[Retracted] Polyphenol­rich extract of Saliva chinensis exhibits anticancer activity in different cancer cell lines, and induces cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1­phase, apoptosis and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in pancreatic cancer cells.

Following the publication of the above paper, a concerned reader drew to the Editor's attention that several figures (Figs. 3, 4 and 6) contained apparent anomalies, including repeated patternings of data within the same figure panels. Furthermore, Fig. 6 contained data that bore striking similarities to data published in Fig. 8 in another paper published in Molecular Medicine Reports, which has now been retracted [Zhu Y­Y, Huang H­Y and Wu Y­L: Anticancer and apoptotic activities of oleanolic acid are mediated through cell cycle arrest and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential in HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Mol Med Rep 12: 5012­5018, 2015]. After having conducted an independent investigation in the Editorial Office, the Editor of Molecular Medicine Reports has determined that the above paper should be retracted from the Journal on account of a lack of confidence concerning the originality and the authenticity of the data. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office never received any reply. The Editor regrets any inconvenience that has been caused to the readership of the Journal. [the original articles was published in Molecular Medicine Reports 12: 4843­4850, 2015; DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2015.4074].

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of novel 4″-O-(1-aralkyl-1,2,3-triazol-4-methyl-carbamoyl) azithromycin analogs.

Three novel structural series of 4″-O-(1-aralkyl-1,2,3-triazol-4-methyl-carbamoyl) azithromycin analogs were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro antibacterial activity. All the target compounds exhibited excellent activity against erythromycin-susceptible Streptococcus pyogenes, and significantly improved activity against three phenotypes of erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae compared with clarithromycin and azithromycin. Among the three series of azithromycin analogs, the novel series of 11,4″-disubstituted azithromycin analogs 9a-k exhibited the most effective and balanced activity against susceptible and resistant bacteria. Among them, compound 9j showed the most potent activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923 (0.008µg/mL) and Streptococcus pyogenes R2 (1µg/mL). Besides, all the 11,4″-disubstituted azithromycin analogs 9a-k except 9f shared the identical activity with the MIC value <0.002µg/mL against Streptococcus pyogenes S2. Furthermore, compounds 9g, 9h, 9j and 9k displayed significantly improved activity compared with the references against all the three phenotypes of resistant S. pneumoniae. Particularly, compound 9k was the most effective (0.06, 0.03 and 0.125µg/mL) against all the erythromycin-resistant S. pneumoniae expressing the erm gene, the mef gene and the erm and mef genes, exhibiting 2133, 133 and 2048-fold more potent activity than azithromycin, respectively.

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of 4″-O-(trans-ß-arylacrylamido)carbamoyl azithromycin analogs.

Novel 4″-O-(trans-ß-arylacrylamido)carbamoyl azithromycin analogs were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their antibacterial activity against nine significant pathogens using broth microdilution method. A majority of these derivatives maintained the activity of azithromycin against susceptible Streptococcus pyogenes and all the compounds demonstrated remarkably improved activity compared with the references against all the three phenotypes of resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. In particular, compound 24 exhibited the most potent activity against susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL), S. pneumoniae (MIC = 0.06 µg/mL) and S. pyogenes (MIC = 0.25 µg/mL). The most active compound 7 (MIC = 0.015 µg/mL) against resistant S. pneumoniae expressing the mefA gene, exhibited 512 and 256-fold more potent activity than erythromycin and azithromycin, respectively. Compounds 28 (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL), 29 (MIC = 0.25 µg/mL) and 30 (MIC = 0.5 µg/mL) demonstrated potent activity against resistant S. pneumoniae expressing the ermB gene, which were 256, 512 and 256-fold better than the references, respectively.

