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The structure and T cell stimulatory effects of the recently discovered cytokine IL-23 are similar to, but distinct from, those of IL-12. Although the antitumor activities of IL-12 are well characterized, the effect of IL-23 on tumor growth is not known. In this study, murine CT26 colon adenocarcinoma and B16F1 melanoma cells were engineered using retroviral vectors to release single-chain IL-23 (scIL-23) to evaluate its antitumor activity. In BALB/c mice, scIL-23-transduced CT26 cells grew progressively until day 26 to an average size of 521 ± 333 mm3, then the tumors started to regress in most animals, resulting in a final 70% rate of complete tumor rejection. scIL-23 transduction also significantly suppressed lung metastases of CT26 and B16F1 tumor cells. In addition, mice that rejected scIL-23-transduced tumors developed a memory response against subsequent wild-type tumor challenge. Compared with scIL-12-expressing CT26 cells, scIL-23-transduced tumors lacked the early response, but achieved comparable antitumor and antimetastatic activity. These results demonstrated that IL-23, like IL-12, provided effective protection against malignant diseases, but it probably acted by different antitumor mechanisms. As a first step in identifying these antitumor mechanisms, tumor challenge studies were performed in immunocompromised hosts and in animals selectively depleted of various lymphocyte populations. The results showed that CD8+ T cells, but not CD4+ T cells or NK cells, were crucial for the antitumor activity of IL-23.

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Four new 6-nor-5(6-->7) abeo-abietane type diterpenes designated as taiwaniaquinone G, taiwaniaquinone H, taiwaniaquinol E and taiwaniaquinol F and eight known diterpenes, taiwaniaquinones A (5), D (6), E, F (8), and taiwaniaquinols A (9), B, C (11), D (12) were isolated from the bark of Taiwania cryptomerioides. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic studies. These twelve diterpenes were evaluated for in vitro antitumoral cytotoxic activity. The result demonstrated that compounds 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, and 12 bearing an aldehyde group possessed potent cytotoxic activity against KB epidermoid carcinoma cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 6.9, 7.2, 4.4, 8.3, 8.1, and 3.5 microM, respectively.

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BackgroundElectroacupuncture (EA) can produce analgesia by increasing the β-endorphin level and activation of peripheral μ-opioid receptors in inflamed tissues. Endogenous cannabinoids and peripheral cannabinoid CB2 receptors (CB2Rs) are also involved in the antinociceptive effect of EA on inflammatory pain. However, little is known about how peripheral CB2Rs interact with the endogenous opioid system at the inflammatory site and how this interaction contributes to the antinociceptive effect of EA on inflammatory pain. In this study, we determined the role of peripheral CB2Rs in the effects of EA on the expression of β-endorphin in inflamed skin tissues and inflammatory pain.ResultsInflammatory pain was induced by injection of complete Freund's adjuvant into the left hindpaw of rats. Thermal hyperalgesia was tested with a radiant heat stimulus, and mechanical allodynia was quantified using von Frey filaments. The mRNA level of POMC and protein level of β-endorphin were quantified by real-time PCR and Western blotting, respectively. The β-endorphin-containing keratinocytes and immune cells in the inflamed skin tissues were detected by double-immunofluorescence labeling. The CB2R agonist AM1241 or EA significantly reduced thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia, whereas the selective μ-opioid receptor antagonist β-funaltrexamine significantly attenuated the antinociceptive effect produced by them. AM1241 or EA significantly increased the mRNA level of POMC and the protein level of β-endorphin in inflamed skin tissues, and these effects were significantly attenuated by pretreatment with the CB2R antagonist AM630. AM1241 or EA also significantly increased the percentage of β-endorphin-immunoreactive keratinocytes, macrophages, and T-lymphocytes in inflamed skin tissues, and these effects were blocked by AM630.ConclusionsEA and CB2R stimulation reduce inflammatory pain through activation of μ-opioid receptors. EA increases endogenous opioid expression in keratinocytes and infiltrating immune cells at the inflammatory site through CB2R activation.

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are noxious and unexpected effects during normal drug therapy. They have caused significant clinical burden and been responsible for a large portion of new drug development failure. Molecular understanding and in silico evaluation of drug (or candidate) safety in laboratory is thus so desired, and unfortunately has been largely hindered by misuse of ADR terms. The growing impact of bioinformatics and systems biology in toxicological research also requires a specialized ADR term system that works beyond a simple glossary. Adverse Drug Reaction Classification System (ADReCS; http://bioinf.xmu.edu.cn/ADReCS) is a comprehensive ADR ontology database that provides not only ADR standardization but also hierarchical classification of ADR terms. The ADR terms were pre-assigned with unique digital IDs and at the same time were well organized into a four-level ADR hierarchy tree for building an ADR–ADR relation. Currently, the database covers 6544 standard ADR terms and 34 796 synonyms. It also incorporates information of 1355 single active ingredient drugs and 134 022 drug–ADR pairs. In summary, ADReCS offers an opportunity for direct computation on ADR terms and also provides clues to mining common features underlying ADRs.