To estimate a change in myelodysplasia in decitabine-treated patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

Over the past decade the clinical introduction of agents that directionally blocks the activity of BCR-ABL tumor tyrosine kinase (TK) has changed the prognosis of chronic myeloid leukemia. A significant malignant Ph'-positive clone inhibition and durable remissions have made it possible to increase overall and relapse-free survival. Due to their higher life expectancy, the number of patients is on the increase and their quality of life and working capacity remain good. According to the All-Russian Register of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, there were more than 6500 cases in the Russian Federation in 2012. Of them, 93.1% were diagnosed with the chronic phase of the disease, 6.4 and 0.4% with its accelerated phase and blast crisis, respectively. Among the BCR-ABL TK inhibitors (TKI) registered in the Russian Federation and recommended for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia, there are 3 medications: imatinib, nilotinib, and dasatinib. The efficiency and safety of TKI therapy have been well studied. The most important principle of treatment is to permanently affect the Ph'-positive tumor cell clone by the long-term daily use of TKls. Regular cytogenetic and molecular genetic monitoring allows adequate estimation of the leukemic clone volume and it is essential in evaluating the therapeutic effectiveness. To choose a TKI for each specific patient with regard for its best tolerability and maximum efficiency permits individualized treatment. The prospect of therapy discontinuation can be discussed only in individual patients with a durable and stable complete molecular response and only within clinical trials.

In the present work we have studied the effects of p53 on the proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitor cells (NPC) in mouse hippocampal organotypic culture. To study the role of p53 the selective p53 inhibitor pifithrin-alpha (PFT) and activator tenovin 1 (TEN) were used in the experiments. Obtained data demonstrated that the injections of PFT did not affect on the amount of phospho-H3 positive cells in the subgranular zone of hippocampus. This data revealed that p53 inhibition does not change the proliferation level of the NPC. In opposite, at the TEN treatments we observed increased of the proliferation activity. Analysis of Pim-1 and Phb 1, which regulate cell cycle progression, demonstrated that p53 activation led to increased level of Pim-1 as well as the proliferation. Thus, our data correlate with published ones and proposed that Pim-1 positively regulates NPC cell cycle progression. In opposite to Pim-1, Phb 1 has anti-proliferative action. Our obtained data demonstrated that TEN diminished Phb 1 expression. Primarily PFT injections led to the increasing Phbl level, but then dramatically decreased it that accompanied with unchanged proliferation level. In other words, increased proliferation level after TEN treatments, which we observed, can be partly depend from the inhibition of anti-proliferative activity of Phb. In our study we demonstrated that both TEN and in a greater degree PFT stimulates neuronal differentiation by activation of CRMP-2 expression, but do not affect on gliogenesis. Thus, obtained data revealed that p53 is an important factor of neuronal differentiation and, probably, p53 action is mediated by cell cycle regulator protein such as Pim-1 and Phbl.

Effect of indole-3-carbinol (I-3-C) and rutin (R) supplementation on vitamins A and E status of growing Wistar rats, receiving for 6 or 4 week semi-synthetic diets with different levels (1, 11 and 31%) of fat (lard and sunflower oil at a ratio of 1:1) has been studied. The content of vitamin E was 6, 9 and 15 IU, vitamin A - 400 IU in 100 g of ration. Against the various fat content during the last 7 or 14 days of the experiment rats received respectively I-3-C (20 mg per 1 kg of body weight per day) or R (0.4% of the feed weight). Rat tissues were analyzed for vitamins A (retinol and retinyol palmitate) and E (alpha-tocopherol) by HPLC. Reducing fat content in diet from 11 to 1% was associated with significant (p<0.05) decrease of hepatic retinyl palmitate and alpha-tocopherol (1,6-1,7 times) with constant plasma concentration of retinol and alpha-tocopherol. Raising fat content from 11 to 31% , in contrast, led to increased levels of hepatic retinyl palmitate and alpha-tocopherol respectively by 13% (p=0.248) and 89% (p=0.006) and plasma ROL of 26% (p=0,024), while the plasma concentration of alpha- tocopherol has not changed. I-3-C and R do not affect the availability of vitamin E in rats, regardless of the fat content in the diet. With excess fat content (31%) in the diet, supplementation of I-3-C and R lowered hepatic RP by 22-52% (p<0.05) compared to rats receiving a diet with adequate fat. Adding of I-3-C to the high-fat diets resulted to a significant reduction of vitamin A concentration in blood plasma by 12% (p=0.024) and in liver by 37% (p=0.002).

