Drug Des Dev Ther
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Chemical burns take up a high proportion of burns admissions and can penetrate deep into tissues. Various reagents have been applied in the treatment of skin chemical burns; however, no optimal reagent for skin chemical burns currently exists. The present study investigated the effect of topical body protective compound (BPC)-157 treatment on skin wound healing, using an alkali burn rat model. ⋯ Moreover, further studies suggested that BPC-157 regulated the phosphorylation level of extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) as well as its downstream targets, including c-Fos, c-Jun, and Egr-1, which are key molecules involved in cell growth, migration, and angiogenesis. Altogether, our results indicated that BPC-157 treatment may accelerate wound healing in a model of alkali burn-induced skin injury. The therapeutic mechanism may be associated with accelerated granulation tissue formation, reepithelialization, dermal remodeling, and collagen deposition through ERK1/2 signaling pathway.
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Ovarian cancer is a leading killer of women, and no cure for advanced ovarian cancer is available. Alisertib (ALS), a selective Aurora kinase A (AURKA) inhibitor, has shown potent anticancer effects, and is under clinical investigation for the treatment of advanced solid tumor and hematologic malignancies. However, the role of ALS in the treatment of ovarian cancer remains unclear. ⋯ ALS downregulated sirtuin 1 and pre-B cell colony enhancing factor (PBEF/visfatin) expression levels and inhibited phosphorylation of AURKA in both cell lines. These findings indicate that ALS blocks the cell cycle by G2/M phase arrest and promotes cellular apoptosis and autophagy, but inhibits EMT via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt/mTOR-mediated and sirtuin 1-mediated pathways in human epithelial ovarian cancer cells. Further studies are warranted to validate the efficacy and safety of ALS in the treatment of ovarian cancer.
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The effectiveness of reintroducing oxaliplatin in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer refractory to standard chemotherapy has not been verified. We performed a single-arm, open-label, Phase II study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of reintroducing oxaliplatin. ⋯ Reintroducing oxaliplatin can be both safe and effective. This may be a salvage option for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who achieved a response or stable disease with prior oxaliplatin-based therapy followed by disease progression ≥6 months previously during prior oxaliplatin-based therapy.
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Plumbagin (5-hydroxy-2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone; PLB), a naturally occurring naphthoquinone isolated from the roots of Plumbaginaceae plants, has been reported to possess anticancer activities in both in vitro and in vivo studies, but the effect of PLB on tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the effects of PLB on cell cycle distribution, apoptosis, and autophagy, and the underlying mechanisms in the human TSCC cell line SCC25. The results have revealed that PLB exerted potent inducing effects on cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and autophagy in SCC25 cells. ⋯ In addition, we found that wortmannin (a PI3K inhibitor) and SB202190 (a selective inhibitor of p38 MAPK) strikingly enhanced PLB-induced autophagy in SCC25 cells, suggesting the involvement of PI3K- and p38 MAPK-mediated signaling pathways. Moreover, PLB induced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and this effect was attenuated by l-glutathione (GSH) and n-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC). Taken together, these results indicate that PLB promotes cellular apoptosis and autophagy in TSCC cells involving p38 MAPK- and PI3K/Akt/mTOR-mediated pathways with contribution from the GSK3β and ROS-mediated pathways.