BACKGROUND Bupleurum marginatum Wall. ex DC (Apiaceae) is a perennial herb widely used in traditional Chinese and Kampo medicine for the treatment of various infectious diseases. The biological activities of B. marginatum have not been fully investigated. This study aims to investigate the antitrypanosomal, antimicrobial and antiviral activities of methanol (ME) and dichloromethane (DCM) extrac...

AIMS Glucocorticoids (GCs) exert some of their anti-inflammatory actions by preventing the activation of the transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB. The GC-dependent inhibition of NF-kappaB may occur at different levels, but the mechanisms involved are still incompletely understood. In this work, we investigated whether the synthetic GC, dexamethasone (Dex), modulates the activity of N...

1 Canadian Chiropractic Research Foundation Professorship (CCRF) in Rehabilitation Epidemiology Assistant Professor, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal. Quebec, Canada Professor, Département chiropratique, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada Editor, The Canadian Chiropractic Guideline Initiative Assistant Editor, Journal of...

One of several human leukocyte interferon subtypes A (LeIF-A), obtained in purified form from a gene cloned in Escherichia coli, stimulated human peripheral blood natural killer cell activity, whereas another human leukocyte interferon subtype D (LeIF-D) had no effect with the use of K562 as target cells. With Daudi as target cells, both LeIF-A and LeIF-D stimulated natural killer cell activity...

Iron(II) heme-mediated activation of the peroxide bond of artemisinins is thought to generate the radical oxygen species responsible for their antimalarial activity. We analyzed the role of ferrous iron in the cytotoxicity of artemisinins toward tumor cells. Iron(II)-glycine sulfate (Ferrosanol) and transferrin increased the cytotoxicity of free artesunate, artesunate microencapsulated in malto...

Ribonucleotide reductase is an iron-containing enzyme that is essential for DNA synthesis. Whereas previous studies have used various iron chelators to examine the relationship between cellular iron metabolism and ribonucleotide reductase activity in cells, they have not elucidated the relationship between iron transport into cells and the expression of the gene for ribonucleotide reductase. To...

The effects of 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FdUrd) and 5,8-dideazaisofolic acid on the coordination of thymidylate synthase activity and DNA synthesis were examined in human CCRF-CEM leukemic cells following a continuous exposure to these agents. In logarithmically growing control tumor cells, the rate of in situ thymidylate synthase activity equaled the rate of DNA synthesis. However, in tumor ce...

N-Tnifluoroacetyladniamycin-1 4-valemate(A032) and N-tn fluonoacetyladniamycmn (AD41) have been compared with Adniamycin and daunorubicin in CCRF-CEM human lyrn phoblastic cells. All four agents produce DNA damage, as measured by alkaline. unwinding methods. Thymidine incor poration, a measure of DNA synthesis, is inhibited by AO32 and AO41 and completely blocked by the other drugs. AO32 and AO...

N-Trifluoroacetyladriamycin-14-valerate (AD32) and N-trifluoroacetyladriamycin (AD41) have been compared with Adriamycin and daunorubicin in CCRF-CEM human lymphoblastic cells. All four agents produce DNA damage, as measured by alkaline unwinding methods. Thymidine incorporation, a measure of DNA synthesis, is inhibited by AD32 and AD41 and completely blocked by the other drugs. AD32 and AD41 i...