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Rich66 · 05-03-2009, 11:05 AM

There is an article on Artemisin that mentions:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/...cerherb14.html

"The connection here is iron," explained Sasaki.
Artemisinin is good at killing malaria parasites because it reacts and becomes highly toxic in the presence of iron, he said. Malaria parasites cause illness in humans by consuming red blood cells, which contain iron in the hemoglobin protein that carries oxygen in the blood. Similarly, cancer cells use lots of iron as they proliferate in tumors.
.........

In the report published this month, the UW trio describe how they have created their own kind of artemisinin compound to enhance the herb's cancer-killing abilities. Basically, the scientists manipulated the herb's protein surface and boosted it with iron. When the cancer cells consume the compound, it releases toxic chemicals that kill the cells.
"The compound is like a little bomb-carrying monkey riding on the back of a Trojan horse," Lai said in a statement accompanying the report. Lai, who is perhaps best known publicly for his controversial studies linking cancer and cell phone use, is not afraid to mix humor with science, let alone metaphors.
Most chemotherapy drugs today have serious side effects, Sasaki said, because they generally kill one healthy cell for every 10 cancer cells. The UW's artemisinin compound used in cell cultures and in rats with breast cancer showed much better targeting and less collateral damage -- killing about 12,000 cancer cells for every healthy cell killed. Even regular artemisinin, without the UW alteration, only kills one good cell for every 100 cancer cells, he said.
"Normal cells don't use iron very often," Sasaki said. "When we deliver this artemisinin-iron package to cancer cells, we have much higher selectivity and much less toxic side effects."

And..
Anemia may be helpful
Anemia Of Chronic Disease: An Adaptive Response?

ScienceDaily (Aug. 12, 2008) — The anemia of chronic disease may be a beneficial, adaptive response to the underlying disease, rather than a negative effect of the illness, postulates an analysis article in CMAJ.
The authors argue that anemia may be beneficial to patients with inflammatory disease, and advocate restraint in treating mild to moderate forms of anemia.
"The general assumption is that anemia is a disorder and that patients would be better off without it," state the authors.
However, they suggest that anemia of chronic disease has the characteristics of an adaptive physiologic response, and their review of the literature shows that mortality appears to increase when treatment, given to raise hemoglobin levels, overrides mild to moderate anemia of chronic disease.
They call for better characterization of the cause of individual patients' anemia in future trials of anemia treatment, and careful monitoring of adverse outcomes, including mortality, if patients with anemia of chronic disease are included in such trials.
Journal reference:

Ryan Zarychanski, MD and Donald S. Houston, MD PhD. Anemia of chronic disease: A harmful disorder or an adaptive, beneficial response? Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2008; 179 (4): 333 DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.071131

Here is a previous Her2 forum thread on the issue:
http://her2support.org/vbulletin/sho...anemia+helpful

Anemia different in Her2 patients?

Cancer Res. 2009 Dec 15;69(24):9163-8.
Upregulation of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin by ErbB2 through nuclear factor-kappaB activation.

Li SH, Hawthorne VS, Neal CL, Sanghera S, Xu J, Yang J, Guo H, Steeg PS, Yu D.
Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA.

PURCHASE TEXT

Abstract

ErbB2 (HER2, neu) is a receptor tyrosine kinase overexpressed in about 25% of invasive breast carcinomas. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a secreted glycoprotein expressed in a variety of cancers, including breast carcinomas. NGAL can inhibit erythroid cell production, leading to anemia. Anemia usually occurs in cancer patients and negatively affects quality of life. However, current treatment for cancer-related anemia has potential complications. ErbB2, NGAL, and anemia have all been associated with increased metastasis and poor prognosis in breast cancer patients, although the relationship between ErbB2 and NGAL expression is not clear. Here, using breast cancer cell lines in vitro and transgenic mice carrying the activated c-neu oncogene driven by a mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV-neu) in vivo, we show that ErbB2 overexpression leads to NGAL upregulation, which is dependent on nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activity. MMTV-neu transgenic mice developed anemia after tumor onset, and anemia progression could be partially arrested by a NF-kappaB inhibitor and ErbB2-targeted therapy. Taken together, upregulation of NGAL by ErbB2 through NF-kappaB activation is involved in cancer-related anemia, and the ErbB2, NF-kappaB, and NGAL pathways may serve as potential therapeutic targets for cancer-related anemia.

