No abstract

This study aimed to investigate whether lidocaine, alone or in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents, inhibits the growth of human bladder cancer cells in vitro and orthotopically transplanted bladder tumors in vivo. The effects of lidocaine (1.25, 2.5 or 5 mg/mL), mitomycin C (MMC, 0.66 mg/mL), pirarubicin (0.75 mg/mL) and Su Fu’ning lotion (SFN, 0.0625 mg/mL) on the proliferation of human bladder cancer (BIU-87) cells were studied using the MTT assay. A Balb/c nude mouse model of bladder cancer was developed by orthotopic transplantation of BIU-87 cells, and the effects of intravesical instillation of lidocaine and MMC on bladder wet weight (a measure of tumor size) and survival (over 60 days) were studied. Lidocaine inhibited proliferation of BIU-87 cells in a concentration-dependent manner and (when given in combination) enhanced the actions of each of the other antiproliferative agents. In tumor-bearing mice, MMC alone had no effect on mean survival or bladder wet weight. However, the combination of 0.66 mg/mL MMC and 5 mg/mL lidocaine prolonged survival (from 34.62 ± 6.49 to 49.30 ± 6.72 days; n = 8, P < 0.05) and reduced bladder wet weight (from 68.94 ± 53.61 to 20.26 ± 6.07; n = 8, P < 0.05). Intravesical instillation of lidocaine combined with other chemotherapeutic agents potentially could be an effective therapy for bladder cancer.

The present study focuses on the inhibitory effect of volatile metabolites released by Bacillus velezensis CT32 on Verticillium dahliae and Fusarium oxysporum, the causal agents of strawberry vascular wilt. The CT32 strain was isolated from maize straw compost tea and identified as B. velezensis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Bioassays conducted in sealed plates revealed that the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by the strain CT32 possessed broad-spectrum antifungal activity against eight phytopathogenic fungi. The volatile profile of strain CT32 was obtained by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). A total of 30 volatile compounds were identified, six of which have not previously been detected in bacteria or fungi: (Z)-5-undecene, decyl formate, 2,4-dimethyl-6-tert-butylphenol, dodecanenitrile, 2-methylpentadecane and 2,2’,5,5’-tetramethyl-1,1’-biphenyl. Pure compounds were tested in vitro for their inhibitory effect on the mycelial growth of V. dahliae and F. oxysporum. Decanal, benzothiazole, 3-undecanone, 2-undecanone, 2-undecanol, undecanal and 2,4-dimethyl-6-tert-butylphenol showed high antifungal activity, with benzothiazole and 2,4-dimethyl-6-tert-butylphenol being the most potent compounds. These results indicate that the VOCs produced by B. velezensis CT32 have the potential to be used as a biofumigant for management of vascular wilt pathogens.

Three culinary-medicinal fungi and mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus AS2796, Helvella lacunosa X1 and Fomitiporia yanbeiensis S. Guo & L. Zhou) were individually inoculated into different cereal grains (wheat, rice, oat, corn, millet, quinoa, buckwheat, soybean, pea and sorghum) and the antioxidant properties of fungus-fermented products after solid-state fermentation (SSF) (0, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 days; 25°C) were studied. The results showed that the total phenol contents (TPCs) of the fermented cereals varied with fermentation time and the starter organisms. According to the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity, reducing power, ferrous ion chelating ability and superoxide anion radical scavenging ability of ethanolic extracts from the fungus-fermented products (35 days), it was shown that the antioxidant properties of all the products were significantly stronger than uninoculated grains. It revealed that SSF on cereal grains by dietary fungi is a biotechnological strategy, which may enhance the antioxidant properties of the substrate. The three medicinal mushroom and fungi-fermented products were relatively effective in the antioxidant properties assayed and might be potential antioxidants for application in food products.

Crude brazilin extract from Sappan wood has demonstrated strong anti tumor activity in the mouse model of human bladder carcinoma and clinical trial for intravesical therapy. Purified brazilin was confirmed the most active molecule in inhibition of bladder carcinoma T24 cells. Brazilin decreased proliferation and viability of T24 cells in a dose-and timedependent manner, with a calculated LC50 of 32 mg/mL. More than 1,000 of genes were found upregulated and down regulated by brazilin treatment in digital gene expression profiling. Gene ontology analysis indicated that stress response, apoptosis, and cell cycle regulatory pathways were highly enriched. Among the regulated genes, c-Fos was the most and specifically upregulated. Overexpression of c-Fos in T24 cells resulted in tumor cell specific changes in cell morphology and viability. Over expression of stress-responsive gene, HSP70, and other highly upregulated genes did not have any effect on cell growth. Brazilin may inhibit T24 cell growth and trigger cell death through a c-Fos-mediated and tumor cell specific signaling pathway. Further studies of its down stream mediators may help to identify better tumor cell type specific drug targets. V C 2015 IUBMB Life, 67(3): [175][176][177][178][179][180][181] 2015