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Nathan Goodyear

Anticancer mechanisms of cannabinoids - 0 views

  • modulating key cell signalling pathways involved in the control of cancer cell proliferation and survival
  • cannabinoids inhibit angiogenesis and decrease metastasis in various tumour types in laboratory animals
  • Cannabis sativa L. (marijuana)
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  • of the approximately 108 cannabinoids produced by C. sativa, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (thc) is the most relevant because of its high potency and abundance in plant preparations
  • Tetrahydrocannabinol exerts a wide variety of biologic effects by mimicking endogenous substances—the endocannabinoids anandamide3 and 2-arachidonoylglycerol4,5—that engage specific cell-surface cannabinoid receptors
  • the cb2 receptor was initially described to be present in the immune system6, but was more recently shown to also be expressed in cells from other origins
  • transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V, member 1
  • orphan G protein–coupled receptor 55
  • Most of the effects produced by cannabinoids in the nervous system and in non-neural tissues rely on cb1 receptor activation
  • two major cannabinoid-specific receptors—cb1 and cb2
  • cardiovascular tone, energy metabolism, immunity, and reproduction
  • cannabinoids are well known to exert palliative effects in cancer patients
  • best-established use is the inhibition of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting
  • thc and other cannabinoids exhibit antitumour effects in a wide array of animal models of cancer
  • cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands are both generally upregulated in tumour tissue compared with non-tumour tissue
  • cb2 promotes her2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) pro-oncogenic signalling in breast cancer
  • pharmacologic activation of cannabinoid receptors decreases tumour growth
  • endocannabinoid signalling can also have a tumour-suppressive role
  • pharmacologic stimulation of cb receptors is, in most cases, antitumourigenic. Nonetheless, a few reports have proposed a tumour-promoting effect of cannabinoids
  • most prevalent effect is the induction of cancer cell death by apoptosis and the inhibition of cancer cell proliferation
  • impair tumour angiogenesis and block invasion and metastasis
  • thc and other cannabinoids induce the apoptotic death of glioma cells by cb1- and cb2-dependent stimulation
  • Autophagy is primarily a cytoprotective mechanism, although its activation can also lead to cell death
  • autophagy is important for cannabinoid antineoplastic activity
  • autophagy is upstream of apoptosis in the mechanism of cannabinoid-induced cell death
  • the effect of cannabinoids in hormone- dependent tumours might rely, at least in part, on the ability to interfere with the activation of growth factor receptors
  • glioma cells), pharmacologic blockade of either cb1 or cb2 prevents cannabinoid-induced cell death with similar efficacy
  • other types of cancer cells (pancreatic48, breast24, or hepatic43 carcinoma cells, for example), antagonists of cb2 but not of cb1 inhibit cannabinoid antitumour actions
  • thc promotes cancer cell death in a cb1- or cb2-dependent manner (or both) at lower concentrations
  • cannabidiol (cbd), a phytocannabinoid with a low affinity for cannabinoid receptors15, and other marijuana-derived cannabinoids57 have also been proposed to promote the apoptotic death of cancer cells acting independently of the cb1 and cb2 receptors
  • In cancer cells, cannabinoids block the activation of the vascular endothelial growth factor (vegf) pathway, an inducer of angiogenesi
  • In vascular endothelial cells, cannabinoid receptor activation inhibits proliferation and migration, and induces apoptosis
  • cb1 or cb2 receptor agonists (or both) reduce the formation of distant tumour masses in animal models of both induced and spontaneous metastasis, and inhibit adhesion, migration, and invasiveness of glioma64, breast65,66, lung67,68, and cervical68 cancer cells in culture
  • the ceramide/p8–regulated pathway plays a general role in the antitumour activity of cannabinoids targeting cb1 and cb2
  • cbd, by acting independently of the cb1 and cb2 receptors, produces a remarkable anti-tumour effect—including reduction of invasiveness and metastasis
  • cannabinoids can also enhance immune system–mediated tumour surveillance in some contexts
  • ability of thc to reduce inflammation75,76, an effect that might prevent certain types of cancer
  • recent observations suggest that the combined administration of cannabinoids with other anticancer drugs acts synergistically to reduce tumour growth
  • combined administration of gemcitabine (the benchmark agent for the treatment of pancreatic cancer) and various cannabinoid agonists synergistically reduced the viability of pancreatic cancer cells
  • Other reports indicated that anandamide and HU-210 might also enhance the anticancer activity of paclitaxel89 and 5-fluorouracil90 respectively
  • Combined administration of thc and cbd enhances the anticancer activity of thc and reduces the dose of thc needed to induce its tumour growth-inhibiting activity
  • Preclinical animal models have yielded data indicating that systemic (oral or intraperitoneal) administration of cannabinoids effectively decreases tumour growth
  • Combinations of cannabinoids with classical chemotherapeutic drugs such as the alkylating agent temozolomide (the benchmark agent for the management of glioblastoma80,84) have been shown to produce a strong anticancer action in animal models
  • pharmacologic inhibition of egfr, erk83, or akt enhances the cell-death-promoting action of thc in glioma cultures (unpublished observations by the authors), which suggests that targeting egfr and the akt and erk pathways could enhance the antitumour effect of cannabinoids
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    Good review of the anticancer effects of cananbinoids.
Nathan Goodyear

