced the same level of regrowth delay when iproplatin was present at a concentration greater than 10 times that of cis-DDP. Carboplatin also required much higher concentrations than cis-DDP to produce equivalent regrowth delay in neuroblastoma. The dose-response curve produced by carboplatin on neuroblastoma spheroids displayed a pronounced shoulder in the low-dose region; this phenomenon was not seen with cis-DDP. These findings may have implications for the clinical use of these drugs and in particular would support a role for carboplatin in the treatment of lung cancer, since total free-drug exposure of patients to carboplatin may be up to 16-fold greater than with cis-DDP. However, one must be cautious about generalizing on the basis of results from only two cell lines as well as applying in vitro data to clinical situations.

Carboplatin↗

Young children's understanding of the say-mean distinction in referential speech.

Four experiments were conducted to investigate 6-year-old children's understanding of the say-mean distinction in referential speech. In Experiments 1 to 3, children heard stories in which a listener found an object that only approximated a speaker's description. They were subsequently asked if the object was the one the speaker had intended. When cues prominently indicated that the object was the referent, 6-year-olds often judged that it was the one that the speaker had intended. Thus, children displayed an awareness of intended meaning as distinct from message meaning. Consistent with this, 6-year-olds in Experiment 4 associated "saying X by accident" with "making a slip of the tongue." Thus, the children appeared to be aware of a factor which can result in message meaning deviating from intended meaning. However, unlike older children, 6-year-olds did not vary between literal and nonliteral interpretations of a message in accordance with information relevant to the speaker's state of memory. We conclude that young children are ineffective at utilizing others' informational states in deciding whether a literal or nonliteral message interpretation is appropriate.

Child↗

Etoposide (VP-16) uptake by tumour spheroids and activity in the presence of Brij 30, formulation additives and sodium salicylate.

A number of additives typically used in the formulation of poorly soluble drugs can be shown to influence drug transport across various physiological barriers. Multicellular spheroids from a human neuroblastoma cell line (NB1-G) were used to investigate the effect of etoposide in solution, as its commercial formulation, Vepesid, in the presence of a nonionic surfactant, Brij 30, and a hydrotropic agent, sodium salicylate. Enhanced growth delay, apparently related to increased drug uptake, was observed both with the Vepesid and the sodium salicylate formulations. Brij 30, however, showed no enhancement of growth delay or drug uptake at a concentration at which it was not in itself cytotoxic. Significant morphological changes in the spheroid were observed at higher concentrations of additives, particularly with Brij 30, emphasizing the fact that many formulation additives cannot be used with impunity in tissue culture systems. The enhanced uptake of drug into tumour cells and potential synergy between additive and drug is worthy of further investigation.

Adjuvants, Pharmaceutic↗

Double-blind randomized cross-over trial of dexamethasone and prochlorperazine as anti-emetics for cancer chemotherapy.

A double-blind randomized cross-over trial of dexamethasone and prochlorperazine as adjunctive anti-emetics with cancer chemotherapy was undertaken. The drugs were compared for cisplatin, doxorubicin and several other chemotherapy regimens. A total of 44 eligible patients were analysed. Assessment was made by questionnaire answered by the patient 24 h after the chemotherapy. The parameters compared were period of time for nausea and vomiting, number of vomiting episodes, degree of somnolence and insomnia and overall preference. In all cases there was no significant difference for either drug in its ability to suppress emetic effects. Neither drug gave adequate protection against cisplatin-containing regimens. We conclude that dexamethasone alone is equivalent to the more standard dopamine antagonists.

Adult↗

Renal and adrenal adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate production and corticosteroid secretion in response to synthetic chicken parathyroid hormone-(1-34).

