11'-Deoxyverticillin A induces caspase-dependent cell apoptosis in PC3M cells / 生物工程学报

Recent years, the incidence and mortality of prostate cancer have increased dramatically in China. At earlier stages, most diagnosed prostate cancers are responsive to androgen depletion treatment, yet, nearly all patients will eventually progress to metastatic androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPC), which still has no effective therapeutic method or drug to deal with. 11'-Deoxyverticillin A (C42) belongs to the family of epipolythiodioxopiperazines (ETPs), an interesting class of fungal toxins that inhibit farnesyl transferase. Compounds holding such a property have been explored as putative anticancer agents. In this study, using PC3M cells, an AIPC cell line, we investigated the effect of the compound on apoptosis and explored the underlying mechanism. It revealed that C42 markedly enhanced the activity of caspase-3/7 and increased the accumulation of the cleaved PARP, all of which are the markers of apoptosis. It also revealed that C42 either decreased cell viability or inhibited the growth of PC3M cells. Moreover, we observed that the loss of cell viability and cell growth inhibition induced by C42 were both time- and dosage dependent. Taken together, we indicated that C42 can induce caspase-dependent apoptosis in AIPC cells, and the results presented here will broaden our knowledge about the molecular mechanisms by which C42 exerts its anticancer activity, and future work in this direction may provide valuable information in the development of these compounds into effective cancer therapeutic strategies against androgen-independent prostate cancer.

Comparison of 2 methods for determining vascular access recirculation rate in hemodialysis patients / 第二军医大学学报

Objective: To study the application of glucose infusion test (GIT) in assaying the vascular access recirculation rate in hemodialysis patients. Methods: Access recirculation was assayed by both urea test (UT) and GIT in 82 hemodialysis patients, and 17 patients were also examined by Doppler ultrosonics method. The results of the Doppler ultrosonics were compared with those of UT and GIT. Results: Thirty-seven (45.12%) patients showed positive results with GIT and 29 patients (35.36%) with UT.All 17 patients had recirculation confirmed by Doppler ultrosonics and all had positive results by GIT (100%), but only 9 (52.94%) of the 17 patients had positive results by UT. Conclusion: Comapared with UT, GIT is more sensitive, more ecnomical,and simpler in determining vascular access recirculation, and can be used as a new method for screening vascular access recirculation.