Ivermectin: enigmatic multifaceted 'wonder' drug continues to surprise and exceed expectations | The Journal of Antibiotics - 0 views

  • The avermectins are known to possess pronounced antitumor activity
  • Over the past few years, there have been steadily increasing reports that ivermectin may have varying uses as an anti-cancer agent, as it has been shown to exhibit both anti-cancer and anti-cancer stem cell properties
  • In human ovarian cancer and NF2 tumor cell lines, high-dose ivermectin inactivates protein kinase PAK1 and blocks PAK1-dependent growth
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  • PAK1 is essential for the growth of more than 70% of all human cancers, including breast, prostate, pancreatic, colon, gastric, lung, cervical and thyroid cancers, as well as hepatoma, glioma, melanoma, multiple myeloma and for neurofibromatosis tumors
  • Ivermectin suppresses breast cancer by activating cytostatic autophagy, disrupting cellular signaling in the process, probably by reducing PAK1 expression
  • Cancer stem cells are a key factor in cancer cells developing resistance to chemotherapies and these results indicate that a combination of chemotherapy agents plus ivermectin could potentially target and kill cancer stem cells, a paramount goal in overcoming cancer
  • Triple-negative breast cancers, which lack estrogen, progesterone and HER2 receptors, account for 10–20% of breast cancers and are associated with poor prognosis
  • Ivermectin addition led to transcriptional modulation of genes associated with epithelial–mesenchymal transition and maintenance of a cancer stem cell phenotype in triple-negative breast cancers cells, resulting in impairment of clonogenic self-renewal in vitro and inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis in vivo
  • Ivermectin-induced cytostatic autophagy also leads to suppression of tumor growth in breast cancer xenografts, causing researchers to believe there is scope for using ivermectin to inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation and that the drug is a potential treatment for breast cancer
  • ivermectin synergizes with the chemotherapy agents cytarabine and daunorubicin to induce cell death in leukemia cells
  • Ivermectin inhibits proliferation and increases apoptosis of various human cancers
  • Activation of WNT-TCF signaling is implicated in multiple diseases, including cancers of the lungs and intestine,
  • A new screening system has found that ivermectin inhibits the expression of WNT-TCF targets
  • It represses the levels of C-terminal β-catenin phosphoforms and of cyclin D1 in an okadaic acid-sensitive manner, indicating its action involves protein phosphatases
  • In vivo, ivermectin selectively inhibits TCF-dependent, but not TCF-independent, xenograft growth without side effects
  • ivermectin has an exemplary safety record, it could swiftly become a useful tool as a WNT-TCF pathway response blocker to treat WNT-TCF-dependent diseases, encompassing multiple cancers.117
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    Ivermectin shows promise and usefullness in several cancer types.  This is a review article.
Nathan Goodyear

Niclosamide, an old antihelminthic agent, demonstrates antitumor activity by blocking multiple signaling pathways of cancer stem cells - 0 views

  • Accumulating evidence suggests that niclosamide targets multiple signaling pathways such as nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kB), Wnt/β-catenin, and Notch, most of which are closely involved with cancer stem cell proliferation
  • The transcription factor NF-κB has been demonstrated to promote cancer growth, angiogenesis, escape from apoptosis, and tumorigenesis
  • NF-κB is sequestered in the cytosol of resting cells through binding the inhibitory subunit IκBα
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  • Niclosamide blocked TNFα-induced IκBα phosphorylation, translocation of p65, and the expression of NF-κB-regulated genes
  • Niclosamide also inhibited the DNA binding of NF-κB to the promoter of its target genes
  • niclosamide has two independent effects: NF-kB activation and ROS elevation
  • The Wnt signaling pathway plays fundamental roles in directing tissue patterning in embryonic development, in maintaining tissue homeostasis in differentiated tissue, and in tumorigenesis
  • niclosamide is a potent inhibitor of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway
  • The Notch signaling pathway plays important roles in a variety of cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, cell fate decisions, and maintenance of stem cells
  • niclosamide potently suppresses the luciferase activity of a CBF-1-dependent reporter gene in both a dose-dependent and a time-dependent manners in K562 leukemia cells
  • niclosamide treatment abrogated the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-stimulated dimerization and nuclear translocation and transcriptional activity of Stat3, and induced cell growth inhibition and apoptosis in several types of cancer cells (e.g. Du145, Hela, A549) that exhibit relatively higher levels of Stat3 constitutive activation
  • niclosamide can rapidly increase autophagosome formation
  • niclosamide induced autophagy and inhibited mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1)
  • Niclosamide has low toxicity in mammals (oral median lethal dose in rats >5000 mg/kg
  • Niclosamide is active against cancer cells such as AML and colorectal cancer cells, not only as a monotherapy but also as part of combination therapy, in which it has been found to be synergistic with frontline chemotherapeutic agents (e.g., oxaliplatin, cytarabine, etoposide, and daunorubicin)
  • Because niclosamide targets multiple signaling pathways (e.g., NF-κB, Wnt/β-catenin, and Notch), most of which are closely involved with cancer stem cells, it holds promise in eradicating cancer stem cells
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    Review article: common anti-parasitic medication, niclosamide, provides anti-proliferative effect in cancer stem cells (CSC), via inhibition of NF-kappaBeta, Wnt/B-catenin, Notch, ROS, mTORC1, and STAT2 pathways.
Nathan Goodyear