The activity of synthetic chicken (c) PTH-(1-34) amide was tested in dispersed chicken and rat kidney and adrenocortical cells. In the adrenal cells the effect of intact cPTH was also evaluated. In chicken kidney cells, the time- and dose-response patterns of cAMP production were similar for cPTH-(1-34) amide and human (h) PTH-(1-34), whereas rat kidney cells were considerably more sensitive to hPTH-(1-34) than to cPTH-(1-34) amide. The agonist effects of both hPTH-(1-34) and cPTH-(1-34) amide in kidney cells were inhibited by the bovine PTH-(3-34) analog. In chicken adrenocortical cells, cPTH-(1-34) amide stimulated cAMP production and steroid secretion. This action of the peptide was inhibited by bovine PTH-(3-34) and hPTH-(1-34), which by themselves showed no agonist effects. The maximal response of steroid secretion to cPTH-(1-34) amide was significantly lower than that to ACTH, but intact cPTH (supplied as a semipurified parathyroid extract) stimulated steriodogenesis to the same extent as ACTH. In rat adrenocortical cells, intact cPTH stimulated both cAMP formation and steriodogenesis, but cPTH-(1-34) amine showed no agonist effect. The action of the intact hormone in the rat adrenal could be inhibited by cPTH-(1-34) amide. The present results demonstrate the interaction of cPTH-(1-34) with kidney and adrenocortical cells of either chicken or rat. The cAMP and steroidogenic responses of the adrenocortical cells to PTH appear to be dependent (completely in the rat and partially in the chicken) on some sequence beyond the 1-34 region.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

Nucleotide sequence of the DNA complementary to avian (chicken) preproparathyroid hormone mRNA and the deduced sequence of the hormone precursor.

The nucleotide sequence of avian (chicken) prepro-PTH (prepro-PTH) mRNA was determined from a 2.3-kilobase fragment of complementary chicken parathyroid DNA cloned in E. coli MM 924. Northern blot analysis of chicken parathyroid mRNA, using both bovine and chicken cDNA probes, showed that the mRNA (2.3 kilobases) for chicken hormone precursor was approximately 3 times the size of mRNA for mammalian prepro-PTH. Cleavage of the cloned DNA with restriction endonuclease Pstl resulted in three fragments, each of which was subjected to sequence determination. The hormone sequence deduced from the DNA showed that chicken prepro-PTH mRNA encoded a 119-amino acid precursor which included a 25-amino acid signal sequence, a six-residue prohormone peptide, and an 88-amino acid hormone. The hormonal peptide was four residues longer than all known mammalian homologs and included gene deletions and insertions. There was significant homology of sequence in the biologically active 1-34 region with mammalian hormones, but much less in the middle and carboxyl-terminal regions. This is the first nonmammalian PTH sequence to be determined and should prove useful in studying evolution of the gene as well as structure-function relationships of the hormone.

Animals↗

Regulation of protein kinase C by extracellular calcium in bovine parathyroid cells.

Regulation of protein kinase C in the parathyroid gland was investigated by testing the effects of phorbol ester, exogenous phospholipase C, and low and high calcium concentrations on enzyme activity. Treatment of bovine parathyroid cells with phorbol ester, which activates protein kinase C directly, and with phospholipase C, which produces diacylglycerol, an activator of protein kinase C, significantly stimulated protein kinase C activity. Both agents also enhanced the release of parathyroid hormone. Acute exposure of bovine parathyroid cells to low extracellular calcium (0.5 mM) caused a 5- to 6-fold increase in protein kinase C activity associated with the particulate fraction. In contrast, high extracellular calcium (1.75 mM and 2.5 mM) markedly decreased membrane protein kinase C activity. These data suggest that the effects of extracellular calcium on parathyroid hormone secretion are due, at least in part, to regulation of protein kinase C activity in the parathyroid-cell membrane.

Animals↗

Avian (chicken) parathyroid hormone: synthesis and comparative biological evaluation of the 1-34 fragment.

The full-length amino acid sequence of the avian (chicken) form of parathyroid hormone (cPTH) has recently been elucidated. We have chemically synthesized, purified to a high degree, and analytically and biologically characterized the N-terminal 1-34 fragment of the avian hormone. The biological properties of cPTH-(1-34)NH2 were evaluated and compared to the bovine fragment bPTH-(1-34) in several assays. The potency of cPTH-(1-34)NH2 in binding to PTH receptors, in stimulating adenylate cyclase activity and in relaxing smooth muscle tissue was approximately one-tenth that of bPTH-(1-34). Comparison of the avian sequence to other native PTH related sequences suggests that changes in the binding domain of the 1-34 active fragment may account for the decline in potency.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

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Clinical Protocols↗

Antisecretory and antiulcer activities of a potent new histamine H2-receptor antagonist with an intermediate duration of action.

