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1.
Anticancer property of ginsenoside Rh2 from ginseng.
Li, X, Chu, S, Lin, M, Gao, Y, Liu, Y, Yang, S, Zhou, X, Zhang, Y, Hu, Y, Wang, H, et al
European journal of medicinal chemistry. 2020;:112627
Abstract
Ginseng has been used as a well-known traditional Chinese medicine since ancient times. Ginsenosides as its main active constituents possess a broad scope of pharmacological properties including stimulating immune function, enhancing cardiovascular health, increasing resistance to stress, improving memory and learning, developing social functioning and mental health in normal persons, and chemotherapy. Ginsenoside Rh2 (Rh2) is one of the major bioactive ginsenosides from Panax ginseng. When applied to cancer treatment, Rh2 not only exhibits the anti-proliferation, anti-invasion, anti-metastasis, induction of cell cycle arrest, promotion of differentiation, and reversal of multi-drug resistance activities against multiple tumor cells, but also alleviates the side effects after chemotherapy or radiotherapy. In the past decades, nearly 200 studies on Rh2 in the treatment of cancer have been published, however no specific reviews have been conducted by now. So the purpose of this review is to provide a systematic summary and analysis of the anticancer effects and the potential mechanisms of Rh2 extracted from Ginseng then give a future prospects about it. In the end of this paper the metabolism and derivatives of Rh2 also have been documented.
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2.
Phytochemicals of garlic: Promising candidates for cancer therapy.
Zhang, Y, Liu, X, Ruan, J, Zhuang, X, Zhang, X, Li, Z
Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie. 2020;:109730
Abstract
Of the numerous health benefits of garlic, the anticancer effect is probably the most noticeable. Observations over the past years have shown that the consumption of garlic in the diet provides strong protection against cancer risk. Previous studies involving garlic phytochemicals have usually focused on the cancer chemopreventive properties, but there is little published evidence showing its therapeutic potential in cancer treatment. In view of the multitargeted carcinoma actions and lack of severe toxicity, some components of garlic are likely to play vital roles in the selective killing of cancer cells. However, the rational design of experimental studies and clinical trials are required to verify this concept. This paper discusses the promises and pitfalls of garlic for the treatment of cancer.
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3.
Efficacy and safety of paclitaxel with or without targeted therapy as second-line therapy in advanced gastric cancer: A meta-analysis.
Zheng, T, Jin, J, Zhang, Y, Zhou, L
Medicine. 2020;(25):e20734
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Abstract
BACKGROUD Paclitaxel (PTX) has become a widely used second-line therapy for advanced gastric cancer. There exists controversy whether targeted therapy combined with PTX can provide additional benefit over PTX alone. Therefore, a meta-analysis was carried out to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the two therapy regimes. METHODS We searched systematically for studies from the databases of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library published between January 2000 and August 2019. Only randomized controlled trials were eligible. Statistical analysis was performed by meta-analysis. The primary end points were progression-free survival and overall survival, objective response rate and adverse events were the secondary end points. RESULTS A total of 4 randomized controlled trials with 1574 patients (PTX + targeted therapy, n = 786; PTX, n = 788) were included for the final analysis. As compared with PTX monotherapy, PTX + targeted therapy significantly improved progression-free survival (hazard ratio = 0.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.84-0.92, P < .001), overall survival (hazard ratio = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.86-0.95, P < .001) and was associated with a better objective response rate (RR = 1.80; 95% CI: 1.45-2.24; P < .001). PTX+targeted therapy group significantly increased incidences of grade 3 to 5 neutropenia, fatigue and neuropathy (P < .05). No statistically significant differences were observed in the incidences of grade 3 to 5 anemia, decreased appetite, nausea, diarrhea and abdominal pain between the two treatments (P >.05). CONCLUSIONS Second-line PTX+targeted therapy is a more effective treatment option with tolerable safety profile for advanced gastric cancer as a result of improved survival, though with additional toxicity.
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Etoposide combined with ruxolitinib for refractory hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis during pregnancy: a case report and literature review.
