| 1. |
- Molinaro, Angela, et al.
(author)
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Insulin-Driven PI3K-AKT Signaling in the Hepatocyte Is Mediated by Redundant PI3Kα and PI3Kβ Activities and Is Promoted by RAS.
- 2019
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In: Cell Metabolism. - : Elsevier BV. - 1550-4131 .- 1932-7420. ; 29:6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) activity is aberrant in tumors, and PI3K inhibitors are investigated as cancer therapeutics. PI3K signaling mediates insulin action in metabolism, but the role of PI3K isoforms in insulin signaling remains unresolved. Defining the role of PI3K isoforms in insulin signaling is necessary for a mechanistic understanding of insulin action and to develop PI3K inhibitors with optimal therapeutic index. We show that insulin-driven PI3K-AKT signaling depends on redundant PI3Kα and PI3Kβ activities, whereas PI3Kδ and PI3Kγ are largely dispensable. We have also found that RAS activity promotes AKT phosphorylation in insulin-stimulated hepatocytes and that promotion of insulin-driven AKT phosphorylation by RAS depends on PI3Kα. These findings reveal the detailed mechanism by which insulin activates AKT, providing an improved mechanistic understanding of insulin signaling. This improved model for insulin signaling predicts that isoform-selective PI3K inhibitors discriminating between PI3Kα and PI3Kβ should bedosed below their hyperglycemic threshold to achieve isoform selectivity.
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| 2. |
- Abbas, Abdul-Karim, 1959, et al.
(author)
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Long-term potentiation and insult conditioning in hippocampal slices from young rats: a role for protein synthesis under chemical stress?
- 2010
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In: The 10th Biennial Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Society for Neurochemistry (APSN), October 17-20, 2010, Phuket, Thailand.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- We have previously demonstrated that in young rats (12-20-day-old) a sustained long-term potentiation (LTP) can still be induced under conditions of protein synthesis inhibition. It was therefore suggested that sufficient and necessary proteins were already available at the induction time to accomplish LTP maintenance for several hours. Against this background, we have questioned whether hippocampal slices subjected to certain insult conditions might be more sensitive to protein synthesis inhibitors. High K+ concentration has previously been reported to cause an amnesic effect in vivo as well as increasing protein turnover in vitro. We have here employed a K+ insult model under conditions when protein synthesis was inhibited. Recordings were obtained from hippocampal slices for up to 9 h, with or without a cocktail of protein synthesis inhibitors, containing cycloheximide (60 µM) and anisomycin (25 µM). High potassium (50 mM) was transiently applied (5-15 min) shortly after inducing LTP in one of two separate pathways stimulated alternatively. Additionally, an NMDA-receptor antagonist AP5 was supplied after LTP induction to minimize effects related to depolarization-induced glutamate release. Following elimination of all responses for about 30 min, both test and control responses partly recovered. The degree of remaining LTP, defined as test/control ratio, was reduced in both groups of slices (NMDA-independent depotentiation) but was significantly smaller in the drug-treated ones. We are also running an insult model based on oxidative stress, applying hydrogen peroxide (4-5 mM) before or after LTP induction; however, the results are still insufficient for a final conclusion. The potency of cycloheximide, anisomycin or cocktail of the drugs was verified by measurement of incorporation of [3H]-leucine into trichloracetic acid (TCA) precipitable macromolecules. Cycloheximide, anisomycin or cocktail, at concentrations used here caused 95%, 97% and 95% blocking effect, respectively. Our data confirm the idea that sufficient and necessary constitutive proteins are available in the young hippocampus to maintain LTP under conditions of protein synthesis inhibition. They also reveal that LTP in slices subjected to certain insult conditions early after the induction is sensitive to protein synthesis inhibition, probably due to increase in constitutive proteins turnover.
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| 3. |
- Nijsingh, Niels, 1977, et al.