PMID: 19951994 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]PMCID: PMC2794902 [Available on 2010/12/15]

05-03-2009, 11:05 AM	#15
Rich66 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: South East Wisconsin Posts: 3,431	There is an article on Artemisin that mentions: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/...cerherb14.html "The connection here is iron," explained Sasaki. Artemisinin is good at killing malaria parasites because it reacts and becomes highly toxic in the presence of iron, he said. Malaria parasites cause illness in humans by consuming red blood cells, which contain iron in the hemoglobin protein that carries oxygen in the blood. Similarly, cancer cells use lots of iron as they proliferate in tumors. ......... In the report published this month, the UW trio describe how they have created their own kind of artemisinin compound to enhance the herb's cancer-killing abilities. Basically, the scientists manipulated the herb's protein surface and boosted it with iron. When the cancer cells consume the compound, it releases toxic chemicals that kill the cells. "The compound is like a little bomb-carrying monkey riding on the back of a Trojan horse," Lai said in a statement accompanying the report. Lai, who is perhaps best known publicly for his controversial studies linking cancer and cell phone use, is not afraid to mix humor with science, let alone metaphors. Most chemotherapy drugs today have serious side effects, Sasaki said, because they generally kill one healthy cell for every 10 cancer cells. The UW's artemisinin compound used in cell cultures and in rats with breast cancer showed much better targeting and less collateral damage -- killing about 12,000 cancer cells for every healthy cell killed. Even regular artemisinin, without the UW alteration, only kills one good cell for every 100 cancer cells, he said. "Normal cells don't use iron very often," Sasaki said. "When we deliver this artemisinin-iron package to cancer cells, we have much higher selectivity and much less toxic side effects." And.. Anemia may be helpful Anemia Of Chronic Disease: An Adaptive Response? ScienceDaily (Aug. 12, 2008) — The anemia of chronic disease may be a beneficial, adaptive response to the underlying disease, rather than a negative effect of the illness, postulates an analysis article in CMAJ. The authors argue that anemia may be beneficial to patients with inflammatory disease, and advocate restraint in treating mild to moderate forms of anemia. "The general assumption is that anemia is a disorder and that patients would be better off without it," state the authors. However, they suggest that anemia of chronic disease has the characteristics of an adaptive physiologic response, and their review of the literature shows that mortality appears to increase when treatment, given to raise hemoglobin levels, overrides mild to moderate anemia of chronic disease. They call for better characterization of the cause of individual patients' anemia in future trials of anemia treatment, and careful monitoring of adverse outcomes, including mortality, if patients with anemia of chronic disease are included in such trials. Journal reference: Ryan Zarychanski, MD and Donald S. Houston, MD PhD. Anemia of chronic disease: A harmful disorder or an adaptive, beneficial response? Canadian Medical Association Journal, 2008; 179 (4): 333 DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.071131 Here is a previous Her2 forum thread on the issue: http://her2support.org/vbulletin/sho...anemia+helpful Anemia different in Her2 patients? Cancer Res. 2009 Dec 15;69(24):9163-8. Upregulation of neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin by ErbB2 through nuclear factor-kappaB activation. Li SH, Hawthorne VS, Neal CL, Sanghera S, Xu J, Yang J, Guo H, Steeg PS, Yu D. Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA. PURCHASE TEXT Abstract ErbB2 (HER2, neu) is a receptor tyrosine kinase overexpressed in about 25% of invasive breast carcinomas. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) is a secreted glycoprotein expressed in a variety of cancers, including breast carcinomas. NGAL can inhibit erythroid cell production, leading to anemia. Anemia usually occurs in cancer patients and negatively affects quality of life. However, current treatment for cancer-related anemia has potential complications. ErbB2, NGAL, and anemia have all been associated with increased metastasis and poor prognosis in breast cancer patients, although the relationship between ErbB2 and NGAL expression is not clear. Here, using breast cancer cell lines in vitro and transgenic mice carrying the activated c-neu oncogene driven by a mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV-neu) in vivo, we show that ErbB2 overexpression leads to NGAL upregulation, which is dependent on nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activity. MMTV-neu transgenic mice developed anemia after tumor onset, and anemia progression could be partially arrested by a NF-kappaB inhibitor and ErbB2-targeted therapy. Taken together, upregulation of NGAL by ErbB2 through NF-kappaB activation is involved in cancer-related anemia, and the ErbB2, NF-kappaB, and NGAL pathways may serve as potential therapeutic targets for cancer-related anemia. PMID: 19951994 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]PMCID: PMC2794902 [Available on 2010/12/15]