Cytotoxic and Apoptotic Impacts of Ceranib-2 on RAW 264.7 Macrophage Cells.

BACKGROUND: Many ceramidase inhibitors have been developed and identified as potential treatment agents for various types of tumors in the last several decades. In recent years, their therapeutic potential against tumors has gained great attention. Inhibition of ceramidase is r eportedly related to apoptosis and cytotoxicity in macrophages, which are closely related to tumor development and progression. However, whether and how ceranib-2, a novel ceramidase inhibitor, can exert its cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on RAW 264.7, a macrophage cell line established from a tumor in a male mouse induced with the Abelson murine leukemia virus, remains unknown. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to investigate whether and how ceranib-2 can exert cytotoxic, antiproliferative, and apoptotic effects on the RAW264.7 macrophages. METHODS: We performed the MTT assay, Annexin V staining assay, and confocal microscopy to detect the cytotoxicity, apoptosis, and morphological changes, respectively, in the RAW264.7 cells. RESULTS: The viability of RAW264.7 cells treated with ceranib-2 was decreased as the doses of ceranib-2 increased at 24 h and 48 h due to apoptosis resulting from ceranib-2-reduced integrity of the mitochondrial membrane. Moreover, morphological changes were observed in these ceranib-2 exposed cells, further indicating the role of ceranib-2 in inducing apoptosis in these cells. CONCLUSION: Ceranib-2 is cytotoxic to RAW 264.7 macrophages and can induce apoptosis in these cells.

Mutagenicity of bisbenzimidazole derivatives.

The mutagenicities of 2,2'-(di-3-hydroxyphenyl)-1H,1H'-[5,5']-bisbenzimidazole, 2,2'-(di-4-hydroxyphenyl)-1H,1H'-[5,5']-bisbenzimidazole, 2,2'-(di-3-methoxyphenyl)-1H,1H'-[5,5']-bisbenzimidazole, 2,2'-bis-(4-nitrophenyl)-1H,1H'-[5,5']-bisbenzimidazole, 2,2'-bis-(3-nitrophenyl)-1H,1H'-[5,5']-bisbenzimidazole, 2,2'-bis-(4-methylphenyl)-1H,1H'-[5,5']-bisbenzimidazole, 2,2'-(di-4-methoxyphenyl)-1H,1H'-[5,5']-bisbenzimidazole, and 2,2'-bis-(3-methylphenyl)-1H,1H'-[5,5']-bisbenzimidazole were studied in vitro using two strains of Salmonella typhimurium with frameshift mutation (TA98) and base-pair substitution mutation (TA100) as the plate incorporation assay in the absence of metabolic activation. These compounds are currently used to treat cancer. 4-Nitrophenyl and 3-nitrophenyl compounds were found to be mutagenic on both strains of Salmonella. A clear mutagenic response was seen in nitro-bound derivatives. The mutagenic response in Salmonella test strains (TA98, TA100) and structures of molecules suggest that nitro-bound molecules could be mutagenic.

Cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of [Ru(phi)3]2+ evaluated by Ames/Salmonella and MTT methods.

In this work, we synthesized and evaluated the cytotoxic effect of [Ru(phi)(3)](2+), on rat C6 glioma cell line. Cell viability was determined by assay with 3-(4-5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT). The mutagenicity of [Ru(phi)(3)](2+) was studied in vitro by using two strains of Salmonella typhimurium with frameshift mutation (TA98) and base-pair substitution mutation (TA100) were used in plate incorporation assay in the absence of metabolic activation. According to the results, the Ru compound is not toxic but mutagenic, and it shows cytotoxic effect towards C6 rat glioma cells in 100 microM.