Effect of chemical carcinogens and partial hepatectomy on "in vivo" (35S)methionine interaction with rat liver tRNA

The effect of carcinogens given by a single or multiple injections on the extent of (35S)methionine interaction with hepatic tRNA was studied in normal and partially hepatectomized rats. Either partial hepatectomy or administration of ethionine (100 or 330 mg/kg body weight) and dimethylnitrosamine (120 mg/kg body weight) by multiple i.p. injections inhibited the (35S)methionine-tRNA interaction, while administration of hepatocarcinogenic chemicals plus PH resulted rather in a stimulation. Methylnitrosourea enhanced the extent of interaction when administered in a single dose (100 mg per kg body weight) 18 h after partial hepatectomy

Ectopic expression of gastrokine 1 in gastric cancer cells up-regulates tight and adherens junction proteins network

Gastrokine 1 (GKN1) is a stomach-specific protein important in the replenishment of the surface lumen epithelial cell layer and in maintaining mucosal integrity. A role in cell proliferation and differentiation has also been hypothesized. Despite these findings, the function(s) as well as the cellular localization of GKN1 in the cellular machinery are currently not clarified. The investigation of subcellular localization of GKN1 in gastric cancer cells can provide insights into its potential cellular roles. Subcellular fractions of gastric cancer cells (AGS) transfected with full-length GKN1 (flGKN1) or incubated with recombinant GKN1 (rGKN1) lacking the first 20 amino acids at N-terminal were analyzed by Western blot and confocal microscopy and compared with those from normal gastric tissue. Wild type GKN1 (wtGKN1) and flGKN1 were revealed in the cytoplasm and in the membrane fractions of gastric cells, whereas rGKN1 was revealed in the cytoplasmic fractions, but a high amount was detected in the membrane pellet of the AGS lysate. The cellular distribution of GKN1 was also confirmed by confocal microscopy. The purified protein was also used to highlight its possible association with actin through confocal microscopy, pelleting assay, and size-exclusion chromatography. GKN1 co-localizes with actin in normal gastric tissue, but no direct interaction was observed between the two proteins in vitro. Most likely, GKN1 indirectly participates in actin stabilization since its overexpression in gastric cancer cells strongly increases the expression of tight and adherens junction proteins

Effects of a Synbiotic Formula on Functional Bowel Disorders and Gut Microbiota Profile during Long-Term Home Enteral Nutrition (LTHEN): A Pilot Study

Long-term enteral nutrition (LTEN) can induce gut microbiota (GM) dysbiosis and gastrointestinal related symptoms, such as constipation or diarrhoea. To date, the treatment of constipation is based on the use of laxatives and prebiotics. Only recently have probiotics and synbiotics been considered, the latter modulating the GM and regulating intestinal functions. This randomized open-label intervention study evaluated the effects of synbiotic treatment on the GM profile, its functional activity and on intestinal functions in long-term home EN (LTHEN) patients. Twenty LTHEN patients were recruited to take enteral formula plus one sachet/day of synbiotic (intervention group, IG) or enteral formula (control group, CG) for four months and evaluated for constipation, stool consistency, and GM and metabolite profiles. In IG patients, statistically significant reduction of constipation and increase of stool consistency were observed after four months (T1), compared to CG subjects. GM ecology analyses revealed a decrease in the microbial diversity of both IC and CG groups. Biodiversity increased at T1 for 5/11 IG patients and Methanobrevibacter was identified as the biomarker correlated to the richness increase. Moreover, the increase of short chain fatty acids and the reduction of harmful molecules have been correlated to synbiotic administration. Synbiotics improve constipation symptoms and influences Methanobrevibacter growth in LTHEN patients

Transitions existentielles en question

La mise en place de directives anticipées est-elle souhaitable ? L’accouchement à domicile est-il une bonne pratique ? Faut-il laisser une entière liberté de mouvement à un patient en fin de vie hospitalisé ? Le champ médical est l’une des sphères privilégiées où se définissent les modalités de la venue au monde ou de la fin de la vie, participant ainsi à cadrer des expériences qui ont en commun de « mettre l’humanité en lien avec l’inconnu » et qui constituent des « formes élémentaires de l’événement » dont la nature biologique est toujours socialisée et symbolisée. En étant confrontée au début et à la fin de l’existence, la médecine est susceptible d’être ramenée aux arbitraires sociaux, politiques et culturels qui la fondent. Ce dossier thématique met en lumière l’ambiguïté des prises en charge de ces événements et analyse la manière dont « la vie et la mort sont attribuées, contestées et mises en acte de manière pragmatique ». Il explore symétriquement ce que les technologies biomédicales font faire aux acteurs.trices qui donnent la vie ou se confrontent à la mort, et ce que ceux-ci/celles-ci leur font faire en retour. Il analyse également les nouvelles catégories de sujets qui en ressortent et dont l’ontologie incertaine doit être négociée et (re)définie dans chaque contexte. Is the implementation of living wills desirable? Is home birth a good practice? Should a dying patient be allowed to move freely inside the hospital? The medical field is one of the core spheres where the modalities of coming into the world and of the end of life are defined. This participates in framing experiments that all "put humanity in touch with the unknown" and constitute "elementary forms of the event" whose biological nature is always socialized and symbolized. By confronting the beginning and end of life, medicine is likely to be reduced to the social, political and cultural arbitrariness that underpins it. This special issue highlights the ambiguity of the handling of such events and analyzes how "life and death are pragmatically attributed, challenged and enacted". It symmetrically explores how biomedical technologies impact actors who give life or face death, and how these very actors impact these very technologies in return. The articles presented here also analyze new categories of subjects that emerge out of these confrontations and whose uncertain ontology must be negotiated and (re)defined in each context

Cancer survivorship at heart: a multidisciplinary cardio-oncology roadmap for healthcare professionals

In cancer, a patient is considered a survivor from the time of initial diagnosis until the end of life. With improvements in early diagnosis and treatment, the number of cancer survivors (CS) has grown considerably and includes: (1) Patients cured and free from cancer who may be at risk of late-onset cancer therapy-related cardiovascular toxicity (CTR-CVT); (2) Patients with long-term control of not-curable cancers in whom CTR-CVT may need to be addressed. This paper highlights the importance of the cancer care continuum, of a patient-centered approach and of a prevention-oriented policy. The ultimate goal is a personalized care of CS, achievable only through a multidisciplinary-guided survivorship care plan, one that replaces the fragmented management of current healthcare systems. Collaboration between oncologists and cardiologists is the pillar of a framework in which primary care providers and other specialists must be engaged and in which familial, social and environmental factors are also taken into account