GAMALELDIN I. HARISA^1,*, RIYAD F. ALZHRANI¹, ABDULRAHMAN A. ALLUHAIDAN¹, SULTAN M. ALAMRI¹, AHMED H. BAKHEIT², HANADI H. ASIRI², SABRY M. ATTIA³

Oncology Research, Vol.33, No.2, pp. 477-492, 2025, DOI:10.32604/or.2024.053337 - 16 January 2025

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a health problem due to multi-drug resistance (MDR). Codelivery of multiple oncotherapy in one cargo as chimeric cancer therapy (CCT) is suggested as a solution for MDR. This study aims to engineer chitosan-coated nanostructure lipid carriers (NLCs) loaded with gefitinib (GF) and simvastatin (SV) as CCT for HCC. Methods: Both GF and SV-loaded nanostructure lipids carriers (GFSVNLC) and chitosan-capped GF and SV-loaded nanostructure lipids carriers (CGFSVNLC) formulations were assembled by top-down techniques. Moreover, particle size (PS), zeta potential (ZP), and polydispersity index (PDI) were measured by Zetasizer. The biosafety of… More > Graphic Abstract

Kefeng Liu^{1,2, §}, Zhengyu Zhang^{1,3, §}, Ting Pei¹, Ziqing Li⁴, Jingjing Wang¹, Hong Wang¹, Suning Ping¹, Lie Deng¹, Linli Wang¹, Jintao Huang⁵, Puyi Sheng⁴, Shuying Liu¹, Chaohong Li¹

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.14, No.2, pp. 101-123, 2017, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2017.014.099

Abstract This study was designed to investigate the effects of mechanical (MS) and/or oxidized low-density lipoprotein on proliferation and apoptosis of RAW264.7 macrophages and the underlying mechanisms. The cultured quiescent RAW264.7 macrophages were subject to stimulation with MS and/or in the presence or absence of simvastatin and then harvested for Western blot, and immunoflourecence. Either MS or alone could cause increase in cell proliferation and apoptosis, while their combination led to an additive effect. In terms of mechanisms, MS and/or significantly increased phosphorylation levels of MAPKs (ERKs, JNKs and p38MAPK), promoted the reactive oxygen species (ROS) More >

Manal El-Hamamsy^*, Hesham Elwakil^†, Amr S. Saad^†, May A. Shawki^*

Oncology Research, Vol.24, No.6, pp. 521-528, 2016, DOI:10.3727/096504016X14719078133528

Abstract Statins have been reported to have a potential radiosensitizing effect that has not been evaluated in clinical trials. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of simvastatin in addition to whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) in patients with brain metastases (BM). A prospective randomized, controlled, open-label pilot study was conducted on 50 Egyptian patients with BM who were randomly assigned to receive 30-Gy WBRT (control group: 25 patients) or 30 Gy WBRT+ simvastatin 80 mg/day for the WBRT period (simvastatin group: 25 patients). The primary outcome was radiological response at 4… More >

Benoit Massonnet^1,6,*, Sylvain Normand^1,*, Reinhard Moschitz¹, Adriana Delwail¹, Laure Favot¹, Martine Garcia¹, Nicolas Bourmeyster², Laurence Cuisset³, Gilles Grateau⁴, Franck Morel¹, Christine Silvain^1,5, Jean-Claude Lecron^1,6

European Cytokine Network, Vol.20, No.3, pp. 112-120, 2009, DOI:10.1684/ecn.2009.0162

Abstract Objective. The effects of statins (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase-HMGR-inhibitors) on the inflammatory response remain unclear. HMGR is implicated in the mevalonate path-way, directly upstream of cholesterol biosynthesis. We studied the impairment by this pathway of cytokine pro-duction by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and THP-1 cells. The aim was to identify a specific cytokine “signature” of cells under simvastatin treatment in order to link pharmacological inhibition of the mevalonate pathway and inflammation. Methods. Normal human PBMCs and THP-1 cells were cultured with inhibitors of HMGR (simvastatin), geranylgeranyltransferase (GGTI-298), farnesyltransferase (FTI-277), and/or caspase-1 (Z-VAD(Ome)-FMK). Following culture,… More >

CHANG SEOK LEE¹, YONG JAE SHIN¹, CHEOLHEE WON¹, YUN-SONG LEE², CHUNG-GYU PARK³, SANG-KYU YE^1*, MYUNG-HEE CHUNG¹

BIOCELL, Vol.33, No.2, pp. 107-114, 2009, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2009.33.107

Abstract Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a key inflammatory response molecule, and associated with many immune functions of monocytes/macrophages. Particularly, interferon gamma (IFNγ)-induced COX-2 expression appears in inflammatory conditions such as viral infection and autoimmune diseases. Recently, statins have been reported to show variable effects on COX-2 expression, and on their cell and species type dependences. Based on the above description, we compared the effect of simvastatin on IFNγ-induced COX2 expression in human monocytes versus murine macrophages. In a result, we found that simvastatin suppresses IFNγ-induced COX-2 expression in human THP-1 monocytes, but rather, potentiates IFNγ-induced COX-2 expression More >