(author)
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Managing pollution from antibiotics manufacturing: charting actors, incentives and disincentives
- 2019
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In: Environmental health. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1476-069X. ; 18
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Emissions of high concentrations of antibiotics from manufacturing sites select for resistant bacteria and may contribute to the emergence of new forms of resistance in pathogens. Many scientists, industry, policy makers and other stakeholders recognize such pollution as an unnecessary and unacceptable risk to global public health. An attempt to assess and reduce such discharges, however, quickly meets with complex realities that need to be understood to identify effective ways to move forward. This paper charts relevant key actor-types, their main stakes and interests, incentives that can motivate them to act to improve the situation, as well as disincentives that may undermine such motivation. Methods The actor types and their respective interests have been identified using research literature, publicly available documents, websites, and the knowledge of the authors. Results Thirty-three different actor-types were identified, representing e.g. commercial actors, public agencies, states and international institutions. These are in complex ways connected by interests that sometimes may conflict and sometimes pull in the same direction. Some actor types can act to create incentives and disincentives for others in this area. Conclusions The analysis demonstrates and clarifies the challenges in addressing industrial emissions of antibiotics, notably the complexity of the relations between different types of actors, their international dependency and the need for transparency. The analysis however also suggests possible ways of initiating incentive-chains to eventually improve the prospects of motivating industry to reduce emissions. High-resource consumer states, especially in multinational cooperation, hold a key position to initiate such chains.
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| 4. |
- Eriksson, Leif A., 1964-, et al.
(author)
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Tetrazole derivatives as cytochrome p450 inhibitors
- 2019
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Patent (pop. science, debate, etc.)abstract
- According to the invention there is provided a compound of formula I, wherein R1 and R2 have meanings given in the description, which compounds are useful in the treatment of skin disorders and other diseases.
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| 5. |
- Turanli, Beste, et al.
(author)
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Drug Repositioning for Effective Prostate Cancer Treatment
- 2018
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In: Frontiers in Physiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-042X. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Drug repositioning has gained attention from both academia and pharmaceutical companies as an auxiliary process to conventional drug discovery. Chemotherapeutic agents have notorious adverse effects that drastically reduce the life quality of cancer patients so drug repositioning is a promising strategy to identify non-cancer drugs which have anti-cancer activity as well as tolerable adverse effects for human health. There are various strategies for discovery and validation of repurposed drugs. In this review, 25 repurposed drug candidates are presented as result of different strategies, 15 of which are already under clinical investigation for treatment of prostate cancer (PCa). To date, zoledronic acid is the only repurposed, clinically used, and approved non-cancer drug for PCa. Anti-cancer activities of existing drugs presented in this review cover diverse and also known mechanisms such as inhibition of mTOR and VEGFR2 signaling, inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling, COX and selective COX-2 inhibition, NF-kappa B inhibition, Wnt/beta - Catenin pathway inhibition, DNMT1 inhibition, and GSK-3 beta inhibition. In addition to monotherapy option, combination therapy with current anti-cancer drugs may also increase drug efficacy and reduce adverse effects. Thus, drug repositioning may become a key approach for drug discovery in terms of time- and cost-efficiency comparing to conventional drug discovery and development process.
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| 6. |
- Ekman, Elisabet, et al.
(author)
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Awareness among nurses about reporting of adverse drug reactions in Sweden
- 2012
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In: Drug, Healthcare and Patient Safety. - 1179-1365. ; 4, s. 61-66
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate awareness among nurses regarding their new role as reporters of adverse drug reactions in Sweden and factors that may influence reporting by nurses.Methods: In 2007, all nurses were included in the adverse drug reaction reporting scheme in Sweden. A questionnaire was sent to 753 randomly selected nurses in September 2010.Results: Of the 453 (60%) responding nurses, 265 (58%) were aware that nurses were included in the reporting of adverse drug reactions. Sixty-one nurses (14%) stated that they had reported an adverse drug reaction. Fifteen percent (n = 70) of the respondents had received training about reporting of adverse drug reactions. Almost one third of these (n = 21, 30%) had reported an adverse drug reaction on at least one occasion. Among nurses without training, a smaller proportion (n = 40, 11%, P < 0.05) had reported an adverse drug reaction on at least one occasion. The two factors considered most important by nurses for reporting were the severity of the adverse drug reaction and if the reaction was to a newly approved drug. A majority of the nurses (n = 397, 88%) were interested in a training course in pharmacology as part of their ongoing professional development. One third (32%) of all nurses stated that one reason for not reporting a suspected adverse drug reaction was that the physician responsible did not regard the reaction necessary to report.Conclusion: We found that more than half of the study population of nurses in Sweden were aware of their new role as reporters of adverse drug reactions, but few of the responding nurses had reported an adverse drug reaction. Given that training seems to be associated with high reporting frequency, we suggest more training in pharmacovigilance for nurses.