The antisecretory activities of 4-(dimethylamino)- N-[2-[3-[3-(1-piperidinyl)methyl]phenoxy]propyl]amino]- 1,2,5-thiadiazol-4-yl]amino]ethyl]-butanamide, S-oxide (AY-29,315) and ranitidine were determined in the rat, dog and monkey. In conscious, chronically cannulated rats, AY-29,315 was 10 and 208 times more potent than ranitidine as an inhibitor of spontaneous gastric acid secretion by the p.o. and i.v. routes, respectively. Tolerance did not develop in the conscious rat with either compound when administered for 8 consecutive days at doses equivalent to 4 times their antisecretory ED50. In lumen-perfused, anesthetized rats, AY-29,315 i.v. was 44 times more potent than ranitidine as an inhibitor of dimaprit-induced acid secretion. In the gastric fistula dog, AY-29,315 was 7.5 times more potent than ranitidine as an inhibitor of dimaprit-induced secretion by the i.v. route but 3 times less potent by the oral route. In the monkey, against dimaprit, AY-29,315 was 3 and 12 times more potent than ranitidine by the oral and i.v. routes, respectively. p.o./i.v. ratios indicate that, relative to ranitidine, the bioavailability of AY-29,315 by the oral route was low, particularly in the dog. In the dog, at 4 times the oral ED50 dose, the antisecretory effect of ranitidine lasted 190 +/- 3 min, while that of AY-29,315 lasted more than 9 h. AY-29,315 was 8 times more potent than ranitidine as an inhibitor of acetylsalicylic acid-induced ulcers in the rat.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Anesthesia↗

A model for ultrafilterable plasma platinum disposition in patients treated with cisplatin.

A model incorporating recent information regarding the specificity of a high-performance liquid chromatographic assay for "active" platinum in plasma ultrafiltrate, and the concept of mobile and fixed metabolites, was developed for cancer patients treated with cisplatin. Model parameters were determined using plasma and urinary platinum data obtained in 20 patients. It was assumed in the model that parent drug accounted for essentially all the platinum measured in plasma ultrafiltrate in the 2 h period immediately post infusion. At times greater than 4 h post infusion, platinum concentrations in plasma ultrafiltrate were assumed to be due entirely to reactive, mobile metabolites with possible cytotoxicity. The model accurately simulated platinum concentrations in plasma ultrafiltrate over a 24-h period following a 2-h infusion of 80 mg/m2 of cisplatin to seven patients, 100 mg/m2 to ten patients and 120 mg/m2 to three patients.

Adult↗

Residual leukemia cannot be detected in very early remission peripheral blood stem cell collections in acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia.

We have used a combined cell culture and cytogenetic approach to study the level of residual leukemia during the very early remission (VER) phase of acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia. Clonogenic leukemic cells were induced to proliferate by phytohemagglutinin-stimulated leucocyte conditioned medium and identified by a leukemia-associated karyotype t(8;21) and a morphological marker (Auer rod). When leukemic blasts were cultured, the leukemic karyotype and Auer rods were most readily detected after 3-9 days. When VER blood cells were cultured, no leukemia-associated karyotype or Auer rods could be detected. Based on the number of VER blood cell derived metaphases analysed, the incidence of leukemic blasts among dividing cells is less than 2%.

Cells, Cultured↗

The effect on human neuroblastoma spheroids of fractionated radiation regimes calculated to be equivalent for damage to late responding normal tissues.

Multicellular tumour spheroids (MTS) are a useful in vitro model of human cancer. An experiment was designed to assess the likely therapeutic advantage of hyperfractionation--a proposed strategy in radiotherapy. A cell line (NB1-G) derived from human neuroblastoma was grown as MTS. This MTS line is radiosensitive with low capacity for repair of sublethal radiation damage. These properties make NB1-G a suitable line to test the theoretical advantage of hyperfractionation. MTS were irradiated using alternative fractionated regimens, with fraction sizes varying from 0.5 to 4 Gy. In each experiment, the total dose was chosen to make the regimens theoretically isoeffective for damage to late-responding normal tissues (calculated using the linear-quadratic mathematical model with alpha/beta = 3 Gy). The radiation responses of MTS were evaluated using the end-points of regrowth delay and "proportion cured". Regimens using smaller doses per fraction were found to be markedly more effective in causing damage to neuroblastoma MTS, as assessed by either end-point. These experimental findings support the proposal that hyperfractionation should be a therapeutically advantageous strategy in the treatment of tumours whose radiobiological properties are similar to those of the MTS neuroblastoma line NB1-G.

Cell Line↗