The Value of Ultrasonography in Hand Surgery

The quality of ultrasound imaging to examine anatomical structures in the wrist and hand has improved highly over the last years. The value of ultrasonography (US) performed by hand surgeons on treatment decisions was investigated in this study. One hundred and ninety-five patients with an unclear clinical hand problem were evaluated by high-definition ultrasonography from January 2005 until June 2007. In 21% of cases, the procedure and therapy were influenced by the ultrasonographic findings. In 26 patients examined by ultrasound, surgery was avoided, while 14 patients had unexpected ultrasound results that led to surgery. In 22 of the 84 performed operations, ultrasound had a direct impact on the surgical procedure itself. The agreement of the ultrasonographic diagnosis and the post-operative diagnosis (n = 80) was better, though not statistically significant compared to the agreement between clinical diagnosis and diagnosis after operation (n = 84). Ultrasound imaging performed by the hand surgeon improves quality in the evaluation of hand problems. Ultrasonography is a cost-effective high-resolution investigation with the possibility of dynamic imaging

Pten Null Prostate Epithelium Promotes Localized Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Expansion and Immune Suppression during Tumor Initiation and Progression

Chronic inflammation is known to be associated with prostate cancer development, but how epithelium-associated cancer-initiating events cross talk to inflammatory cells during prostate cancer initiation and progression is largely unknown. Using the Pten null murine prostate cancer model, we show an expansion of Gr-1(+) CD11b(+) myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) occurring intraprostatically immediately following epithelium-specific Pten deletion without expansion in hematopoietic tissues. This MDSC expansion is accompanied by sustained immune suppression. Prostatic Gr-1(+) CD11b(+) cells, but not those isolated from the spleen of the same tumor-bearing mice, suppress T cell proliferation and express high levels of Arginase 1 and iNOS. Mechanistically, the loss of PTEN in the epithelium leads to a significant upregulation of genes within the inflammatory response and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathways, including Csf1 and Il1b, two genes known to induce MDSC expansion and immunosuppressive activities. Treatment of Pten null mice with the selective CSF-1 receptor inhibitor GW2580 decreases MDSC infiltration and relieves the associated immunosuppressive phenotype. Our study indicates that epithelium-associated tumor-initiating events trigger the secretion of inflammatory cytokines and promote localized MDSC expansion and immune suppression, thereby promoting tumor progression

Pten Null Prostate Epithelium Promotes Localized Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cell Expansion and Immune Suppression during Tumor Initiation and Progression

Chronic inflammation is known to be associated with prostate cancer development, but how epithelium-associated cancer-initiating events cross talk to inflammatory cells during prostate cancer initiation and progression is largely unknown. Using the Pten null murine prostate cancer model, we show an expansion of Gr-1(+) CD11b(+) myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) occurring intraprostatically immediately following epithelium-specific Pten deletion without expansion in hematopoietic tissues. This MDSC expansion is accompanied by sustained immune suppression. Prostatic Gr-1(+) CD11b(+) cells, but not those isolated from the spleen of the same tumor-bearing mice, suppress T cell proliferation and express high levels of Arginase 1 and iNOS. Mechanistically, the loss of PTEN in the epithelium leads to a significant upregulation of genes within the inflammatory response and cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathways, including Csf1 and Il1b, two genes known to induce MDSC expansion and immunosuppressive activities. Treatment of Pten null mice with the selective CSF-1 receptor inhibitor GW2580 decreases MDSC infiltration and relieves the associated immunosuppressive phenotype. Our study indicates that epithelium-associated tumor-initiating events trigger the secretion of inflammatory cytokines and promote localized MDSC expansion and immune suppression, thereby promoting tumor progression.Biochemistry & Molecular BiologyCell BiologySCI(E)[email protected]