Cytostasis (cyto – cell; stasis – stoppage) is the inhibition of cell growth and multiplication. Cytostatic refers to a cellular component or medicine that inhibits cell division. Cytostasis is an important prerequisite for structured

multicellular A multicellular organism is an organism that consists of more than one cell, in contrast to unicellular organism. All species of animals, land plants and most fungi are multicellular, as are many algae, whereas a few organisms are partially uni- ...

organisms. Without regulation of cell growth and division only unorganized heaps of cells would be possible.

Chemotherapy Chemotherapy (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. Chemotherap ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

, treatment of

skin disease A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this sy ...

s and treatment of

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

s are common use cases of cytostatic drugs. Active hygienic products generally contain cytostatic substances. Cytostatic mechanisms and drugs generally occur together with cytotoxic ones.

Activators

Nitric oxide Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its che ...

– activated

macrophage Macrophages (abbreviated as M φ, MΦ or MP) ( el, large eaters, from Greek ''μακρός'' (') = large, ''φαγεῖν'' (') = to eat) are a type of white blood cell of the immune system that engulfs and digests pathogens, such as cancer cel ...

s produce large amounts of nitric oxide (NO), which induces both cytostasis and cytotoxicity to tumor cells both ''in vitro'' and ''in vivo''. Nitric oxide-induced cytostasis targets

ribonucleotide reductase Ribonucleotide reductase (RNR), also known as ribonucleoside diphosphate reductase (rNDP), is an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of deoxyribonucleotides from ribonucleotides. It catalyzes this formation by removing the 2'-hydroxyl group of th ...

by rapid and reversible inhibition. However, other studies show there could be other targets that are responsible for producing long-lasting cytostasis in cells.

Lipopolysaccharide Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are large molecules consisting of a lipid and a polysaccharide that are bacterial toxins. They are composed of an O-antigen, an outer core, and an inner core all joined by a covalent bond, and are found in the outer m ...

(LPS) and lipid A-associated protein – studies have demonstrated that LPS and LAP are potent macrophage activators that have been shown to stimulate tumoricidal (cytostatic) activity ''in vitro''. LAP and LPS were shown to stimulate C3H/HeJ macrophages to kill target tumor cells. It was concluded that LAP can deliver at least one of the triggering signals necessary for inducing macrophage activity that leads to cytostasis.

Polyunsaturated fatty acid Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are fatty acids that contain more than one double bond in their backbone. This class includes many important compounds, such as essential fatty acids and those that give drying oils their characteristic proper ...

– N-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids were found to have a distinct effect on cell growth in certain human urothelial cells. Cystostatic concentrations of n-3 and n-6 PUFA did not induce

apoptosis Apoptosis (from grc, ἀπόπτωσις, apóptōsis, 'falling off') is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (morphology) and death. These changes incl ...

, but did cause permanent cellular growth arrest by effecting the cell cycle. Study shows that metabolites of the

lipoxygenase Lipoxygenases () are a family of (non-heme) iron-containing enzymes most of which catalyze the dioxygenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids in lipids containing a cis,cis-1,4- pentadiene into cell signaling agents that serve diverse roles as auto ...

pathway are involved with the antiproliferation induce by PUFA. However, PUFA cytostatic activity is not tumor-specific.

Medical uses

Cytostatic agents have been beneficial in fighting tumors with their ability to induce cell growth arrest.

Breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

– One study indicates

nitric oxide Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its che ...

(NO) is able to have a cytostatic effect on the human breast cancer cell line

MDA-MB-231 Scientists study the behaviour of isolated cells grown in the laboratory for insights into how cells function in the body in health and disease. Experiments using cell culture Cell culture or tissue culture is the process by which cells are ...

. Not only does nitric oxide stop cell growth, the study shows that it can also induce

after the cancer cells have been exposed to NO over 48 hours. Malignant epithelium – Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids inhibit cell division, cause cell cycle arrest, and can induce cell death in malignant epithelial cells from various tissue organs ''in vitro.''

References

{{Reflist Cellular processes

Activators

Medical uses

See also

References