Mechanism of Anti-Cancer Activity of Curcumin on Androgen-Dependent and Androgen-Independent Prostate Cancer - 0 views

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    Great review of androgen dependent and androgen independent prostate cancer.
Nathan Goodyear

First case of postmortem study in a patient vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 - 0 views

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    Antibody dependent viral enhancement from the vaccine.
Nathan Goodyear

ScienceDirect.com - Physiology & Behavior - Mitochondrial complex I inhibition depletes plasma testosterone in the rotenone model of Parkinson's disease - 0 views

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    Testosterone is known to provide anti-inflammatory signaling in men.  This study, inhibition of mitochondrial complex I (coQ dependent) resulted in lower testosterone in rat models.  One of the major side effects of statin therapy is poor memory and brain fog. Hmmm.
Nathan Goodyear

Induction of Testicular Aromatization by Luteinizing Hormone in Mature Rats - 0 views

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    very interesting study in rats.  LH induced a dose-dependent increase in testicular estrogen production through aromatase activity.  Yes, LH stimulates the leydig cells to produce testosterone, but there is a point at which LH will actually increase aromatase activity and thus estrogen production at the testicular level.
Nathan Goodyear

Metabolic management of brain cancer - 0 views

  • Glutamine is a major metabolic fuel for both brain tumor cells and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs)
  • the malignant phenotype of brain tumor cells that survive radiotherapy is often greater than that of the cells from the original tumor.
  • Conventional chemotherapy has faired little better than radiation therapy for the long-term management of malignant brain cancer
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  • most conventional radiation and brain cancer chemotherapies can enhance glioma energy metabolism and invasive properties, which would contribute to tumor recurrence and reduced patient survival [34].
  • We contend that all cancer regardless of tissue or cellular origin is a disease of abnormal energy metabolism
  • complex disease phenotypes can be managed through self-organizing networks that display system wide dynamics involving oxidative and non-oxidative (substrate level) phosphorylation
  • As long as brain tumors are provided a physiological environment conducive for their energy needs they will survive; when this environment is restricted or abruptly changed they will either grow slower, growth arrest, or perish [8] and [19]
  • New information also suggests that ketones are toxic to some human tumor cells and that ketones and ketogenic diets might restrict availability of glutamine to tumor cells [68], [69] and [70].
  • The success in dealing with environmental stress and disease is therefore dependent on the integrated action of all cells in the organism
  • Tumor cells survive in hypoxic environments not because they have inherited genes making them more fit or adaptable than normal cells, but because they have damaged mitochondria and have thus acquired the ability to derive energy largely through substrate level phosphorylation
  • Cancer cells survive and multiply only in physiological environments that provide fuels (mostly glucose and glutamine) subserving their requirement for substrate level phosphorylation
  • Integrity of the inner mitochondrial membrane is necessary for ketone body metabolism since β-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the first step in the metabolism of β-OHB to acetoacetate, interacts with cardiolipin and other phospholipids in the inner membrane
  • the mitochondria of many gliomas and most tumors for that matter are dysfunctional
  • Cardiolipin is essential for efficient oxidative energy production and mitochondrial function
  • Any genetic or environmental alteration in the content or composition of cardiolipin will compromise energy production through oxidative phosphorylation
  • The Crabtree effect involves the inhibition of respiration by high levels of glucose
  • the Warburg effect involves elevated glycolysis from impaired oxidative phosphorylation
  • the Crabtree effect can be reversible, the Warburg effect is largely irreversible because its origin is with permanently damaged mitochondria
  • The continued production of lactic acid in the presence of oxygen is the metabolic hallmark of most cancers and is referred to as aerobic glycolysis or the Warburg effect
  • We recently described how the retrograde signaling system could induce changes in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes to facilitate tumor cell survival following mitochondrial damage [48].
  • In addition to glycolysis, glutamine can also increase ATP production under hypoxic conditions through substrate level phosphorylation in the TCA cycle after its metabolism to α-ketoglutarate
  • mitochondrial lipid abnormalities, which alter electron transport activities, can account in large part for the Warburg effect
  • targeting both glucose and glutamine metabolism could be effective for managing most cancers including brain cancer
  • The bulk of experimental evidence indicates that mitochondria are dysfunctional in tumors and incapable of generating sufficient ATP through oxidative phosphorylation
  • Cardiolipin defects in tumor cells are also associated with reduced activities of several enzymes of the mitochondrial electron transport chain making it unlikely that tumor cells with cardiolipin abnormalities can generate adequate energy through oxidative phosphorylation
  • The Crabtree effect involves the inhibition of respiration by high levels of glucose
  • Warburg effect involves elevated glycolysis from impaired oxidative phosphorylation
  • TCA cycle substrate level phosphorylation could therefore become another source of ATP production in tumor cells with impairments in oxidative phosphorylation
  • Caloric restriction, which lowers glucose and elevates ketone bodies [63] and [64], improves mitochondrial respiratory function and glutathione redox state in normal cells
  • DR naturally inhibits glycolysis and tumor growth by lowering circulating glucose levels, while at the same time, enhancing the health and vitality of normal cells and tissues through ketone body metabolism
  • DR is anti-angiogenic
  • DR also reduces angiogenesis in prostate and breast cancer
  • We suggest that apoptosis resistance arises largely from enhanced substrate level phosphorylation of tumor cells and to the genes associated with elevated glycolysis and glutaminolysis, e.g., c-Myc, Hif-1a, etc, which inhibit apoptosis
  • Modern medicine has not looked favorably on diet therapies for managing complex diseases especially when well-established procedures for acceptable clinical practice are available, regardless of how ineffective these procedures might be in managing the disease
  • More than 60 years of clinical research indicates that such approaches are largely ineffective in extending survival or improving quality of life
  • The process is rooted in the well-established scientific principle that tumor cells are largely dependent on substrate level phosphorylation for their survival and growth
  • Glucose and glutamine drive substrate level phosphorylation
  • targeting the glycolytically active tumor cells that produce pro-cachexia molecules, restricted diet therapies can potentially reduce tumor cachexia
  • It is important to recognize, however, that “more is not better” with respect to the ketogenic diet
  • Blood glucose ranges between 3.0 and 3.5 mM (55–65 mg/dl) and β-OHB ranges between 4 and 7 mM should be effective for tumor management
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    Dr Seyfriend presents his metabolic approach to the treatment of brain cancer.
Nathan Goodyear

