AIM: To investigate the effect of Mirtazapine on tumor growth, food intake, body weight, and nutritional status in gemcitabine-induced mild cachexia. METHODS: Fourteen mice with subcutaneous xenografts of a pancreatic...AIM: To investigate the effect of Mirtazapine on tumor growth, food intake, body weight, and nutritional status in gemcitabine-induced mild cachexia. METHODS: Fourteen mice with subcutaneous xenografts of a pancreatic cancer cell line (SW1990) were randomly divided into Mirtazapine and control groups. Either Mirtazapine (10 mg/kg) or saline solution was orally fed to the mice every day after tumor implantation. A model of mild cachexia was then established in both groups by intraperitoneal injection of Gemcitabine (50 mg/kg) 10 d, 13 d, and 16 d after tumor implanta- tion. Tumor size, food intake, body weight, and nutritional status were measured during the experiment. All mice were sacrificed at day 28. RESULTS: (1) After 7 d of gemcitabine administration, body-weight losses of 5%-7% which suggested mild cachexia were measured; (2) No significant difference in tumor size was detected between the Mirtazapine and control groups (P > 0.05); and (3) During the entire experimental period, food intake and body weight were slightly greater for the Mirtazapine group compared with controls (although these differences were not statistically significant). After 21 d, mice in the Mirtazapine group consumed significantly more food than control mice (3.95 ± 0.14 g vs 3.54 ± 0.10 g, P = 0.004). After 25 d, mice in the Mirtazapine group were also significantly heavier than control mice (17.24 ± 0.53 g vs 18.05 ± 0.68 g, P = 0.014). CONCLUSION: Mild cachexia model was successfully established by gemcitabine in pancreatic tumor-bearing mice. Mirtazapine can improve gemcitabine-induced mild cachexia in pancreatic tumor-bearing mice. It was believed to provide a potential therapeutic perspective for further studies on cachexia.展开更多
Aims Recent studies have revealed heritable phenotypic plasticity through vegetative generations.In this sense,changes in gene regulation induced by the environment,such as DNA methylation(i.e.epigenetic changes),can ...Aims Recent studies have revealed heritable phenotypic plasticity through vegetative generations.In this sense,changes in gene regulation induced by the environment,such as DNA methylation(i.e.epigenetic changes),can result in reversible plastic responses being transferred to the offspring generations.This trans-generational plasticity is expected to be especially relevant in clonal plants,since reduction of sexual reproduction can decrease the potential for adaptation through genetic variation.Many of the most aggressive plant invaders are clonal,and clonality has been suggested as key to explain plant invasiveness.Here we aim to determine whether trans-generational effects occur in the clonal invader Alternanthera philoxeroides,and whether such effects differ between populations from native and non-native ranges.Methods In a common garden experiment,parent plants of A.philoxeroides from populations collected in Brazil(native range)and Iberian Peninsula(non-native range)were grown in high and low soil nutrient conditions,and offspring plants were transplanted to control conditions with high nutrients.To test the potential role of DNA methylation on trans-generational plasticity,half of the parent plants were treated with the demethylating agent,5-azacytidine.Important Findings Trans-generational effects were observed both in populations from the native and the non-native ranges.Interestingly,trans-generational effects occurred on growth variables(number of ramets,stem mass,root mass and total mass)in the population from the native range,but on biomass partitioning in the population from the non-native range.Trans-generational effects of the population from the native range may be explained by a‘silver-spoon’effect,whereas those of the population from the non-native range could be explained by epigenetic transmission due to DNA methylation.Our study highlights the importance of trans-generational effects on the growth of a clonal plant,which could help to understand the mechanisms underlying expansion success of many clonal plants.展开更多
文摘AIM: To investigate the effect of Mirtazapine on tumor growth, food intake, body weight, and nutritional status in gemcitabine-induced mild cachexia. METHODS: Fourteen mice with subcutaneous xenografts of a pancreatic cancer cell line (SW1990) were randomly divided into Mirtazapine and control groups. Either Mirtazapine (10 mg/kg) or saline solution was orally fed to the mice every day after tumor implantation. A model of mild cachexia was then established in both groups by intraperitoneal injection of Gemcitabine (50 mg/kg) 10 d, 13 d, and 16 d after tumor implanta- tion. Tumor size, food intake, body weight, and nutritional status were measured during the experiment. All mice were sacrificed at day 28. RESULTS: (1) After 7 d of gemcitabine administration, body-weight losses of 5%-7% which suggested mild cachexia were measured; (2) No significant difference in tumor size was detected between the Mirtazapine and control groups (P > 0.05); and (3) During the entire experimental period, food intake and body weight were slightly greater for the Mirtazapine group compared with controls (although these differences were not statistically significant). After 21 d, mice in the Mirtazapine group consumed significantly more food than control mice (3.95 ± 0.14 g vs 3.54 ± 0.10 g, P = 0.004). After 25 d, mice in the Mirtazapine group were also significantly heavier than control mice (17.24 ± 0.53 g vs 18.05 ± 0.68 g, P = 0.014). CONCLUSION: Mild cachexia model was successfully established by gemcitabine in pancreatic tumor-bearing mice. Mirtazapine can improve gemcitabine-induced mild cachexia in pancreatic tumor-bearing mice. It was believed to provide a potential therapeutic perspective for further studies on cachexia.
基金supported by a mobility grant from the University of A Coruña(Inditex-UDC 2017 program)This is a contribution from the Alien Species Network(Ref.ED431D 2017/20-Xunta de Galicia,Autonomous Government of Galicia).D.M.S.M.thanks the Brazilian Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico/CNPq(307839/2014-1)for her Research Fellowship.
文摘Aims Recent studies have revealed heritable phenotypic plasticity through vegetative generations.In this sense,changes in gene regulation induced by the environment,such as DNA methylation(i.e.epigenetic changes),can result in reversible plastic responses being transferred to the offspring generations.This trans-generational plasticity is expected to be especially relevant in clonal plants,since reduction of sexual reproduction can decrease the potential for adaptation through genetic variation.Many of the most aggressive plant invaders are clonal,and clonality has been suggested as key to explain plant invasiveness.Here we aim to determine whether trans-generational effects occur in the clonal invader Alternanthera philoxeroides,and whether such effects differ between populations from native and non-native ranges.Methods In a common garden experiment,parent plants of A.philoxeroides from populations collected in Brazil(native range)and Iberian Peninsula(non-native range)were grown in high and low soil nutrient conditions,and offspring plants were transplanted to control conditions with high nutrients.To test the potential role of DNA methylation on trans-generational plasticity,half of the parent plants were treated with the demethylating agent,5-azacytidine.Important Findings Trans-generational effects were observed both in populations from the native and the non-native ranges.Interestingly,trans-generational effects occurred on growth variables(number of ramets,stem mass,root mass and total mass)in the population from the native range,but on biomass partitioning in the population from the non-native range.Trans-generational effects of the population from the native range may be explained by a‘silver-spoon’effect,whereas those of the population from the non-native range could be explained by epigenetic transmission due to DNA methylation.Our study highlights the importance of trans-generational effects on the growth of a clonal plant,which could help to understand the mechanisms underlying expansion success of many clonal plants.