SnIP is the first atomic-scale double helical semiconductor featuring a 1.86 eV bandgap, high structural and mechanical flexibility, and reasonable thermal stability up to 600 K. It is accessible on a gram scale and consists of a racemic mixture of right- and left-handed double helices composed by [SnI] and [P] helices. SnIP nanorods <20 nm in diameter can be accessed mechanically and chemically within minutes.

Abstract-Cardiac hypertrophy, a major determinant of morbidity and mortality in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), is considered a secondary phenotype and potentially preventable. To test this hypothesis, we screened 30 5-to 6-month-old ␤-myosin heavy chain Q403 transgenic rabbits by echocardiography and selected 26 without cardiac hypertrophy. We randomized the transgenic rabbits to treatment with atorvastatin (2.5 mg/Kg/d), known to block hypertrophic signaling or a placebo. We included 15 nontransgenic rabbits as controls. Cardiac phenotype was analyzed serially before, 6 and 12 months after randomization. Serum total cholesterol levels were reduced by 49% with atorvastatin administration. Left-ventricular mass, wall thickness; myocyte size, myocardial levels of molecular markers of hypertrophy, lipid peroxides, and oxidized mitochondrial DNA; and the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL)-positive myocytes were increased significantly in the placebo but not in the atorvastatin group. Myocardium catalase mRNA levels were decreased by 5-fold in the placebo but were normal in the atorvastatin group. Catalase protein level and activity were not significantly changed. Levels of membrane-bound Ras and phospho-p44/42 mitogen-activated-protein kinase (MAPK) were increased in the placebo group (Ϸ2.5 fold) but were reduced in the atorvastatin group. Levels of GTP-and membrane-bound RhoA and Rac1, phospho-p38, and phospho-c-Jun NH2-terminal kinases were unchanged. Thus, atorvastatin prevented development of cardiac hypertrophy; determined at organ, cellular, and molecular levels, partly through reducing active Ras and p44/42 MAPK. The results indicate potential beneficial effects of atorvastatin in prevention of cardiac hypertrophy, a major determinant of morbidity in all forms of cardiovascular diseases, and beckon clinical studies in humans with HCM.

Treatment with NAC reduced myocardial oxidative stress, stress-responsive signaling kinases, and fibrosis in a mouse model of HCM. The potential beneficial effects of NAC in reversal of cardiac phenotype in human HCM, the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in the young, merits investigation.

RationaleKey biologic effects of the alpha-particle emitter Actinium-225 in comparison to the beta-particle emitter Lutetium-177 labeled somatostatin-analogue DOTATOC in vitro and in vivo were studied to evaluate the significance of γH2AX-foci formation.MethodsTo determine the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) between the two isotopes (as - biological consequence of different ionisation-densities along a particle-track), somatostatin expressing AR42J cells were incubated with Ac-225-DOTATOC and Lu-177-DOTATOC up to 48 h and viability was analyzed using the MTT assay. DNA double strand breaks (DSB) were quantified by immunofluorescence staining of γH2AX-foci. Cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry. In vivo uptake of both radiolabeled somatostatin-analogues into subcutaneously growing AR42J tumors and the number of cells displaying γH2AX-foci were measured. Therapeutic efficacy was assayed by monitoring tumor growth after treatment with activities estimated from in vitro cytotoxicity.ResultsAc-225-DOTATOC resulted in ED50 values of 14 kBq/ml after 48 h, whereas Lu-177-DOTATOC displayed ED50 values of 10 MBq/ml. The number of DSB grew with increasing concentration of Ac-225-DOTATOC and similarly with Lu-177-DOTATOC when applying a factor of 700-fold higher activity compared to Ac-225. Already 24 h after incubation with 2.5–10 kBq/ml, Ac-225-DOTATOC cell-cycle studies showed up to a 60% increase in the percentage of tumor cells in G2/M phase. After 72 h an apoptotic subG1 peak was also detectable. Tumor uptake for both radio peptides at 48 h was identical (7.5%ID/g), though the overall number of cells with γH2AX-foci was higher in tumors treated with 48 kBq Ac-225-DOTATOC compared to tumors treated with 30 MBq Lu-177-DOTATOC (35% vs. 21%). Tumors with a volume of 0.34 ml reached delayed exponential tumor growth after 25 days (44 kBq Ac-225-DOTATOC) and after 21 days (34 MBq Lu-177-DOTATOC).ConclusionγH2AX-foci formation, triggered by beta- and alpha-irradiation, is an early key parameter in predicting response to internal radiotherapy.

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