Xanthohumol, a chalcon derived from hops, ... [Mol Nutr Food Res. 2010] - PubMed - NCBI - 0 views

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    xanthohumol again shows to inhibit NF-kappaB.  This time in individuals with NAFLD and chronic liver disease.  The effect was shwon to be dose dependent, without plateau with dosing up to 50 Mcriomoloar
Nathan Goodyear

Beyond the male sex hormone: deciphering the metabolic and vascular actions of testosterone - 0 views

  • androgen deprivation therapy results in unfavorable changes in body composition, insulin resistance, and dyslipidemia and predisposes men to develop atherosclerosis and an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality
  • The hypogonadal–obesity cycle hypothesis was originally proposed by Cohen in 1999 to explain the relationship between low testosterone levels and metabolic disease. It was based on the finding that obesity impairs testosterone levels by increasing the aromatization of testosterone to estradiol, while low testosterone levels promote increased fat deposition
  • adipocytokines contribute to low testosterone levels as well as to the processes underlying metabolic syndromes and type 2 diabetes
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  • hypogonadal–obesity–adipocytokine hypothesis
  • The presence of estradiol and the adipocytokines TNF-α, IL6, and leptin (as a result of leptin resistance in obesity) inhibits the hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular axis response to decreasing androgen levels
  • An increasing number of studies have illustrated the potential for applying metabolomics to the field of androgen research
  • As early as the 1940s, the therapeutic use of testosterone was reported to improve angina pectoris in men with coronary artery disease
  • most of the epidemiological studies reported increased cardiovascular risk and mortality in men with low testosterone levels
  • long-term testosterone replacement appears to be a safe and effective means of treating hypogonadal elderly men
  • a recent interventional trial showed that testosterone treatment was associated with decreased mortality when compared with no testosterone treatment in an observational cohort of men with low testosterone levels
  • a number of short-term studies conducted support the notion that testosterone therapy reduces the cardiovascular risk
  • The majority of animal studies support the hypothesis that the actions of testosterone on vascular relaxation are both endothelium-dependent and -independent vasodilatory effects
  • Endothelial-dependent actions of testosterone increase the expression or activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and enhance nitric oxide production, which in turn activates cyclic guanosine monophosphate to induce vasorelaxation in smooth muscle cells
  • Endothelial-independent mechanisms of testosterone are believed to occur primarily via inhibition of voltage-operated Ca2+ channels and/or activation of K+ channels in smooth muscle cells
  • Testosterone may also inhibit intracellular Ca2+ influx via store-operated Ca2+ channels by blocking the response to prostaglandin F2α
  • testosterone has demonstrated anti-inflammatory effects to protect against atherogenesis in animal studies
  • both genomic AR activation to modulate gene transcription and non-genomic activation to modulate the rapid intracellular signaling pathways of ion channels may mediate testosterone effects on vascular function and inflammation.
  • Butenandt & Ruzicka first showed how testosterone is synthesized and responsible for masculine characteristics in the early 1930s
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    Awesome review on the current understanding of Testosterone and Diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and CVD.  This article even goes into the literature on androgen receptors.
Nathan Goodyear