Wang, S, Wu, J, Jing, X, Zhang, Y, Tang, H, Wu, J
Hematology (Amsterdam, Netherlands). 2019;(1):751-756
Abstract
Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is an immune-mediated disorder caused by uncontrolled inflammatory responses and the activation of T lymphocytes. This life-threatening disease, characterized by fever, cytopenia and hepatosplenomegaly, is extremely rare during pregnancy with high mortality. Despite the improvement of treatment regimen in recent years, HLH is still a great challenge for clinicians. Here, we described a 26-year-old woman who admitted to our hospital at her first pregnancy with pyrexia. Her condition continued to deteriorate after receiving broad-spectrum antimicrobials, presenting with fever, pancytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly, ferritin ≥ 500 μg/L, hemophagocytosis and low NK-cell activity. HLH was eventually diagnosed by clinical manifestation and laboratory examination results. Then the patient recovered well after treatment with etoposide combined with ruxolitinib therapy and underwent successful induced-labor operation. Additionally, we summarized similar cases from the literature to improve the management of HLH during pregnancy. In conclusion, this study highlights the challenges and difficulties in the diagnosis and management of patients with HLH during pregnancy. Moreover, this is the first case report of etoposide combined with ruxolitinib in the treatment of patients with refractory secondary HLH during pregnancy.
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[A multicenter, large-sample, randomized clinical trial on improving the median survival time of advanced non-small cell lung cancer by combination of Ginseng Rg3 and chemotherapy].
Zhang, Y, Wang, XQ, Liu, H, Liu, J, Hou, W, Lin, HS
Zhonghua zhong liu za zhi [Chinese journal of oncology]. 2018;(4):295-299
Abstract
Objective: To observe the efficacy of the combination of chemotherapy and Ginseng Rg3 on advanced non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC). Methods: In the multi-center, large-sample, randomized, double blind trial, 414 patients with Ⅲ-Ⅳ NSCLC were enrolled.199 were in the experimental group and 215 the control group. The patients in the experimental group were treated with the standard first-line chemotherapy combined with Ginseng Rg3. The patients in the control group were treated with the same chemotherapy combined with placebo. Median overall survival (OS), Karnofsky performance scale (KPS), Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) symptoms score and side effects of two groups were observed as main indexes. Results: The median OS were 12.03 months in the experimental group, which was significantly better than that in the control group (8.46 months, P<0.05). Hemoglobin and white blood cells were decreased after the first and second cycle of treatment in both groups. Both adverse events were significantly milder in the treatment group (P<0.05). In addition, after two courses of treatment, the KPS of patients was 78.95±9.14 in the experimental group and 76.77±9.15 in the control group, while the TCM symptoms score was 2.45±1.73 in the experimental group and 2.92±2.06 in the control group, with significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusions: Combination of TCM with Western medicine such as chemotherapy could prolong the survival of patients with advanced NSCLC. The combined therapy improved patients' symptoms and reduced chemotherapy induced myelosuppression.
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Study on optimisation of extraction process of tanshinone IIA and its mechanism of induction of gastric cancer SGC7901 cell apoptosis.
Hou, J, He, J, Jin, X, Hu, T, Zhang, Y
African journal of traditional, complementary, and alternative medicines : AJTCAM. 2013;(6):456-8
Abstract
The objective of this paper was to investigate the extraction process of tanshinone IIA and its mechanism of induction of gastric cancer SGC7901 cell apoptosis. Extraction process of tanshinone IIA was optimised by orthogonal experimental method, and its effect on gastric cancer SGC7901 cell apoptosis was observed using MTT assay and electron microscopy. The optimum extraction process of tanshinone IIA was as follows: addition of a 10-fold amount of 80% ethanol, one-time extraction, and extraction time of 45 minutes. The study concluded that tanshinone IIA can induce apoptosis of gastric cancer SGC7901 cells.
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Ursolic acid induces PC-3 cell apoptosis via activation of JNK and inhibition of Akt pathways in vitro.
