Circadian events in human diseases and in cytochrome P450-related drug metabolism and therapy.

The biochemical basis of the mammalian circadian clock can be described by transcriptional-translational feedback loops with a period of about 24 h. Crucial endogenous factors are under circadian control (i.e., body temperature, blood pressure, hormone secretion and metabolite levels). Also, drug metabolism, including phases I-III and the drug-responsive nuclear receptors, is controlled by the clock. Disturbances in circadian rhythm in humans can lead to pathologies, which is exemplified by increased cancer risk in long-term shift workers. On the other hand, best tolerability of drugs with minimum side effects can be achieved if the timing of drug treatment is synchronized with the patients' individual clock. The aim of this review is to underline the importance of accepting the individuals' endogenous clock which can contribute to personalized, patient-friendly optimization of drug therapies.

Report on isoelectric focusing trial of erythropoietin profiling in two cancer patients during chemotherapy and darbepoetin treatment.

The level of erythropoietin, main regulator of erythropoiesis, is affected by hypoxia, anaemia, application of recombinant erythropoietin, chemotherapy and others. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) combined with double immunobloting is a method that enables distinct analysis of endogenous and recombinant erythropoietin isoforms. Aim of our study was to set up analysis of treatment effects on the pattern of endogenous erythropoietin in anaemic breast cancer patient. Urine and blood samples were collected during and after termination of the treatment and analysed by isoelectric focusing. Endogenous erythropoietin was found lower, but still detectable during darbepoetin treatment. Normal shift of erythropoietin isoforms between serum vs. urine, ordinary seen in healthy volunteers, was not observed indicating kidney damage. The patient was suffering from heavy proteinuria and had low Glomerular filtration rate indicating acute renal failure, probably caused by clinical status or cisplatin chemotherapy. IEF has not yet been used for follow up of erythropoietin profile in cancer patients. It enables to monitor the effects of treatment on the level of endogenous erythropoietin and indirectly indicates kidney function.