RESUMEN

Background: Even though doxorubicin (DOX) chemotherapy promotes intense muscle wasting, this drug is still widely used in clinical practice due to its remarkable efficiency in managing cancer. On the other hand, intense muscle loss during the oncological treatment is considered a bad prognosis for the disease's evolution and the patient's quality of life. In this sense, strategies that can counteract the muscle wasting induced by DOX are essential. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of formoterol (FOR), a ß2-adrenoceptor agonist, in managing muscle wasting caused by DOX. Methods and results: To evaluate the effect of FOR on DOX-induced muscle wasting, mice were treated with DOX (2.5 mg/kg b.w., i.p. administration, twice a week), associated or not to FOR treatment (1 mg/kg b.w., s.c. administration, daily). Control mice received vehicle solution. A combination of FOR treatment with DOX protected against the loss of body weight (p<0.05), muscle mass (p<0.001), and grip force (p<0.001) promoted by chemotherapy. FOR also attenuated muscle wasting (p<0.01) in tumor-bearing mice on chemotherapy. The potential mechanism by which FOR prevented further DOX-induced muscle wasting occurred by regulating Akt/FoxO3a signaling and gene expression of atrogenes in skeletal muscle. Conclusions: Collectively, our results suggest that FOR can be used as a pharmacological strategy for managing muscle wasting induced by DOX. This study provides new insights into the potential therapeutic use of FOR to improve the overall wellbeing of cancer patients undergoing DOX chemotherapy.

RESUMEN

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cachexia induced by AH-130 cells on gastrointestinal motility in rats. We evaluated food intake, body weight variation, cachexia index, gastric emptying and in vitro gastric responsiveness of control or cachexia rats. In addition, we evaluated the effect of pretreatment with atenolol (20 mg/kg, p.o.), win 55,212-2 (2 mg/kg, s.c.) or subdiaphragmatic vagotomy on the effects found. Atenolol prevented (P < 0.05) the acceleration of gastric emptying (area under the curve, AUC, 20360.17 ± 1970.9 vs. 12579.2 ± 785.4 µg/min/ml), and increased gastric responsiveness to carbachol (CCh) stimulation in cachectic rats compared to control groups (CCh-6M: 63.2 ± 5.5% vs. 46.5 ± 5.7%). Vagotomy prevented (P < 0.05) increase in gastric emptying acceleration (AUC 20360.17 ± 1970.9 vs. 13414.0 ± 1112.9 µg/min/ml) and caused greater in vitro gastric responsiveness of cachectic compared to control rats (CCh-6M: 63.2 ± 5.5% vs. 31.2 ± 4.7%). Win 55,212-2 attenuated the cachexia index (38.5 ± 2.1% vs. 25.8 ± 2.7%), as well as significantly (P < 0.05) preventing increase in gastric emptying (AUC 20360.17 ± 1970.9 vs. 10965.4 ± 1392.3 µg/min/ml) and gastric responsiveness compared to control groups (CCh-6M: 63.2 ± 5.5% vs. 38.2 ± 3.9%). Cachexia accelerated gastric emptying and increased gastric responsiveness in vitro. These phenomena were prevented by subdiaphragmatic vagotomy and by atenolol and win 55,212-2 treatments, showing vagal involvement of ß1-adrenergic and cannabinoid CB1/CB2 receptors.

Asunto(s)

RESUMEN

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is characterized by the presence of at least three of the following alterations: enlargement of the waist diameter, higher levels of arterial pressure, low density lipoprotein cholesterol and glycemia, and reduction of high density lipoprotein cholesterol. The prevalence of MS reaches 23% in young adults, a percentage that increases with age. People with MS have a greater risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease (CVD). The physiopathologic alterations now found to exist in MS are diverse; among them is endothelial dysfunction, which triggers atherogenic lesions and hypercoagulability characterized by alterations of the coagulation factors and the regulatory proteins of fibrinolysis such as the plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1). The increase in oxidative stress and/or the reactive oxygen species in patients with MS is partially related to the oxidation state of the lipoproteins, especially of the low density lipoproteins. This fact favors atherogenesis. Moreover, the oxidative stress produces alterations in the production of adipokines, cytokines secreted by the adipose tissues. The abnormality in the transport of lipoprotein diminishes the catabolism of the very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and increases the catabolism of the high density lipoprotein (HDL), which creates insulin resistance. This process is associated with a lower concentration of adiponectin that in turn regulates the catabolism of VLDL and HDL; consequently increasing the flow of fatty acids from the adipose tissue to the liver and muscles. The proinflammatory cytokines, among them tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), are of great importance in MS regulating different processes and molecules such as PAI-1. PAI-1 is controlled by the group of transcription factors peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR), especially by PPAR gamma and alpha ligands. In summary, MS includes multiple alterations related to insulin resistance at several levels: hepatic, muscular, adipose and vascular tissue (endothelium). The exact mechanism that underlies the relationship between MS and CVD are not sufficiently known yet; pathogenic explanations are lacking for the mechanisms relating metabolic factors to insulin resistance and the association with the development of atherosclerosis and thrombosis. MS alterations and the main aspects related to homeostasis alterations are examined in this report.

Asunto(s)