Polyphenol-rich extract of Salvia chinensis exhibits anticancer activity in different cancer cell lines, and induces cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1-phase, apoptosis and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in pancreatic cancer cells.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most aggressive types of human malignancy, which has an overall 5-year survival rate of <2%. PC is the fourth most common cause of cancer­associated mortality in the western world. At present, there is almost no effective treatment available for the treatment of PC. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the anticancer potential of a polyphenol enriched extract obtained from Salvia chinensis, a Chinese medicinal plant. An MTT assay was used to evaluate the cell viability of five cancer cell lines and one normal cell line. In addition, the effects of the extract on apoptotic induction, cell cycle phase distribution, DNA damage and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΛΨm) were evaluated in MiapaCa­2 human PC cells. The effects of the extract on cell cycle phase distribution and ΛΨm were assessed by flow cytometry, using propidium iodide and rhodamine­123 DNA­binding fluorescent dyes, respectively. Fluorescence microscopy, using 4',6­diamidino­2­phenylindole as a staining agent, was performed in order to detect the morphological changes of the MiapaCa­2 cancer cells and the presence of apoptotic bodies following treatment with the extract. The results of the present study demonstrated that the polyphenol­rich extract from S. chinensis induced potent cytotoxicity in the MCF­7 human breast cancer cells, A549 human lung cancer cells, HCT­116 and COLO 205 human colon cancer cells, and MiapaCa­2 human PC cells. The Colo 205 and MCF­7 cancer cell lines were the most susceptible to treatment with the extract, which exhibited increased rate of growth inhibition. Fluorescence microscopy revealed characteristic morphological features of apoptosis and detected the appearance of apoptotic bodies following treatment with the extract in the PC cells. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that the extract induced G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in a dose­dependent manner. In addition, treatment with the extract induced a significant and concentration-dependent reduction in the ΛΨm of the PC cells.

Effect of apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing catalytic polypeptide-like protein-3G in cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common gynecologic cancers. The role of apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing catalytic polypeptide-like protein-3G (APCBEC-3G) in cervical cancer has yet to be elucidated. This study intends to explore the effect of APCBEC-3G on cervical cancer cell proliferation and invasion. In vitro, the cervical cancer cell line Hela was transfected by APCBEC-3G plasmid. The mRNA and protein expression levels of APCBEC-3G were detected by Real-time PCR and Western blot, respectively. Cervical cancer cell proliferation was determined by MTT. Transwell assay was applied to measure the effect of APCBEC-3G on cell invasion. APCBEC-3G mRNA and protein increased significantly after transfection (P<0.05) and cervical cancer cell proliferation and invasive ability were decreased significantly (P<0.05). APOBEC-3G serves as a suppressor of cervical cancer cell proliferation and invasion. Our research provides theoretical basis for further investigation APOBEC-3G effect in cervical cancer occurrence and development.

Determinations of mifepristone and its metabolites and their pharmacokinetics in healthy female Chinese subjects.

The aim of this study is to establish an HPLC method for simultaneous determinations of mifepristone and its metabolites, mono-demethylated mifepristone, di-demethylated mifepristone and C-hydroxylated mifepristone in plasma and to evaluate the pharmacokinetic characteristics of mifepristone tablet. Twenty healthy female Chinese subjects were recruited and a series of blood samples were collected before and after 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, 12.0, 24.0, 48.0, 72.0 and 96.0 hours administration by a single oral dose of 75 mg mifepristone tablet. Mifepristone and its three metabolites were extracted from plasma using ethyl acetate and determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The main pharmacokinetic parameters of mifepristone and its metabolites, including Cmax, tmax, MRT, t(1/2), V, CL, AUC(0-96 h) and AUC(0-infinity), were calculated by Drug and Statistical Software Version 2.0. The simple, accurate and stable method allows the sensitive determinations of mifepristone and its metabolites in human plasma up to 4 days after oral administration of 75 mg mifepristone tablet and the clinical applications of their pharmacokinetic studies.

Formulation design of microemulsion for dermal delivery of penciclovir.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the potential application of microemulsions as a dermal drug delivery loading penciclovir. The pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were developed for various microemulsion formulations composed of oleic acid (oil phase), Cremorphor EL (surfactant) and ethanol (cosurfactant). Composition of microemulsion systems was optimized using simplex lattice mixture design including the concentrations of surfactant, cosurfactant and water (independent variables) and the solubility and the cumulative amount of penciclovir permeated through excised mouse skins per unit area (response variables). The physicochemical properties of the optimized microemulsion and the permeating ability of penciclovir from microemulsions were also investigated. The results showed that the optimized microemusion formulation was composed of oleic acid (5%, w/w), Cremorphor EL (20%, w/w), ethanol (30%, w/w) and water (45%, w/w). The mean particle diameter was 36.5nm and solubility of penciclovir in the emulsion was 7.41 mg g(-1). The cumulative amount of penciclovir permeated through excised mouse skins from microemulsion was about 3.5 times that of the commercial cream. The conclusion was that the permeating ability of penciclovir was significantly increased from the microemulsion formulation compared with commercial cream.