ScienceDirect.com - Cell Metabolism - Estrogen Receptors and the Metabolic Network - 0 views

  • The pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons have an anorexigenic action and, when activated, reduce food intake through the release of two peptides, α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) and cocaine-and-amphetamine-regulated transcripts (CART). The neuropeptide Y (NPY) neurons, on the other hand, release NPY hormone and agouti gene-related protein (AgRP), which prevent the binding of α-MSH to MC3R and MC4R, increasing food intake
  • This suggests that the central anorexic effects of E2 may occur via ERβ
  • The main hypothalamic areas involved in food intake and satiety are the arcuate nucleus (ARC), the lateral hypothalamus (LH), the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), and the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH)
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  • Leptin is a potent anorexigenic and catabolic hormone secreted by adipose cells that reduces food intake and increases energy expenditure
  • E2 not only modulates leptin receptor mRNA in the ARC and VMH, but also increases hypothalamic sensitivity to leptin, altering peripheral fat distribution
  • ghrelin. It acts on growth hormone secretagogue receptors (GHSR1a) located in the ARC and is a potent stimulator of food intake
  • It thus appears that of the two ERs, ERα plays a predominant role in the CNS regulation of lipid and carbohydrate homeostasis.
  • Both ERs have been identified in the ARC
  • Stimulation of MCH neurons increases food intake and fat accumulation while its inhibition leads to decreased food intake and reduced fat accumulation.
  • Both ERs have been identified in the LH
  • both ERs have been identified in this nucleus
  • The PVN is the region of the hypothalamus with the highest expression of ERβ and is reported to be weakly ERα positive
  • The VMH is ERα regulated
  • Skeletal muscle is responsible for 75% of the insulin-induced glucose uptake in the body
  • GLUT4 is highly expressed in muscle and represents a rate-limiting step in the insulin-induced glucose uptake
  • data suggest that in the physiological range, E2 is beneficial for insulin sensitivity, whereas hypo- or hyperestrogenism is related to insulin resistance
  • In aging female rats, E2 treatment improves glucose homeostasis mainly through its ability to increase muscle GLUT4 content on the cell membrane
  • It is evident that ERα and ERβ have distinct actions and that much more research is needed to clearly identify the function of each receptor in muscle.
  • E2 prevents accumulation of visceral fat, increases central sensitivity to leptin, increases the expression of insulin receptors in adipocytes, and decreases the lipogenic activity of lipoprotein lipase in adipose tissue
  • In rats, ovariectomy increases body weight, intra-abdominal fat, fasting glucose and insulin levels, and insulin resistance followed by decreased phosphorylation of AMPK and its substrate acetyl-CoA carboxylase in adipose tissue
  • decreased adiponectin, PPARγ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), and uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) and increased resistin
  • Men with aromatase deficiency have truncal obesity, elevated blood lipids, and severe insulin resistance
  • Although not all studies are in agreement, polymorphisms of ERα in humans have been associated with risk factors for CVDs
  • Human subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues express both ERα and ERβ, whereas only ERα mRNA has been identified in brown adipose tissue
  • suggesting that ERα is the main regulator of GLUT4 expression in adipose tissue
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    very nice article that looks at the balance of ER-alpha/ER-beta and their role in metabolic syndrome.  This article discusses the balance of  these receptors are tissue dependent in their effect.  I like their conclusion: "...but these mechanisms will never be completely understood if they are not considered in the context of a whole system.
Nathan Goodyear

RB&E | Full text | Estrogen and inflammation modulate estrogen receptor alpha expression in specific tissues of the temporomandibular joint - 0 views

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    ER-alpha plays role in TMJ.  This study looked to see if inflammation and E2 would modulate ER-alpha expression.  They found this to be tissue dependent and whether inflammation was present or not.  In the presence of inflammation, ER-alpa expression was reduced, but in inflamed joint, ER-alph expression stayed unchanged.
Nathan Goodyear

Glioblastoma Cells Require Glutamate Dehydrogenase to Survive Impairments of Glucose Metabolism or Akt Signaling - 0 views

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    This article describes how important glutamine is as an alternative energy source in Glioblastoma. Cancer is a substrate-level dependent energy production disease. If one disrupts glycolysis as a source of energy, then many cancers will use glutamine through glutaminolysis. The cancer cells will do this through glutamate dehydrogenase and glutamate production. This will increase alpha-ketoglutarate which will then feed the substrate-level phosphorylation through the TCA cycle. This study mentioned that EGCG is a way to naturally inhibit glutamate dehydrogenase.
Nathan Goodyear

Extranuclear Actions of the Androgen Receptor Enhance Glucose-Stimulated Insulin Secretion in the Male: Cell Metabolism - 0 views

