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%).

The physicochemical, catalytic, and antiproliferative activity of a recombinant L-asparaginase from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis (YpA) have been studied. The following results were obtained: the K(M) value for L-asparagine is 17 +/- 0.9 microM, the optimal temperature is 60 degrees C, pH is 8.0, pI is 5.4 +/- 0.3, the L-glutaminase activity is no more than 5-6% of the L-asparaginase activity, and the antiproliferative activity on the Fisher L5178y lymphadenosis cell line comprised T/C = 136% (p < 0.001) at a 15% recovery rate. The described characteristic allows one to regard YpA as an antitumor enzyme with biological features similar to the L-asparaginase of E. coli.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate and compare diagnostic/and treatment modalities of primary and metastatic Ewing sarcoma (ES) of the skull base.

The method of combined neoadjuvant treatment of resectable cancer recti, consisting of preoperative radiaton therapy, using big-fractionized intensive irradiation on the endolymphatic chemotherapy background together with fluorouracil with following surgical intervention (main group), in terms up to 72 h, was elaborated in the clinic. The patients, to whom the chemotherapy and radiation therapy were conducted, were included into control groups. Postoperative complications have had occurred in 8 (12.5%) patients of the main group and in 10 (15.87%) and 13 (14.29%)--in control groups. The five-year survival indices in the main group have constituted (73.5 +/- 6.3)%, and in control groups--(64.6 +/- 5.8) and (64.4 +/- 6.8)%. The local recurrence rate in the main group have constituted (6.2 +/- 3.0)%, and of the remote metastatizing--(15.6 +/- 4.5)%.

Double-stranded DNA is a one of the most important intracellular anticancer agent targets. Disturbance of DNA functions as well as DNA structure lead to disorder of such processes as transcription and/or translation thus inducing tumor cells death. Complex formation between novel dimeric bisbenzimidazole DB(7) and poly(dA-dT) duplex in comparison with known monomeric bisbenzimidazole MB(Ac) was investigated in this study. DB(7)-poly(dA-dT) binding constant was determined by fluorescence spectroscopy using Scatchard plot and it values 1.18 x 10(8) M(-1) that is two orders of magnitude larger than MB(Ac) one (2.06 x 10(6) M(-1)). Thus, from findings mentioned above it could be concluded that the presence of two bisbenzimidazole moieties in the ligand structure significantly increases its affinity to the polynucleotide which motivates the synthesis of new potential anticancer drugs based on dimeric bisbenzimidazoles.

The new sulfated polyhydroxysteroid has been isolated from the Pacific starfish Mithrodia clavigera, collected from Maldives Islands and named as mitrotriol (I, Na-salt of (20S)-3beta,6alpha,20-trihydroxy-5alpha-cholest-9(11)-ene 3-O-sulfate). In addition six previously known compounds, including glycosides: echinasteroside B, granulatoside A, linckoside K, forbeside L and thornasterol sulfate A and cholesterol sulfate were isolated and identified. The structure of mitrotriol was elucidated by spectroscopic methods (mainly 2D NMR: 1H, 13C, DEPT, COSY-45, NOESY, HSQC and HMBC) and mass-spectrometry. For selected compounds, concentrations that showed cytotoxic activity against melanoma cells SK-MEL-28, SK-MEL-5 and RPMI-7951 were determined.

Microspheres were obtained on the basis of poly(3-oxibutyrate) (POB) with the inclusion of the Chlorambucil and Etoposide cytostatic drugs in a polymer matrix, and the morphology, kinetics of drug release from microspheres, and the interaction between microspheres and tumor cells in vitro were studied. Data on the kinetics of drug release suggests that a prolonged release occurs by drug diffusion from the polymer matrix at the initial stage and at the expense of hydrolytic degradation of the polymer at a later stage. A study of the biocompatibility and biological activity of biopolymeric microspheres showed that chlorambucil operates actively and strongly inhibits the growth of cultured cells for a short time (24 h). Etoposide acts weaker (the percentage of cell growth suppression during 48 h does not exceed 50%), but subsequently it has a basis for the creation of new dosage forms with prolonged action of Etoposide and chlorambucil for cancer therapy.

Cytotoxic effect of anti-cancer drug, doxorubicin (DR), has been examined on human embryonic stem cells (ESC) C910 and fibroblasts spontaneously differentiated from these cells. The fibroblasts retained diploid karyotype. It was found that ESC are more sensitive to DR than fibroblasts: DR dose killing 20% cells was 0.01 and 0.1 microg/ml, respectively. DR induced ESC apoptotic death and reduced both ESC and fibroblast proliferation. Unlike fibroblasts DR reversibly inhibited ESC proliferation. Thus, we have demonstrated that ESC and their differentiated derivates differ their sensitivity and response to the genotoxic agent.

A highly effective and simple microbial test system for screening inhibitors of sterol biosynthesis (ISB) is described. The system is based on cultivation of the bacterial strain Halobacterium salinarum (former Halobacterium halobium), that possesses mevalonate pathway of sterol biosynthesis and is much similar in the biosynthesis to cholesterol formation in humans. In the H. salinarum test system the ISB were found as compounds that inhibited the test culture growth. Mevalonate which is one of the crucial intermediates of sterol biosynthesis dismissed the inhibitory effect of many microbial metabolites thus being evident of their action at the early stages of the sterol biosynthesis, including the HMG-CoA reductase stage. The H. salinarum test system was developed as a micromethod and could be easily mechanized by miniaturization of the microbiological procedures, cultivation in sterile 96-well plates and using automatic micropipettes and dispensers. The H. salinarum test system was effective in testing crude extracts of the culture broths and advantageous at early stage of screening. The use of the H. salinarum test system was shown possible for screening antitumor antibiotics.

The microbial test-system based on cultivation of Halobacterium salinarum developed earlier for screening inhibitors of sterol biosynthesis and proposed for screening anticancer antibiotics, proved to be efficient in revealing anticancer compounds among derivatives of tris(1-alkylindol-3-yl)methylium, synthetic analogues of antibiotic turbomycin A. Most of the methane sulfonate and chloride salts of such compounds, investigated with the help of the H. salinarum test-system, showed no activity (MIC>32 mcM), while several derivatives, containing N-butyl or N-pentyl substituents were rather active against the bacterial strain. The MICs of them against H. salinarum were 8 mcM for total and 1 mcM for partial inhibition of the bacterial growth. The results of the study correlated with the results of other investigations that revealed anticancer activity of such compounds in tumor cell cultures. Therefore, the H. salinarum test-system demonstrated its availability for screening compounds with anticancer activity.

The data on the mechanism of action, efficacy and safety of the drug fingolimod are presented. Further study of the molecular, biochemical and cellular mechanisms of action of pharmacological regulators of phospholipid mediators' signal transduction is an important basis for developing new immunomodulators and antitumor agents.

Due to biochemical characteristics of toxic action of fluoroacetate on energetics and metabolism of cells, including tumor cells, it was interesting to testify sodium fluoroacetate (SFA) for its antitumor activity in vivo. We have estimated that SFA significantly inhibits growth of Ehrlich tumor carcinoma. In experiments with autochthonous induced by benzo[a]pyrene subcutaneous tumors, SFA was not active in monotherapy regime, though potentiated antitumor effect of cyclophosphamide, significantly increasing the relative number of mice with stabilized or decreased tumor volume as well as the duration of this effect. The data obtained render basis for additional studies of mechanism of antitumor effect of SFA.