RutheniumRuthenium is a chemical element with the symbol Ru and atomic number 44. It is a rare transition metal belonging to the platinum group of the periodic table. Like the other metals of the platinum group, ruthenium is inert to most other chemicals. Russian-born scientist of Baltic-German ancestry Karl Ernst Claus discovered the element in 1844 at Kazan State University and named ruthenium in honor of Russia. Ruthenium is usually found as a minor component of platinum ores; the annual production has risen from about 19 tonnes in 2009 to some 35.
Selective glucocorticoid receptor modulatorSelective glucocorticoid receptor modulators (SEGRMs) and selective glucocorticoid receptor agonists (SEGRAs) formerly known as dissociated glucocorticoid receptor agonists (DIGRAs) are a class of experimental drugs designed to share many of the desirable anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive, or anticancer properties of classical glucocorticoid drugs but with fewer side effects such as skin atrophy. Although preclinical evidence on SEGRAMs’ anti-inflammatory effects are culminating, currently, the efficacy of these SEGRAMs on cancer are largely unknown.
Selective progesterone receptor modulatorA selective progesterone receptor modulator (SPRM) is an agent that acts on the progesterone receptor (PR), the biological target of progestogens like progesterone. A characteristic that distinguishes such substances from full receptor agonists (e.g., progesterone, progestins) and full antagonists (e.g., aglepristone) is that their action differs in different tissues, i.e. agonist in some tissues while antagonist in others.
Selective estrogen receptor modulatorSelective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), also known as estrogen receptor agonist/antagonists (ERAAs), are a class of drugs that act on the estrogen receptor (ER). A characteristic that distinguishes these substances from pure ER agonists and antagonists (that is, full agonists and silent antagonists) is that their action is different in various tissues, thereby granting the possibility to selectively inhibit or stimulate estrogen-like action in various tissues.
Functional selectivityFunctional selectivity (or “agonist trafficking”, “biased agonism”, “biased signaling”, "ligand bias" and “differential engagement”) is the ligand-dependent selectivity for certain signal transduction pathways relative to a reference ligand (often the endogenous hormone or peptide) at the same receptor. Functional selectivity can be present when a receptor has several possible signal transduction pathways. To which degree each pathway is activated thus depends on which ligand binds to the receptor.
NeoplasmA neoplasm (ˈniː.oʊˌplæzəm,_ˈniː.ə-) is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists in growing abnormally, even if the original trigger is removed. This abnormal growth usually forms a mass, when it may be called a tumour or tumor. ICD-10 classifies neoplasms into four main groups: benign neoplasms, in situ neoplasms, malignant neoplasms, and neoplasms of uncertain or unknown behavior.
ChemotherapyChemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherapy may be given with a curative intent (which almost always involves combinations of drugs) or it may aim to prolong life or to reduce symptoms (palliative chemotherapy). Chemotherapy is one of the major categories of the medical discipline specifically devoted to pharmacotherapy for cancer, which is called medical oncology.
Cell cultureCell culture or tissue culture is the process by which cells are grown under controlled conditions, generally outside of their natural environment. The term "tissue culture" was coined by American pathologist Montrose Thomas Burrows. This technique is also called micropropagation. After the cells of interest have been isolated from living tissue, they can subsequently be maintained under carefully controlled conditions. They need to be kept at body temperature (37 °C) in an incubator.
Stem-cell lineA stem cell line is a group of stem cells that is cultured in vitro and can be propagated indefinitely. Stem cell lines are derived from either animal or human tissues and come from one of three sources: embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells, or induced stem cells. They are commonly used in research and regenerative medicine. Stem cell By definition, stem cells possess two properties: (1) they can self-renew, which means that they can divide indefinitely while remaining in an undifferentiated state; and (2) they are pluripotent or multipotent, which means that they can differentiate to form specialized cell types.
MalignancyMalignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse; the term is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A malignant tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous benign tumor in that a malignancy is not self-limited in its growth, is capable of invading into adjacent tissues, and may be capable of spreading to distant tissues. A benign tumor has none of those properties, but may be harmful to health. The term benign in more general medical use characterises a condition or growth that is not cancerous, i.
Immortalised cell lineAn immortalised cell line is a population of cells from a multicellular organism which would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation, have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The cells can therefore be grown for prolonged periods in vitro. The mutations required for immortality can occur naturally or be intentionally induced for experimental purposes. Immortal cell lines are a very important tool for research into the biochemistry and cell biology of multicellular organisms.
Stem cellIn multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell in a cell lineage. They are found in both embryonic and adult organisms, but they have slightly different properties in each. They are usually distinguished from progenitor cells, which cannot divide indefinitely, and precursor or blast cells, which are usually committed to differentiating into one cell type.
Intercalation (biochemistry)In biochemistry, intercalation is the insertion of molecules between the planar bases of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). This process is used as a method for analyzing DNA and it is also the basis of certain kinds of poisoning. There are several ways molecules (in this case, also known as ligands) can interact with DNA. Ligands may interact with DNA by covalently binding, electrostatically binding, or intercalating. Intercalation occurs when ligands of an appropriate size and chemical nature fit themselves in between base pairs of DNA.
Platinum-based antineoplasticPlatinum-based antineoplastic drugs (informally called platins) are chemotherapeutic agents used to treat cancer. Their active moieties are coordination complexes of platinum. These drugs are used to treat almost half of people receiving chemotherapy for cancer. In this form of chemotherapy, commonly used drugs include cisplatin, oxaliplatin, and carboplatin, but several have been proposed or are under development. Addition of platinum-based chemotherapy drugs to chemoradiation in women with early cervical cancer seems to improve survival and reduce risk of recurrence.
Tumour heterogeneityTumour heterogeneity describes the observation that different tumour cells can show distinct morphological and phenotypic profiles, including cellular morphology, gene expression, metabolism, motility, proliferation, and metastatic potential. This phenomenon occurs both between tumours (inter-tumour heterogeneity) and within tumours (intra-tumour heterogeneity). A minimal level of intra-tumour heterogeneity is a simple consequence of the imperfection of DNA replication: whenever a cell (normal or cancerous) divides, a few mutations are acquired—leading to a diverse population of cancer cells.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitorSelective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of drugs that are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and other psychological conditions. SSRIs increase the extracellular level of the neurotransmitter serotonin by limiting its reabsorption (reuptake) into the presynaptic cell. They have varying degrees of selectivity for the other monoamine transporters, with pure SSRIs having strong affinity for the serotonin transporter and only weak affinity for the norepinephrine and dopamine transporters.
Selective mutismSelective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder in which a person who is otherwise capable of speech becomes unable to speak when exposed to specific situations, specific places, or to specific people, one or multiple of which serving as triggers. This is caused by the freeze response. Selective mutism usually co-exists with social anxiety disorder. People with selective mutism stay silent even when the consequences of their silence include shame, social ostracism, or punishment.
Embryonic stem cellEmbryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre-implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells. Isolating the inner cell mass (embryoblast) using immunosurgery results in destruction of the blastocyst, a process which raises ethical issues, including whether or not embryos at the pre-implantation stage have the same moral considerations as embryos in the post-implantation stage of development.
Stem cell controversyThe stem cell controversy is the consideration of the ethics of research involving the development and use of human embryos. Most commonly, this controversy focuses on embryonic stem cells. Not all stem cell research involves human embryos. For example, adult stem cells, amniotic stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells do not involve creating, using, or destroying human embryos, and thus are minimally, if at all, controversial.
Cancer cellCancer cells are cells that divide continually, forming solid tumors or flooding the blood or lymph with abnormal cells. Cell division is a normal process used by the body for growth and repair. A parent cell divides to form two daughter cells, and these daughter cells are used to build new tissue or to replace cells that have died because of aging or damage. Healthy cells stop dividing when there is no longer a need for more daughter cells, but cancer cells continue to produce copies.