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    only abstract available here. Mouse model finds possible explanation for low Testosterone and diabetes link.  Actually, the link is between the metabolite DHT and the AR. The activity of AR from DHT binding induces beta cell insulin secretion in the presence of glucose.  This is dependent on glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor activation also, which AR activation by DHT does in fact do.
Nathan Goodyear

Glutathione Redox Regulates Airway Hyperresponsiveness and Airway Inflammation in Mice (ATS Journals) - 0 views

  • γ-GCE reduced levels of IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, and the chemokines eotaxin and RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, whereas it enhanced the production of IL-12 and IFN-γ.
  • γ-GCE suppressed eosinophils infiltration
  • γ-GCE directly inhibited chemokine-induced eosinophil chemotaxis
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  • these findings suggest that changing glutathione redox balance, increase in GSH level, and the GSH/GSSG ratio by γ-GCE, ameliorate bronchial asthma by altering the Th1/Th2 imbalance through IL-12 production from APC and suppressing chemokine production and eosinophil migration itself.
  • Bronchial asthma is a typical helper T cell type 2 (Th2) disease
  • Through the release of Th2 cytokines, such as IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13, orchestrate the recruitment and activation of the primary effector cells of the allergic response: the mast cells and the eosinophils
  • Glutathione is the most abundant nonprotein sulfhydryl compound in almost all cells. This tripeptide plays a significant role in many biological processes. It also constitutes the first line of the cellular defense mechanism against oxidative injury along with SOD, ascorbate, vitamin E, and catalase, and is the major intracellular redox buffer in ubiquitous cell types
  • We have shown that glutathione redox status, namely the balance between intracellular reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione, in murine antigen-presenting cells (APC) plays a central role in determining which of the reductive and oxidative APC predominate during immune status, and the balance between reductive and oxidative APC regulates Th1/Th2 balance through production of IL-12
  • we have also shown that exposure of human alveolar macrophages to the Th1 cytokine IFN-γ or the Th2 cytokine IL-4 either increases or decreases the GSH/GSSG ratio, respectively, which regulates Th1/Th2 balance through IL-12 production
  • the ability to generate a Th1 or Th2 type response has turned out to depend not only on T cells but also on the intracellular glutathione redox status of APC
  • Th1 cytokine IFN-γ and Th2 cytokine IL-4 increases and decreases the GSH/GSSG ratio, respectively, and that this ratio influences LPS-induced IL-12 production from alveolar macrophages
  • the ability to generate a Th1 or Th2 response is dependent on glutathione redox status of APC
  • administration of γ-GCE elevates GSH level and GSH/GSSG ratio in the lung, and ameliorates AHR and eosinophilic airway inflammation by altering the Th1/Th2 balance and suppressing chemokine production and eosinophil migration in a mouse asthma model
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    glutathione redox reaction plays an important role in the ability to balance Th1 and Th2 and thus disease potential i.e. asthma as this study example.  
Nathan Goodyear

Natural Killer Cells in Pregnancy and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: Endocrine and Immunologic Perspectives - 0 views