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| 7. |
- Lai, Kuei-Hung
(author)
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Studies on anti-leukemic terpenoids from medicinal mushrooms and marine sponges with ChemGPS-NP-based targets investigation of lead compounds
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- This thesis investigates the anti-leukemic activity of terpenoids isolated from medicinal mushrooms and marine sponges, as well as their possible targets and mechanisms of action.In the first section, we focused on studying the triterpenoidal components of three triterpenoid-enriched medicinal mushrooms Antrodia cinnamomea, Ganoderma lucidum, and Poria cocos, which have been used in folk medicine for centuries and also developed into several contemporary marketed products. We isolated the major and characteristic triterpenoids from these mushrooms, together with six new lanostanoids (II-1–II-6). The anti-leukemic activity of the isolates was evaluated in vitro using MTT proliferative assay and seven of them exhibited potential anti-leukemic effect. The active lead compounds were further subjected to computational analyses utilizing the ChemGPS-NP tool. We established a database for the anti-leukemic relevant chemical space of triterpenoids isolated from these three medicinal mushrooms, which could be used as a reference database for further research on anti-leukemic triterpenoids. Our results indicated that the anti-leukemic effect of the active lead compounds was mediated not only through topoisomerases inhibition but also through inhibiting DNA polymerases.The second and third sections focused on isolation of anti-leukemic sesterterpenoids from sponges. The investigation of Carteriospongia sp. led to the isolation of two new scalarane-type sesterterpenoids (III-1 and III-2) and one known tetraprenyltoluquinol-related metabolite (III-3). All isolates exhibit an apoptotic mechanism of action against Molt 4 cells, found to be mediated through the disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and inhibition of topoisomerase IIα expression. Detailed investigation of the apoptotic mechanism of action using molecular docking analysis revealed that compound III-1 might target Hsp90 protein. The apoptotic-inducing effect of III-3 was supported by in vivo experiment by suppressing the volume of xenograft tumor growth (47.58%) compared with the control.In the final section of this thesis we studied manoalide and its derivatives, sesterterpenoids isolated from the sponge Luffariella sp.. Manoalide has been studied as a potential anti-inflammatory agent for the last thirty years with more than 200 publications and 40 patents. However, the configurations at positions 24 and 25 were never revealed. In the current study, ten manoalide-type sesterterpenoids (IV-1–IV-10) were isolated from Luffariella sp. and their stereoisomers at positions 24 and 25 were identified and separated for the first time. The configuration at positions 24 and 25 showed to have a significant effect on the anti-leukemic activity of manoalide derivatives, with the 24R,25S-isomer exhibiting the most potent anti-leukemic activity. The apoptotic mechanism of action of compound IV-7 against Molt 4 cells was investigated, and the compound was found to trigger MMP disruption and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Compound IV-7 also inhibited activity against both human topoisomerases, I and II. The in vivo experiment further supported the anti-leukemic effect of IV-7 with a 66.11% tumor volume suppression compared to the control.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Aziz, Abdul Maruf Asif
(author)
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Neuropeptide Receptors as Treatment Targets in Alcohol Use Disorders
- 2017
