• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.38 no.5
• /
• pp.289-293
• /
• 2008

To develop a poloxamer-based solid suppository with poloxamer and polyethylene glycol mixtures, the melting point of various formulations composed of P 188 and propylene glycol were investigated. The dissolution and antitumor activity of clotrimazole delivered by the poloxamer-based suppository were performed. The poloxamer mixtures composed of P 188 and propylene glycol were homogeneous phases. P 188 greatly affected the melting point of poloxamer mixtures. In particular, the poloxamer mixture [P 188/propylene glycol(70/30%)] with the melting point of about $32^{\circ}C$ was a solid form at room temperature and instantly melted at physiological temperature. Furthermore, the ratio of P 188/propylene glycol greatly affected the dissolution rates of clotrimazole from poloxamer-based suppository. It gave the more effective anti-tumor activity than conventional PEG-based suppository due to fast dissolution. Thus, the clotrimazole-Ioaded poloxamer-based solid suppository was an effective rectal dosage form with anti-tumor activity.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
• /
• v.24 no.5
• /
• pp.557-563
• /
• 2011

Platycodon grandiflorum (Korean name, Doraji) has been widely used in traditional herbal medicine as an expectorant for pulmonary disease and a remedy for respiratory disorders in Asia. Here, we investigated the effects of BtOH extract saponin fraction of P. gradiflourm (PGS) on phagocytosis and anti-tumor activity with related cytokine productions in RAW264.7 macrophage cells. The results showed that PGS increased phagocytosis, anti-tumor activity, TNF-${\alpha}$ and nitric oxide (NO) production without direct tumor cell cytotoxicity. To further investigate whether NO is involved in anti-tumor and phagocytic activities of PGS, cells were co-treated with specific iNOS inhibitors, L-NIL (N6-(1-iminoethyl)-L-lysine, dihydrochloride), to block NO production. PGS decreased anti-tumor activity in L-NIL-treated cells, whereas phagocytic activity was not inhibited under the same conditions, indicating that the anti-tumor activity by PGS appears to be conducted by NO. These findings suggest that P. grandiflorum could be used a potential nutrition therapeutic agent for cancer patients.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.210-215
• /
• 2011

It is already known that high concentration of vitamin C induces apoptosis on tumor cells. However, there is no report regarding the function of vitamin C on the modulation of immune susceptibility of cancer. Therefore, we investigated whether vitamin C can modulate immune susceptibility of tumor cells, especially on the induction of Fas-mediated apoptosis. First, the optimal concentration of vitamin C, which cannot induce damages on tumor cells for 36 hrs. We found that 2 mM of vitamin C did not show harmful effect. In addition, the optimal concentration of agonistic anti-Fas Abs for 18 hrs was examined. As a result, 400 ng/ml of agonistic anti-Fas Abs did not induce apoptosis on tumor cells. Next, we tried to find the effect of 2 mM of vitamin C on the modulation of the susceptibility to agonistic anti-Fas Abs. When tumor cells were cultured with 400 ng/ml of agonistic anti-Fas Abs for 18 hrs, after pre-treatment with 2 mM of vitamin C for 24 hrs, viability of cells was decreased. Interestingly, we found that the expression of Fas (CD95) and MHC class I was increased by the treatment of vitamin C. Taken together, vitamin C increases the susceptibility of tumor cells to anti-Fas Abs and the expression of Fas (CD95) and MHC class I on tumor cells.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.25 no.7
• /
• pp.1036-1046
• /
• 2015

Extracts from Asian medicinal herbs are known to be successful therapeutic agents against cancer. In this study, the effects of three types of herbal extracts on anti-tumor growth were examined. Among the three types of herbal extracts, H9 showed stronger anti-tumor growth effects than H5 and H11 in vivo. To find the molecular mechanism by which H9 inhibited the proliferation of breast cancer cell lines, the levels of apoptotic markers were examined. Proapoptotic markers, including cleaved PARP and cleaved caspases 3 and 9, were increased, whereas the anti-apoptotic marker Bcl-2 was decreased by H9 treatment. Next, the combined effect of H9 with the chemotherapeutic drugs doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide (AC) on tumor growth was examined using 4T1-tumor-bearing mice. The combined treatment of H9 with AC did not show additive or synergetic anti-tumor growth effects. However, when tumor-bearing mice were co-treated with H9 and the targeted anti-tumor drug trastuzumab, a delay in tumor growth was observed. The combined treatment of H9 and trastuzumab caused an increase of natural killer (NK) cells and a decrease of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC). Taken together, H9 induces the apoptotic death of tumor cells while increasing anti-tumor immune activity through the enhancement of NK activity and diminishment of MDSC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.265-271
• /
• 2014