  • NK cells have been the cells most extensively studied, primarily because they constitute the predominant leukocyte population present in the endometrium at the time of implantation and in early pregnancy
  • parental chromosomal abnormalities, uterine anatomic anomalies, endometrial infections, endocrine etiologies (luteal phase defect, thyroid dysfunction, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus), antiphospholipid syndrome, inherited thrombophilias, and alloimmune causes
  • estrogen
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  • progesterone
  • prolactin
  • In summary, in vivo animal experiments have shown an inhibitory role of estrogen on peripheral NK cell lytic activity, which is partly due to suppression of NK cell output by the bone marrow and partly due to suppression of individual NK cell cytotoxicity. However, in vitro studies so far have failed to show conclusively a direct effect of estrogen on NK cells.
  • At the progesterone concentrations believed to be present in the uterus [up to 10−5 m at the maternal-fetal interface (35)], studies consistently show inhibition of lymphocyte proliferation (33) and inhibition of NK cytolytic activity in vitro
  • The exact role of prolactin in NK cell regulation is unknown.
  • The overall effects of estrogen on NK cells are likely multifactorial, therefore, and depend on the type of cell affected as well as the kind of ER expressed by that cell.
  • It is known that progesterone can directly affect T cell differentiation in vitro, suppressing development of the Th1 pathway and enhancing differentiation along the Th2 pathway (44)
  • Th1 cells predominantly produce interferon-γ (IFN-γ), IL-2, and TNF-β and are involved in cell-mediated immunity. Th2 cells produce IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-13 and stimulate humoral immunity
  • Furthermore, in response to progesterone, γδ T cells produce progesterone-induced blocking factor (PIBF) (54
  • A defining characteristic of NK cells is their ability to lyse target cells without prior sensitization and without restriction by HLA antigens.
  • NK cell function is mainly regulated by IL-2 and IFN-γ
  • IL-2 causes both NK cell proliferation and enhanced cytotoxicity. IFN-γ augments NK cytolytic activity, but does not cause NK proliferation. The two cytokines act synergistically to augment NK cytotoxicity (6).
  • The largest leukocyte population in the endometrium consists of NK cells named large granulated lymphocytes
  • there is a significant increase in the number of uNK cells throughout the secretory phase, which peaks in early pregnancy when uNK cells comprise about 75% of uterine leukocytes (62)
  • Second, uNK cell phenotype changes during the normal menstrual cycle and early pregnancy (68)
  • general proinflammatory effect of estrogen, causing an influx of macrophages and neutrophils, which is antagonized by progesterone through its receptor (70, 71).
  • The mechanism of such a progesterone-induced local immunosuppression is unclear.
  • progesterone plays an important role in proliferation and differentiation of uNK cells (32).
  • Through promotion of a uterine Th2 environment, progesterone could indirectly affect uNK cell function
  • The mechanism of this increase in uNK cell numbers has been addressed in both human and mouse models, and is likely the result of: 1) recruitment of peripheral NK cells to the uterus, and 2) proliferation of existing uNK cells
  • prolactin system plays an important role in implantation and the maintenance of pregnancy
  • the exact pathways of hormonal regulation of NK cells remain to be delineated.
  • The exact function of uNK cells has not yet been unequivocally determined
  • uNK cells express a different cytokine profile, compared with resting peripheral NK cells. mRNAs for granulocyte CSF, M-CSF, GM-CSF, TNF-α, IFN-γ, TGF-β, and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) have been found in decidual CD56+ cells
  • Their increased numbers in early pregnancy, their hormonal dependence, and their close proximity to the infiltrating trophoblast all suggest that they play an important role in the regulation of the maternal immune response to the fetal allograft and the control of trophoblast growth and invasion during human pregnancy
  • role of uNK cell-derived cytokines on trophoblast growth and differentiation (114, 115, 116, 117).
  • Th1 immunity to trophoblast is associated with RPL, whereas Th2 immunity is associated with a successful pregnancy
  • RPL is associated with Th1 immunity, for which NK cells are partly responsible.
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    dysregulated immune system plays role in recurrent miscarriage.  Specifically, this article discusses natural killer cells (NK).
Nathan Goodyear

