Autologous anti-SOX2 antibody responses reflect intensity but not frequency of antigen expression in small cell lung cancer

Background: Anti-SOX2 antibody responses are observed in about 10 to 20% of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. The aim of this study was to determine whether such responses reflect a particular pattern of SOX2 protein expression in the tumor and whether this pattern associates with clinical outcome. Methods. Paraffin embedded tumor tissues, obtained from SCLC patients who had no evidence of paraneoplastic autoimmune degeneration, were evaluated for SOX2 expression by immunohistochemistry for both intensity and extent of staining. Sera from the same patients were tested for autologous antibodies against recombinant SOX2 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Correlates between overall survival and various clinical parameters including SOX2 staining and serology were determined. Results: SOX2 protein expression was observed in tumor tissue in 89% of patients. Seventeen patients (29%) were seropositive for SOX2 antibodies and, in contrast to SOX2 staining, the presence of antibody correlated with limited disease stage (p = 0.05). SOX2 seropositivity showed a significant association with the intensity of SOX2 staining in the tumor (p = 0.02) but not with the frequency of SOX2 expressing cells. Conclusion: Anti-SOX2 antibodies associate with better prognosis (limited stage disease) while SOX2 protein expression does not; similar to reports from some earlier studies. Our data provides an explanation for this seemingly contrasting data for the first time as SOX2 antibodies can be observed in patients whose tumors contain relatively few but strongly staining cells, thus supporting the possible presence of active immune-surveillance and immune-editing targeting SOX2 protein in this tumor type. © 2014 Atakan et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Autologous anti-SOX2 antibody responses reflect intensity but not frequency of antigen expression in small cell lung cancer

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Background: Anti-SOX2 antibody responses are observed in about 10 to 20% of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients. The aim of this study was to determine whether such responses reflect a particular pattern of SOX2 protein expression in the tumor and whether this pattern associates with clinical outcome. Methods. Paraffin embedded tumor tissues, obtained from SCLC patients who had no evidence of paraneoplastic autoimmune degeneration, were evaluated for SOX2 expression by immunohistochemistry for both intensity and extent of staining. Sera from the same patients were tested for autologous antibodies against recombinant SOX2 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Correlates between overall survival and various clinical parameters including SOX2 staining and serology were determined. Results: SOX2 protein expression was observed in tumor tissue in 89% of patients. Seventeen patients (29%) were seropositive for SOX2 antibodies and, in contrast to SOX2 staining, the presence of antibody correlated with limited disease stage (p = 0.05). SOX2 seropositivity showed a significant association with the intensity of SOX2 staining in the tumor (p = 0.02) but not with the frequency of SOX2 expressing cells. Conclusion: Anti-SOX2 antibodies associate with better prognosis (limited stage disease) while SOX2 protein expression does not; similar to reports from some earlier studies. Our data provides an explanation for this seemingly contrasting data for the first time as SOX2 antibodies can be observed in patients whose tumors contain relatively few but strongly staining cells, thus supporting the possible presence of active immune-surveillance and immune-editing targeting SOX2 protein in this tumor type. © 2014 Atakan et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

The rapid effects of budesonide plus formoterol in patients with obstructive airway diseases

Hulya Bayiz,1 Sevket Ozkaya,1 Adem Dirican,2 Ferah Ece1 1Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, 2Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Samsun Medical Park Hospital, Samsun, TurkeyIntroduction: The use of a combination inhaler containing budesonide and formoterol (BUD/FOR) to both maintenance and quick relief therapy has been recommended as an improved method of using inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β agonist therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute effects of BUD/FOR and testing the availability of BUD/FOR for early reversibility test in patients with airway obstruction.Patients and methods: The study was conducted on patients who were admitted to the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Samsun Medical Park Hospital, Samsun, Turkey.Results: A total of 44 patients were included in the study. The mean age of patients was 48.5±17.3 (range 10–75) years and the male-to-female ratio was 36:8. The pre-bronchodilator pulmonary function test results are as follows: the mean forced vital capacity, 3,025±1,162 mL (76.3%±23.2%); mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), 1,898±725 mL (59.2%±19.1%); mean FEV1/forced vital capacity, 62.8±6.3% (range 42%–70%); mean peak expiratory flow, 3,859±1,779 mL (48.0%±19.7%); and forced expiratory flow 25%–75%, 1,295±486 mL (35.8%±12.3%). The reversibility was positive in 26 (59.1%) patients. The absolute change and percentage of change in FEV1 were 318±228 mL and 17.7%±11.9%, respectively. The patients were divided into two groups according to reversibility (reversible and irreversible) and both groups were compared with changes according to spirometric results. FEV1 values were statistically different between the two groups.Conclusion: The fixed combination of BUD/FOR has rapid bronchodilator effect, and they can be used for early reversibility test.Keywords: formoterol/budesonide, reversibility test, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseas

Letter to the Editor - Diffuse pulmonary amyloidosis due to Familial Mediterranean Fever, a rare presentation

No Abstrac

Investigation of Photo-Absorption and Current-Voltage Properties of Liquid Extracts from Fruits for Organic Solar Cells Application

In this research work, the optical absorption and photo-current characteristics of black grape, strawberry and orange solutions were investigated. The solutions were extracted from fresh fruits and UV-V is spectrophotometer was utilized to record the absorption spectra of the samples. Besides, the photo-current properties were investigated via current-voltage characteristics of the fruit solutions under illumination. The results showed that energy gaps of the fruits are located within the visible spectrum. Energy gap of 1.84eV was found for the black grape, 2.11eV for strawberry and 3.10eV for the orange solution. The broad absorption spectra for black grape and strawberry have proved the fruits capability to harvest solar energy. Additionally, the enhanced photo-current activity of the fruit solutions under light suggested their potential application for the organic and/or dyes solar cell