Using actinomycins as an example, the possibility of increasing the anti-tumor activity of heterocyclic antibiotics due to photo-activation, has been studied. In model experiments with solutions of actinomycins, it was showed that actinomycins have a significant photochemical activity (of its own), changing by the binding to DNA in solution or in tumor cells. Photo-destruction of HeLa cells and the release of the antibiotic were observed.

Cytotoxic and antitumor activity of the biligand vanadyl derivative of L-malic acid (bis(L-malato)oxovanadium(IV) (VO(mal)2) was investigated in comparison with inorganic vanadium(IV) compound--vanadyl sulfate (VOSO4) and also with oxovanadium monocomplex with L-malic acid (VO(mal)) and vanadyl biscomplex with acetylacetonate. In this purpose the effect of vanadyl compounds on growth of normal human skin fibroblasts and tumor cells of different lines: mouse fibrosarcoma (L929), rat pheochromocytome (PC12), human liver carcinoma (HepG2), virus transformated mouse fibroblast (NIN 3T3), virus transformated cells of human kidney (293) were investigated. The results showed that VO(mal)2 was not toxic for normal human skin fibroblasts but considerably inhibited growth of cancer cells in culture. Cytotoxic antitumor effect of vanadium complexes was found to be dependent on incubation time and concentration and on type of cells and nature of ligands of the central group of the complex (VO2+). These studies provide evidence that VO(mal)2 may be considered as a potential antitumor agent due to its low toxicity in non-tumor cells and significant anticancer activity.

Amides with homopiperidinic and piperazinic cycles were synthesized from dihydrobetulonic acid which was obtained by dihydrobetulin oxidation. All substances have shown high antitumor activity (CCID50 3.5-36.2 microM) in vitro in lymphoid (CEM-13, U-937) and monocytic (MT-4) human cell lines. Amides with methyl- and ethyl-piperazinic residues don't influence viability of Lung Lewis Carcinoma cell in culture and haven't any significant effect to its transplantates in C57BL/6 mice. But such amides inhibit efficiently the metastatic elaboration in lung of these mice. The antimetastatic activity increases followed by the change of aliphatic residue length in piperazinic cycle from methyl to ethyl.

Four types of amide (C3; C28; C3-C28) conjugates based on 2,3-seco-18alphaH-oleanane and 2,3-secolupane mono- and dicarboxylic acids were synthesized. The range of diamide derivatives was supplemented with C3-C3' and C28-C28' dicondensed amides with two A-secotriterpene backbones educed by reacting monocarboxylic A-secoacids with biogenic amino acid lysine. Compounds with inhibitory action against herpes virus reproduction (EC50 8.7 and 4.1 McM) were found among the synthesized mono- and diamide derivatives containing an ethyl-beta-alaninate fragment. It has been ascertained that diamide with ethyl-beta-alaninate fragment combines anti-herpes virus properties and anti-HIV activity (EC50 5.1 McM). For active compounds, the maximum non-toxic concentration (MNTC)/EC50 ratios ranges from 9.7 to 40.8. The synthesized amide conjugates do not exhibit any marked cytotoxic effects against human tumor cell lines rabdomiosarcoma RD TE32, A549 lung carcinoma and melanoma MS.

The reaction of betulonic acid chloride with 4-amino-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpeperidine-1-oxyl, 3-amino-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl and 3-aminomethyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl gave corresponding triterpenoid amides. It was found that new derivatives exhibit cytotoxic activity against tumor cells CEM-13, U-937, MT-4. CCID50 value for most activity compound--N-[3-oxolup-20(29)-en-30-yl]-(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-4-yl)-1-oxyl--was 5.7-33.1 microM.

Statistical analysis within the 20-year period showed that approximately 49% of workers who were exposed to widespread industrial poison acrylonitrile subsequently died from malignancy of different localization. The conducted experimental investigations demonstrated that acrylonitrile with the subacute intoxication of animals, the anti-tumor antibiotic doxorubicin, their combination, interwoven tumor and tumor developed against the background the introduction of acrylate and subsequent treatment doxorubicin led to onset of free-radical reactions. These reactions by themselves might stimulate development of malignancy. This fact confirms the need for antioxidant tracking of chemotherapy of tumors in the similar clinical cases.

