NASA Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports

20040111633 Jackson (Henry M.) Foundation, Rockville, MD
Preconceptional Paternal Exposure to Embedded Depleted Uranium Fragments: Transmission of Genetic Damage to
Offspring
Miller, Alexandra C.; Mar. 2004; 9 pp.; In English
Contract(s)/Grant(s): DAMD17-02-1-0185
Report No.(s): AD-A425734; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A02, Hardcopy
The Persian Gulf War resulted in friendly fire casualties among U.S. personnel injured by fragments of depleted uranium
(DU) munitions. The demonstrated effectiveness of such weapons makes it likely that they may be used against U.S. forces
in future conflicts. Uncertainty about how aggressively to remove fragments of the radioactive, chemically toxic DU has
stimulated research into the long-term health consequences of embedded DU fragments. There has been no previous research
to determine whether long-term exposure to embedded DU can affect the health of offspring of personnel wounded by DU.
This study investigates whether male mice carrying embedded fragments of DU transmit genetic damage to their offspring.
We hypothesize that long-term chronic exposure to embedded DU results in paternal transmission of genetic damage to
unexposed Fl generation offspring, characterized by increased frequency of in vivo mutations in tissues. During this the second
year of this project, we have completed metal (DU and tungsten) implantation surgeries, completed breeding of DU-implanted
mice, completed neutron- irradiations, initiated breeding of tungsten-implanted mice, initiated the mutation assay and initiated
the DNA damage assay to assess direct DNA damage in germ cells.
DTIC
Damage; Diseases; Embedding; Exposure; Genetics; Heavy Metals; Progeny; Spent Fuels; Tungsten Alloys; Uranium;
Uranium Alloys
20040111634 British Columbia Univ., Vancouver, British Columbia
Experimental Treatment of Prostate Cancer Models with Rh2, An Isolated Ginsenoside Compound
Xie, Xiaowei S.; Mar. 2004; 14 pp.; In English; Original contains color illustrations
Contract(s)/Grant(s): DAMD17-02-1-0260
Report No.(s): AD-A425735; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A03, Hardcopy
Ginseng is commonly used in herbal preparations for traditional Chinese medicine. Rh2, one of the ginsenosides, has been
shown to suppress growth and induce apoptosis in a number of cancer cell lines both in vitro and in vivo. To evaluate the
combined efficacy of Rh2 and two chemotherapeutic agents, paclitaxel and mitoxantrone, mice bearing the LNCaP or PC-3
prostate tumor xenograft were treated with corn oil (po) and saline (iv), Rh2 (5Omg/kg po daily), paclitaxel (6 mg/kg iv on
day 1, 4, 15, and 18), mitoxantrone (2.5 mg/kg iv on day 1, 4, 15, and 18), Rh2 + paclitaxel and Rh2 + mitoxantrone. Tumor
volumes were measured twice weekly for 4 weeks. Serum PSA were tested using ELISA for LNCaP models. Results showed
1) For the LNCaP models, student t-test was performed on the data acquired and results showed statistically significant
differences exist between the tumor growth ratio of control group and Rh2+ paclitaxel treatment group (P\h0.05) from day 9.
No statistical significant differences existed between the control group and the Rh2, paclitaxel or mitoxantrone monotreatment
groups. Paclitaxel monotherapy and paclitaxel + Rh2 combination showed significant (p\hO.O5) and very significant
(p\hO.Ol) inhibitory effect on serum PSA levels. 2) There was no statistically significant differences exist between PC-3 model
groups treated with placebo, Rh2, Paclitaxel, mitoxantrone or combination. Overall, our results suggest that oral
administration of Rh2 can sensitize low dose of Paclitaxel in the treatment of mice bearing subcutaneous LNCaP prostate
tumors and exhibits potential as a chemosensitizer of paclitaxel for treatment of androgen- dependent prostate cancer.
DTIC
Apoptosis; Cancer; In Vivo Methods and Tests; Prostate Gland
20040111635 California Univ., Los Angeles, CA
Endothelial Genes
Nguyen, Mai H.; Jun. 2003; 18 pp.; In English; Original contains color illustrations
Contract(s)/Grant(s): DAMD17-02-1-0330
Report No.(s): AD-A425736; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A03, Hardcopy
The identification of novel endothelial-derived genes is important in the study of angiogenesis, and may have potential
uses in cancer diagnosis and treatment. We performed SSH (suppression subtractive hybridization) on control HUVECs
(human umbilical vein endothelial cells) versus HUVECs exposed to tumor-conditioned media. We found that a novel cDNA
(Genbank accession # AF358829) is differentially expressed in endothelial cells on Northern analysis, and named it
Endothelial-derived gene-1 (EG-1). This gene product is predicted to encode a 178-aa, 19.5 kD protein, and is localized to
chromosome #4. It has some homology to a mouse cDNA (94%) and a Drosophila cDNA (31%). On Northern analysis,
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