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a potent anti-apoptotic cytokine that enhances immune effector cell functions and is essential for lymphocyte survival. While it known to induce differentiation and proliferation in some haematological malignancies, including certain types of leukaemias and lymphomas, little is known about its role in solid tumours, including breast cancer. In the current study, we investigated whether IL-7 could enhance the in vivo antitumor activity of tumor-reactive $CD8^+$ T cells with induction of IFN-${\gamma}$ in a murine breast cancer model. Human IL-7 cDNA was constructed into the eukaryotic expression plasmid pcDNA3.1, and then the recombinational pcDNA3.1-IL-7 was intratumorally injected in the TM40D BALB/C mouse graft model. Serum and intracellular IFN-${\gamma}$ levels were measured by ELISA and flow cytometry, respectively. $CD8^+$ T cell-mediated cytotoxicity was analyzed using the MTT method. Our results showed that IL-7 administration significantly inhibited tumor growth from day 15 after direct intratumoral injection of pcDNA3.1-IL-7. The anti-tumor effect correlated with a marked increase in the level of IFN-${\gamma}$ and breast cancer cells-specific CTL cytotoxicity. In vitro cytotoxicity assays showed that IL-7-treatment could augment cytolytic activity of $CD8^+$ T cells from tumor bearing mice, while anti-IFN-${\gamma}$ blocked the function of $CD8^+$ T cells, suggesting that IFN-${\gamma}$ mediated the cytolytic activity of $CD8^+$ T cells. Furthermore, in vivo neutralization of $CD8^+$ T lymphocytes by CD8 antibodies reversed the antitumor benefit of IL-7. Thus, we demonstrated that IL-7 exerts anti-tumor activity mainly through activating $CD8^+$ T cells and stimulating them to secrete IFN-${\gamma}$ in a murine breast tumor model. Based on these results, our study points to a potential novel way to treat breast cancer and may have important implications for clinical immunotherapy.

• Food Science and Preservation
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.83-87
• /
• 2006

Gastrodia elata Blume is a major imp0l1ant medicinal resource in Korea. In order to confirm the biological activities of Gastrodia elata Blume, we carried out various in vitro assays. Of them, anti-oxidant and anti-tumor activities were detected from assays. The prototype of Gastrodia elata Blume extracts was used for 1he evaluation of DPPH, FRAP, hydroxyradical scavenging assay as anti-oxidant assays, as well as anti-tumor asctivities as wound assay and invasion assay. As a result, the prototype of Gastrodia elata Blume extracts showed potent anti-oxidative activity and anti-tumor activity in vitro. These above results suggest that 1he Gastrodia elata Blume extracts could have potential to alleviate oxidation process, cell motility activity, and tumorigenesis.

• Natural Product Sciences
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.281-285
• /
• 2017

The purpose of this study was to confirm the anti-tumor activity of an ethanol extract of Saussurea laniceps against pancreatic tumor and to isolate the active compound from S. laniceps extract. Treatment with S. laniceps extract and hispidulin inhibited proliferation of pancreatic cell lines, such as Capan-1, Capan-2, Panc-1 and S2-013 in a dose-dependent manner using the hollow fiber assay. Hispidulin showed typical hallmarks of apoptotic cell death a significant anti-tumor activity on Capan-2 cells at a dose of 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg. S. laniceps has potential cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on human pancreatic carcinoma cells. Its mechanism of action might be associated with the apoptotic cell death through DNA fragmentation.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.26 no.7
• /
• pp.1079-1082
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this study was to develop a method for increasing the solubility of paclitaxel in water to reduce its toxicity and make the drug more feasible for chemotherapy. A series of highly water soluble paclitaxel polyethylene glycol (PEG) esters were synthesized and evaluated for their anti-tumor activity and toxicity. The solubility of 7-polyethylene glycol paclitaxel carbonate 5 was 840 mg/mL and the acute toxicity ($LD_{50}$) was 286 mg/kg. Because of its reduced toxicity, compound 5 showed a dramatic reduction of tumor volume without any loss of animals in long-term treatment (daily consecutive injections for 15 days).

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.113-117
• /
• 2005

Organosulfur compounds have been shown to exert an anti-cancer activity. In an attempt to develop novel chemopreventive and anti-cancer agents for liver cancer, we synthesized allylthiopyridazine derivatives. We have previously shown that allylthiopyridazine derivatives exert inhibitory effects on proliferation, invasion and migration of SK-Hep-1 hepatocarcinoma cells in vitro. The in vivo anti-tumor effect of 3-methvl-6-allylthiopy-ridazine, named as K6, was also reported. In this study, we further investigated the preclinical anti-cancer efficacy of K6 for hepatocarcinoma using nude mice xenografted with Hep-G2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells. K6(20-100 mg/kg, orally administered everyday for 30 days) markedly decreased the tumor volume of Hep-G2 cell-transplanted nude mice as evidenced by ultrasonographic and plethysmogranhic analyses. The inhibitory effect on tumor volume was lower than that exerted by doxorubicin (2 mg/kg), intravenously injected) which was used as a positive control. This study shows that K6 efficiently suppresses xenograft tumor growth, revealing K6 as apotential anti-cancer agent for suppressing in vivo progression of liver cancer. Given that hepatocarcinoma is among the most prevalent and lethal malignancies and there is no effective treatment to date, our study may contribute to the potential drug development for liver cancer.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
• /
• v.35 no.2 s.137
• /
• pp.110-115
• /
• 2004

For the evaluation of anti-tumor activity of Korean Oldenlandia Herb (KOH) and Radix (KOR), our experiment was performed with methanol extracts of KOH and KOR. They did not shown any cytotoxicity against HT1080 cell lines. However, they effectively showed anti-metastatic activity through inhibition of the adhesion of HT1080 cells to gelatin, downregulated the expression of MMP2 and uPA and upregulated the expression of TIMP2. They also inhibited tube formation of HUVECs induced by bFGF. However, they did not affect DNA topoisomerase I activity. Simiarly, the T/Cs % in KOH and KOR treated mice were increased 134.9% and 171 %, respectively at 2500 mg/kg. These results suggest that KOH and KOR exert anti-tumor activity via anti-metastatic and anti-angiogenic activities. The further study for isolation of effective compounds and its exact mechanism and comparative study with Chinese Oldenlandia Herba will be required.