It has been showed that the introduction of nitrocompounds (as nitic oxide donors) in to the compositions of cyclophosphamide and hydroxamic acids for curing animals having leukemia P-388 increased duration of life by 290%. Thereby 40% of animals have recovered. The therapeutic dose cyclophosphamide have been reduced by 6 times.

Ninety female SHR mice were subcutaneously injected with a single dose of 2 mg benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) dissolved in 0.2 ml of vegetable oil. Since the next day after BaP injection mice were started to treat with mitochondria-targeted antioxidant SkQ1 at the doses of 5 and 50 nmol/kg/day in drinking water. Control animals received tap water. Study was finished by 358th day. Number of tumor-bearing mice increased in all groups exposed to BaP but retarded since 20th week in SkQ1-treated groups in comparison with control. Maximal tumor volume gain was observed in control mice resulting in premature death. By the 30th week of study only 20% of control animals survived, whereas SkQ1 treatment increased survival up to 30% at the dose of 5 nmol and 40% at the dose of 50 nmol. By the 40th week mean tumor volume in 5 and 50 nmol SkQ1-treated mice was 13 and 21 cm3 respectively, whereas in control--40 cm3. In SkQ1-treated mice pneumonia was observed rarely as compared with controls. It could be supposed, SkQ1 at the doses of 5 and 50 nmol/kg/day retarted BaP-induced soft tissue carcinogenesis in SHR mice.

The article presents a method of conservative treatment of men with I-II stage prostatic adenoma using a combination of doxazosin and indigal, which has antioxidant, antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory properties, that allowed improving urodynamic parameters and reducing the progression prostate adenoma, minimizing the adverse effects of treatment.

The recombinant producer of Rhodospirillum rubrum L-asparaginase (RrA) was received and purification procedure of RrA was developed. It was shown that RrA has following biochemical and catalytic characteristics: K(m) for L-asn 0.22 MM, pH optimum 9.2; temperature optimum 54 degrees C; pI = 5.1 +/- 0.3; L-gln activity seems to be low-to-negligible. K562, DU145 and MDA-MB-231 cellular lines displayed significant sensitivity towards the enzyme (IC50 = 1.80; 9.19 and 34.62 ME/ml, respectively. In comparison with L-asparaginases from E. coli II type (EcA) and Erwinia carotovora (EwA) cytotoxicity of RrA seems to be higher than EwA, but lower than EcA. 10-fold i.p. RrA administration (4000 ME/kg per day) in L5178y bearing mice showed T/C = 172%. The received results show that RrA belongs to I type cellular L-asparaginases with low L-gln activity and the high antiproliferative effect.

The current knowledge on molecular mechanisms of apoptosis is presented focusing on the key elements of the extrinsic death receptor pathway as well as the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway. Disregulation of apoptotic pathways is considered as a key factor in the survival of cancer cells in response to conventional chemotherapeutic drugs or radiation therapy. Substances that selectively reactivate apoptosis in malignant cells are the promising candidate anticancer drugs, which have now entered various phases of clinical trials. The up-to-date techniques allowing for non-invasive in vivo visualization of apoptotic cells with special reference to therapy-induced cell death are briefly surveyed.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is one of the main problem of modern cytotoxic therapy. Drug dose reduction, delay or even complete stopping of chemotherapy until the regression of CIPN symptoms impair treatment effectiveness and patients' survival. We studied 44 cancer patients with CIPN developed after polychemotherapy. We suggested a treatment regimen that included a complex of allopathic, homeopathic drugs and hydrotherapy. The treatment resulted in a subjective and objective regression of neuropathy symptoms and improving of quality of life in all patients. Patients who had to delay chemotherapy were able to restart it.

The impact of neoadjuvant chemoradiation on immediate results of treatment of resectable cancer recti, using large-fractionized radiation in combination with endolymphatic chemotherapy, was estimated. Using the method proposed 64 patients were treated (the main group). In control groups there were included 63 patients, to whom a course of a large-fractionized radiation on background of intravenous chemotherapy was applied, and in 91 patients a large-fractionized radiation only was used. The intraoperative complications rate in the main and control groups have had constituted, accordingly, 16, 6.3 and 3.3%. Postoperative complications have had occurred in 12.5% of patients in the main group, and in 15.9% and 14.3% - in the control groups. The abscesses formation was noted in a small pelvis cavity in 4.7% patients of the main, and in 4.8 and 4.4% - in the control groups. Necrosis of the descended gut was revealed in 10 (4.6%).