EpCAM expression in squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix detected by monoclonal antibody to the membrane proximal part of EpCAM

Background Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a promising biomarker for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the uterine cervix, because it is over-expressed in various cancers of epithelial origin. However, EpCAM expression reported in previous immunohistochemistry (IHC) studies was inconsistent. We hypothesize that the membrane-distal part of EpCAM may be lost during tissue preparation, leaving only the membrane-proximal part of EpCAM available for antibody binding and IHC staining. Methods Two new anti-EpCAM MAbs to the membrane-proximal part (WC-2) and the membrane-distal part (WC-1) of EpCAM were generated and characterized. WC-2 was selected for its ability to detect EpCAM in cervical tissues by IHC. One hundred thirty-five archival paraffin-embedded tissues previously diagnosed as cervical SCC (n=44), high-grade (HSIL) (n=43), or low-grade (LSIL) (n=48) squamous intraepithelial lesions were examined. IHC score was collected, recorded, and analyzed for distribution, intensity, and percentage of cancer cells stained for EpCAM. Results EpCAM expression was consistently detected on cervical tissues by WC-2, but not by WC-1. EpCAM was expressed with high IHC score in the majority of cervical SCC (37/44), but not in normal epithelial area adjacent to SCC. EpCAM was also highly expressed on precancerous lesion of the cervix, particularly in HSIL. More importantly, EpCAM expression could be used to distinguish between HSIL and LSIL, according to staining distribution. HSIL tissues displayed EpCAM expression in two-thirds to full thickness of the epithelium, while in LSIL the staining was limited to the lower one-third of the thickness. The IHC score of EpCAM expression was strongly correlated with cervical cancer and grades of precancerous lesions (r=0.875, p<0.001). Conclusion Only the anti-EpCAM MAb to the membrane-proximal part is able to detect EpCAM on paraffin-embedded cervical cancer tissues. A strong positive correlation between EpCAM expression level and the grades of SILs provides the possibility that EpCAM can be used to predict prognosis and severity in these patients

Irradiation effect on natural quartz from Zambia

AbstractThe effects of high gamma-irradiation doses (50-300 kGy) on natural quartz crystals have been investigated by ESR technique. The ESR spectrum carried out at low temperature (120K) displayed lines group of Al center. The higher amount of gamma doses affected ESR spectra by increasing of intensity, especially the increasing intensity in the range of the Al center. The complex ESR spectra of Al center observed to contain 9 peaks that did not reach saturation even though the level of gamma-irradiation dose was as high as 300 kGy. The total area under ESR spectra of Al center was increased as a polynomial function of irradiated dose. The overlapping of ESR signal from defects in the range of Al center was also investigated

EpCAM expression in squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix detected by monoclonal antibody to the membrane-proximal part of EpCAM

Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a promising biomarker for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the uterine cervix, because it is over-expressed in various cancers of epithelial origin. However, EpCAM expression reported in previous immunohistochemistry (IHC) studies was inconsistent. We hypothesize that the membrane-distal part of EpCAM may be lost during tissue preparation, leaving only the membrane-proximal part of EpCAM available for antibody binding and IHC staining.Two new anti-EpCAM MAbs to the membrane-proximal part (WC-2) and the membrane-distal part (WC-1) of EpCAM were generated and characterized. WC-2 was selected for its ability to detect EpCAM in cervical tissues by IHC. One hundred thirty-five archival paraffin-embedded tissues previously diagnosed as cervical SCC (n=44), high-grade (HSIL) (n=43), or low-grade (LSIL) (n=48) squamous intraepithelial lesions were examined. IHC score was collected, recorded, and analyzed for distribution, intensity, and percentage of cancer cells stained for EpCAM.EpCAM expression was consistently detected on cervical tissues by WC-2, but not by WC-1. EpCAM was expressed with high IHC score in the majority of cervical SCC (37/44), but not in normal epithelial area adjacent to SCC. EpCAM was also highly expressed on precancerous lesion of the cervix, particularly in HSIL. More importantly, EpCAM expression could be used to distinguish between HSIL and LSIL, according to staining distribution. HSIL tissues displayed EpCAM expression in two-thirds to full thickness of the epithelium, while in LSIL the staining was limited to the lower one-third of the thickness. The IHC score of EpCAM expression was strongly correlated with cervical cancer and grades of precancerous lesions (r=0.875, p&lt;0.001).Only the anti-EpCAM MAb to the membrane-proximal part is able to detect EpCAM on paraffin-embedded cervical cancer tissues. A strong positive correlation between EpCAM expression level and the grades of SILs provides the possibility that EpCAM can be used to predict prognosis and severity in these patients

A cost of leadership in human groups

Group living is the result of a dynamic trade-off between associated costs and benefits. However, these costs and benefits are not necessarily distributed equally across different spatial positions of groups which may result in different fitness returns for individuals occupying different positions in groups. Here we consider whether leadership of a group during a navigation task in humans may have a specific cost associated with it. Pairs of students performed a counting task whilst walking through two obstacle courses, once as leader and once as follower. We found that leaders made significantly more errors in the counting task than followers suggesting that there is an attention cost associated with leadership/navigation behaviour

Predation risk as a driving force for sexual segregation: A cross-population comparison

Sexual segregation is widespread throughout the animal kingdom. Although a number of hypotheses have been proposed to account for observed patterns, the generality of the mechanisms remains debated. One possible reason for this is the focus on segregation patterns in large mammals such as ungulates, where the majority of studies are descriptions of a single population. Here, we present the results of a cross-population comparison of patterns of sexual segregation in the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata. We relate observed patterns to experimental quantification of predation risk and sexual harassment of females by males in eight populations. We find that the degree of segregation increases with predation risk, with deeper waters becoming increasingly female biased. Furthermore, we observed that levels of male harassment are lower in deeper water but only in those rivers that contain major guppy predators. We conclude that sexual segregation in guppies is consistent with the predation risk hypothesis: sexual segregation results from a combination of predation risk driving males ( the more vulnerable sex) into less risky habitats and females gaining benefits of reduced sexual harassment by remaining in high-predation environments