Only 40% of patients with advanced ovarian cancer survive more than 5 years. We have previously shown that pitavastatin induces regression of ovarian cancer xenografts in mice. To evaluate whether the response of ovarian cancer cells to pitavastatin is potentiated by farnesyl diphosphate synthase inhibitors or geranylgeraniol transferase I inhibitors, we evaluated combinations of pitavastatin with zoledronic acid, risedronate and GGTI-2133 in a panel of ovarian cancer cells. Pitavastatin (IC50 = 0.6–14 μM), zoledronic acid (IC50 = 21–57 μM), risedronate (IC50 > 100 μM) or GGTI-2133 (IC50 > 25 μM) inhibited the growth of ovarian cancer cell cultures. Combinations of pitavastatin with zoledronic acid displayed additive or synergistic effects in cell growth assays in 10 of 11 cell lines evaluated as well as in trypan blue exclusion, cellular ATP or caspase 3/7, 8 and 9 assays. Pitavastatin reduced levels of GGT-IIβ and the membrane localization of several small GTPases and this was potentiated by zoledronic acid. siRNA to GGT-Iβ and GGT-IIβ used in combination, but not when used individually, significantly increased the sensitivity of cells to pitavastatin. These data suggest that zoledronic acid, a drug already in clinical use, may be usefully combined with pitavastatin in the treatment of ovarian cancer.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is an aggressive form of liver cancer that displays minimal symptoms until its late stages. Unfortunately, patient prognosis still remains poor with only 10% of patients surviving more than five years after diagnosis. Current chemotherapies alone are not offering efficient treatment, hence alternative therapeutic approaches are urgently required. In this work, we highlight the potential of combination of treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma with existing chemotherapies in combination with pro-apoptotic factor cytochrome C. In order to allow cytochrome C to cross the cellular membrane and become internalized, it has been immobilised onto the surface of hybrid iron oxide-gold nanoparticles. This novel approach has been tested in vitro on HepG2, Huh-7D and SK-hep-1 cell lines in order to elucidate potential as a possible alternative therapy with greater efficacy. The data from our studies show consistently that combining treatment of clinically used anticancer agents (doxorubicin, paclitaxel, oxaliplatin, vinblastine and vincristine) significantly increases the levels of apoptosis within the cell lines, which leads to cellular death. Hence, this combined approach may hold promise for future treatment regimes.

Introduction: Peptic lesions usually develop when there is an imbalance between aggressive drivers and gastro-protective mediators that guard the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. The most crucial of these mediators are antioxidants, whose loss may predispose to oxidative stress, which is believed to be the main aggravator of several diseases including peptic ulcer. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are drugs that are highly effective and widely used for therapeutic management of peptic disorders through inhibition of gastric acid secretion. In spite of this, oxidative damage may continue to be a major issue that can predispose to future lesions. Objective: The present study is designed to explore the possible antioxidant capability of different PPIs, including omeprazole, esomeprazole, lansoprazole, pantoprazole, and rabeprazole, in an aim to suggest an agent that, in addition to its acid-suppression properties, can provide antioxidant profit. Methods: The antioxidant activity of different PPIs was evaluated calorimetrically to test the ability of each drug to quench oxygen free radical, using the well-known stable free radical α,α-diphenyl-β-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and compared to ascorbic acid (AA; vitamin C). The measurements were performed using a spectrophotometer at 517 nm. Results: All the studied drugs reduced DPPH, but to different extents. However, omeprazole and esomeprazole showed the highest ability to scavenge free radicals (50% inhibitory concentrations [IC 50 s] of the percentage for free radical scavenging activity are 18.7 ± 5.7 and 18.7 ± 5.7, respectively, and the AA equivalents are 83,772 ± 11,887 and 81,732 ± 8,523 mg AA/100 g, respectively). Conversely, lansoprazole, pantoprazole, and rabeprazole might be having no role in this story (IC 50 s of the percentage for free radical scavenging activity are 49.3 ± 3.1, 49 ± 9.4, and 40.7 ± 7.2, respectively, and the AA equivalents are 30,458 ± 3,884, 32,222 ± 10,377, and 37,876 ± 8,816 mg AA/100 g, respectively). Conclusion: Thus, omeprazole and esomeprazole may confer a significant dual action in gastrointestinal protection by providing potent antioxidant properties in addition to their major role as acid-suppression agents. However, further studies are essential to elucidate the mechanism behind the difference between the drugs of the same class.

BackgroundBH3 mimetics are a class of drugs that antagonize the Bcl-2 family of apoptosis inhibitors. We have previously shown that these compounds can potentiate the activity of carboplatin against several ovarian cancer cell lines. However, recent clinical studies have highlighted that BH3 mimetics which antagonise Bcl-XL are associated with significant thrombocytopenia. This has led to the development of ABT-199 which specifically inhibits Bcl-2. Unfortunately, Bcl-XL appears to be more frequently deregulated in ovarian cancer than Bcl-2. We therefore compared the ability of ABT-199, and the Bcl-XL selective compound WEHI-539, to potentiate the activity of carboplatin in ovarian cancer cell lines.MethodsWEHI-539, ABT-737 and ABT-199 were tested in combination with carboplatin using a panel of 6 ovarian cancer cell lines. The activity of the drugs was evaluated using cell growth assays, staining with trypan bue and measurement of apoptosis by measuring caspase 3/7 activity, PARP cleavage and annexin-V/propidium iodide staining.ResultsWe found that WEHI-539 and ABT-737, but not ABT-199, were synergistic with carboplatin in cell growth assays and potentiated cell death when assessed by trypan blue staining. Furthermore, WEHI-539 and ABT-737 augmented carboplatin induced caspase 3/7 activity, PARP cleavage and annexin V labelling, but ABT-199 failed to do so.ConclusionsThese observations suggest that compounds which target Bcl-XL are necessary if BH3 mimetics are to be successfully used to treat patients with ovarian cancer and this highlights the need to develop strategies to minimize thrombocytopenia induced by such compounds.