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a complex disorder with multiple pathophysiological processes contributing to the initiation, progression and development of the disease state. AUD is a chronic relapsing disease with escalation of alcohol-intake over time in repeated cycles of tolerance, abstinence and relapse and hence, it is very difficult to treat. There are only a few currently available treatments with narrow efficacy and variable patient response. Thus it is important to find new, more effective medications to increase the number of patients who can benefit from pharmacological treatment of AUD.The research presented in this thesis work focuses on the critical involvement of central neuropeptides in alcohol-related behaviors. The overall aim was to evaluate the nociceptin/orphanin FQ (NOP) receptor, the neuropeptide Y (NPY) Y2 receptor and the melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) receptor 1 as novel and potential pharmacological treatment targets for AUD by testing the NOP receptor agonist SR-8993, the NPY-Y2 receptor antagonist CYM-9840 and the MCH1 receptor antagonist GW803430 in established animal models.In the first study (Paper I), the novel and selective NOP agonist SR-8993 was assessed in rat models of motivation to obtain alcohol and relapse to alcohol seeking behavior using the operant self-administration (SA) paradigm. Firstly, treatment with SR-8993 (1 mg/kg) showed a mildly anxiolytic effect and reversed acute alcohol withdrawal-induced “hangover” anxiety in the elevated plus-maze (EPM). Next, it potently attenuated alcohol SA and motivation to obtain alcohol in the progressive ratio responding (PRR) and reduced both alcohol cue-induced and yohimbine stress-induced reinstatement of alcohol seeking, without affecting the pharmacology and metabolism of alcohol nor other control behaviors. To extend these findings, SR-8993 was evaluated in escalated alcohol-intake in rats. Treatment with SR-8993 significantly suppressed alcohol-intake and preference in rats that were trained to consume high amounts of alcohol in the two-bottle free choice intermittent access (IA) paradigm. SR-8993 also blocked operant SA of alcohol in rats that showed robust escalation in operant alcohol SA following chronic IA exposure to alcohol.In the second study (Paper II), SR-8993 was further evaluated in a model for escalated alcohol-intake induced by long-term IA exposure to alcohol. The effect of previous experience on operant alcohol SA on two-bottle free choice preference drinking was evaluated and sensitivity to treatment with SR-8993 was tested in rats selected for escalated and non-escalated alcohol seeking behavior. We found that rats exposed to the combined SA-IA paradigm showed greater sensitivity to SR-8993 treatment. In addition, acute escalation of alcohol SA after a three-week period of abstinence was completely abolished by pretreatment with SR-8993.In the third study (Paper III), the effects of the novel, small molecule NPY-Y2 antagonist CYM-9840 were tested in operant alcohol SA, PRR which is a model for motivation to work for alcohol and reinstatement of alcohol-seeking behavior. Treatment with CYM-9840 (10 mg/kg) potently attenuated alcohol SA, progressive ratio responding and stress-induced reinstatement using yohimbine as the stressor, while alcohol cue-induced reinstatement was unaffected. Moreover, a range of control behaviors including taste sensitivity, locomotor and pharmacological sensitivity to the sedative effects of alcohol remained unaffected by CYM-9840 pretreatment, indicating that its effects are specific to the rewarding and motivational aspects of alcohol-intake and related behaviors. CYM-9840 also reversed acute alcohol withdrawal-induced “hangover” anxiety measured in the EPM and reduced alcohol-intake in the 4 hour limited access two-bottle free choice preference drinking model.Finally, in the fourth study (Paper IV), the selective MCH1-R antagonist GW803430 was tested in rat models of escalated alcohol-intake. Pretreatment with GW803430 (effective at 10 & 30 mg/kg) dose-dependently reduced alcohol and food-intake in rats that consumed high amounts of alcohol during IA, while it only decreased food-intake in rats that consumed low amounts of alcohol during IA, likely due to a floor effect. Upon protracted abstinence following IA, GW803430 significantly reduced operant alcohol SA and this was associated with adaptations in MCH and MCH1-R gene-expression. In contrast, GW803430 did not affect escalated alcohol SA induced by chronic alcohol vapor exposure and this was accompanied by no change in MCH or MCH1-R gene expression. Overall, these results suggest that the MCH1-R antagonist affects alcohol-intake through regulation of both motivation for caloric-intake and the rewarding properties of alcohol.In conclusion, our results suggest critical roles for these central neuropeptides in the regulation of anxiety and of alcohol reward, making them potential pharmacological targets in the treatment of AUD.
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