Zhang, Y, Kong, C, Zeng, Y, Wang, L, Li, Z, Wang, H, Xu, C, Sun, Y
Molecular carcinogenesis. 2010;(4):374-85
Abstract
Ursolic acid (UA), a pentacyclic triterpenoid compound, has been demonstrated to have an antiproliferative effect in various tumors. We investigated the cell killing effects of UA in the human hormone refractory prostate cancer cell line, PC-3 cells. Also, the molecular mechanisms underlying its antigrowth effect were explored. We found that UA treatment in vitro can effectively inhibit PC-3 cell viability in a dose-dependent manner by inducing apoptosis, demonstrated by annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide staining. Both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways appear to be triggered by UA treatment, because inhibiting activation of both caspase-8 and -9 could prevent UA-induced apoptosis in PC-3 cells. The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) was found to be activated, followed by Bcl-2 phosphorylation and activation of caspase-9. On the other hand, UA inhibited the Akt pathway, subsequently upregulating the expression of Fas ligand (FasL), which initiates death receptor-mediated apoptosis in PC-3 cells. Importantly, experimentally lowering FasL expression by siRNA significantly inhibited UA-induced caspase-8 activation and at least partly attenuated the consequent apoptosis, suggesting an involvement of FasL and its regulating pathway in the cell killing effect of UA. UA also inhibited cell invasion by downregulating matrix metalloproteinase-9 via inhibition of Akt in PC-3 cells. Although further evaluation of the UA effects in vivo is needed, the present results suggest the potential utility of UA as a novel therapeutic agent in advanced prostate cancer.
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8.
Antisense RNA of survivin gene inhibits the proliferation of leukemia cells and sensitizes leukemia cell line to taxol-induced apoptosis.
Li, W, Wang, X, Lei, P, Ye, Q, Zhu, H, Zhang, Y, Shao, J, Yang, J, Shen, G
Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Medical sciences = Hua zhong ke ji da xue xue bao. Yi xue Ying De wen ban = Huazhong keji daxue xuebao. Yixue Yingdewen ban. 2008;(1):1-5
Abstract
The effects of survivin antisense RNA on proliferation of leukemia cell line HL-60 and taxol-induced chemotherapy was explored. A cDNA fragment of survivin obtained by RT-PCR was inserted into a plamid vector named pcDNA3 in the reverse direction. The vector encoding antisense RNA of survivin was confirmed by restriction enzyme digestion and DNA sequencing. The recombinant plasmid was delivered into HL-60 cells by electroporation. Growth curves were plotted based on cell counting. Trypan blue dye exclusion assay and MTT assay were carried out after the cells were incubated with taxol. DNA gel electrophoresis and nuclear staining were performed for cell apoptosis assay. The correct construction of the recombinant plasmid has been identified by restriction enzyme digestion and DNA sequencing. A stable down-regulation has been achieved in HL-60 SVVas cells after G418 selection. Compared to HL-60 cells, the proliferation of HL-60 SVVas cells was significantly inhibited (P<0.05). Cytotoxicity assays indicated that IC(50) of HL-60 SVVas for taxol was relatively lower than controls (P<0.01). Apoptosis assays revealed that taxol-induced apoptosis was detected in HL-60 SVVas cells incubated with 50 ng/ml taxol for 12 h, while in HL-60 cells incubated with 100 ng/ml taxol for 72 h. It was suggested that Survivin antisense RNA could inhibit the proliferation of HL-60 cells and enhance taxol-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells, which may lay an experimental foundation for further research on gene therapy in leukemia.
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9.
[Experimental study of K562 cell apoptosis induced by harringtonine].
Li, R, Liu, XL, Du, QF, Tian, H, Song, LL, Zhang, Y, Yang, Y, Zhou, SY
Di 1 jun yi da xue xue bao = Academic journal of the first medical college of PLA. 2002;(9):788-90
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To elucidate the mechanism by which harringtonine (HT) induces apoptosis in K562 cell line. METHODS By means of cell morphology, DNA gel electrophoresis and flow cytometry, we explored the action of HT on K562 cell line. Further study of the changes in bcr/abl gene expression was conducted using reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR. RESULTS HT induced apoptosis of K562 cells at the concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 100 microg/ml, exhibiting dose- and time-dependent increase in apoptotic ratios of the cells subjected to the treatment courses of 12 to 60 h. RT-PCR showed that bcr/abl gene expression was down-regulated after K562 cells had been treated with 10 microg/ml HT. CONCLUSION Low concentration of HT can induce apoptosis in K562 cell line, possibly through the down-regulation of bcr/abl gene expression.