Progesterone metabolites in breast cancer - 1 views

  • P metabolites produced within breast tissues might be independently active hormones functioning as cancer-promoting or -inhibiting regulatory agents
  • these P metabolites function as independent pro-or anti-cancer autocrine/paracrine hormones that regulate cell proliferation, adhesion, apoptosis and cytoskeletal, and other cell status molecules via novel receptors located in the cell membrane and intrinsically linked to cell signaling pathways
  • only a fraction of all breast cancer patients respond to this estrogen-based therapy and the response is only temporary
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  • P serves as the precursor for the major steroid hormones (androgens, estrogens, corticosteroids) produced by the gonadal and adrenal cortical tissues.
  • 5α-pregnane, 5β-pregnane, and 4-pregnene metabolites of P
  • These P-metabolizing enzymes included 5α-reductase, 5β-reductase, 3α-hydroxysteroid oxido-reductase (3α-HSO), 3β-HSO, 20α-HSO, 20β-HSO, 6α(β)-, 11β-, 17-, and 21-hydroxylase, and C17–20-lyase
  • Reduction of P to 5α-pregnanes is catalyzed by 5α-reductase and the direct 5α-reduced metabolite of P is 5α-pregnane-3,20-dione (5αP). The 5α-reductase reaction is irreversible
  • The two 4-pregnenes resulting from direct P conversion are 4-pregnen-3α-ol-20-one (3αHP) and 4-pregnen-20α-ol-3-one (20αHP), catalyzed by the actions of 3α-HSO and 20α-HSO respectively
  • the P-metabolizing enzyme activities identified in human breast tissues and cell lines were: 5α-reductase, 3α-HSO, 3β-HSO, 20α-HSO, and 6α-hydroxylase
  • In normal breast tissue, conversion to 4-pregnenes greatly exceeded the conversion to 5α-pregnanes, whereas in tumorous tissue, conversion to 5α-pregnanes greatly exceeded that to 4-pregnenes
  • The results indicated that P 5α-reductase activity is significantly higher, whereas P 3α-HSO and 20α-HSO activities are significantly lower in tumor than in normal tissues
  • he results showed that production of 5α-pregnanes was higher and that of 4-pregnenes was lower in tumorigenic (e.g. MCF-7) than in nontumorigenic (e.g. MCF-10A) cells (Fig. 3c⇑), while differences in ER/P status did not appear to play a role
  • The 5α-pregnane-to-4-pregnene ratios were 7- to 20-fold higher in the tumorigenic than in the nontumorigenic cell lines
  • altered direction in P metabolism, and hence in metabolite ratios, was due to significantly elevated 5α-reductase and depressed 3α- and 20α-HSO activities in breast tumor tissues and tumorigenic cells. It appeared, therefore, that changes in P-metabolizing enzyme activities might be related to the shift toward mammary cell tumorigenicity and neoplasia
  • In vivo, changes in enzyme activity can result from changes in levels of the enzyme due to changes in expression of the mRNA coding for the enzyme, or from changes in the milieu in which the enzyme operates (such as temperature and pH, and concentrations of cofactors, substrates, products, competitors, ions, phospholipids, and other molecules)
  • Overall, the enzyme activity and expression studies strongly suggest that 5α-reductase stimulation and 3α- and 20α-HSO suppression are associated with the transition from normalcy to cancer of the breast
  • The level of expression of 5α-reductase is up-regulated by estradiol and P in the uterus (Minjarez et al. 2001) and by 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in the prostate
  • 3αHP inhibited whereas 5αP-stimulated proliferation
  • Stimulation in cell numbers was also observed when cells were treated with other 5α-pregnanes, such as 5α-pregnan-3α-ol-20-one, 5α-pregnan-20α-ol-3-one, and 5α-pregnane-3α,20α-diol, whereas other 4-pregnenes such as 20α-HP and 4-pregnene-3α,20α-diol resulted in suppression of cell proliferation
  • Stimulation of cell proliferation with 5αP and inhibition with 3αHP were also observed in all other breast cell lines examined, whether ER/P-negative (MCF-10A, MDA-MB-231) or ER/P-positive (T47D, ZR-75-1) and whether requiring estrogen for tumorigenicity (MCF-7, T47D) or not (MDA-MB-231), or whether they are nontumorigenic (
  • αHP resulted in significant increases in apoptosis and decreases in mitosis, leading to significant decreases in total cell numbers. In contrast, treatment with 5αP resulted in decreases in apoptosis and increases in mitosis.
  • The opposing actions of 5αP and 3αHP on both cell anchorage and proliferation strengthen the hypothesis that the direction of P metabolism in vivo toward higher 5α-pregnane and lower 4-pregnene concentrations could promote breast neoplasia and lead to malignancy.
  • he effects on proliferation and adhesion were not due to P, but due to the 5α-reduced metabolites
  • The studies showed that binding of 5αP or 3αHP occurs in the plasma membrane fractions, but not in the nuclear or cytosolic compartments
  • separate high-specificity, high-affinity, low- capacity receptors for 5αP and 3αHP that are distinct from each other and from the well-studied nuclear/cytosolic P, estrogen, and androgen and corticosteroid receptors
  • The studies thus provided the first demonstration of the existence of specific P metabolite receptors
  • the receptor results suggest that the putative tumorigenic actions of 5αP may be significantly augmented by the estradiol-induced increases in 5αP binding and decreases in 3αHP binding.
  • Estradiol and 5αP resulted in significant dose-dependent increases, whereas 3αHP and 20αHP each resulted in dose-dependent decreases in total ER
  • In combination, estradiol + 5αP or 3αHP + 20αHP resulted in additive increases or decreases respectively in ER numbers.
  • The data suggest that the action of 5αP on breast cancer cells involves modulation of the MAPK signaling pathway
  • current evidence does not appear to support the notion that increased 5α-reductase activity/ expression might significantly alter androgen influences on breast tumor growth.
  • both testosterone and DHT inhibit cell growth more or less to the same extent
  • Note that 5α-reductase reaction is not reversible
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    Fantastic read on the effects of progesterone metabolism on tumor and cancer growth.  Tumorigenesis is not just about the hormone, hormone balance, but about the metabolism of hormones.  This is why premarin is so carcinogenic: it is primarily metabolized by the 4-OH estrone pathway.
Nathan Goodyear

Bisphenol A Promotes Human Prostate Stem-Proge... [Endocrinology. 2014] - PubMed - NCBI - 0 views

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    Another strike against BPA.  This time, BPA exposure during development increased hormone-dependent cancer risk in the prostate through its interaction with prostate stem-progenitor cells.  Again, we are being altered prior to birth.
Nathan Goodyear

Effects of androgens on telomerase activity in normal and malignant prostate cells in vitro - Soda - 2000 - The Prostate - Wiley Online Library - 0 views

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    Androgen deprivation therapy reduces Telomerase activity in androgen dependent prostate cancer cell lines.  Conversely, Testosterone increases Telomerase activity.  In these cell lines Telomerase activity is positively associated with prostate cancer.
Nathan Goodyear

Total Testosterone Levels and the Effect of Sildenafil on Type 2 Diabetics with Erectile Dysfunction - 0 views

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    Interesting study. In this study group, 36% of type II diabetes with ED had low Testosterone.  This fits with the estimated 40% of those with Diabetes have low T. What is really interesting about this study is that the degree of improvement with ED by Sildenfafil was dependent on the Testosterone level in the low T group.  Meanining that Testosterone therapy in these men would probably be more of a therapy directed at the cause and not Sildenafil.  Of course, the Testosterone therapy would benefit glucose regulation as well documented in the literature.
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