Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma

AbstractBronchioloalveolar carcinoma is a subtype of adenocarcinoma of the lung with a relatively better prognosis. We reviewed the cases of 50 consecutive patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma treated during a 10-year period and attempted to analyze factors related to prognosis. During the 10-year study period, the prevalence of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma relative to adenocarcinoma of the lung remained steady. The subjects included 32 male and 18 female patients with mean ages of 64.7 years and 55.1 years, respectively (p = 0.0030). The preoperative radiographic findings included 40 cases of localized and 10 cases of diffuse bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. The clinicopathologic TNM staging included 20 patients with stage I cancer, 4 with stage II cancer, 11 with stage IIIa cancer, 3 with stage IIIb cancer, and 12 with stage IV cancer. Forty patients with clinical stage I, II, or III disease underwent operation (operability 80%). The resectability rate was 90% (36 of 40). Thirty-four procedures were considered as curative. The overall cumulative survival at 5 years was 22.2% (46.4% for stage I). Different TNM stages showed significant differences in survival time (p = 0.0001). The median survival times were 64.6 months for stage I, 48.0 months for stage II, 24.7 months for stage IIIa, 9.0 months for stage IIIb, and 4.5 months for stage IV disease. The median survival time for localized bronchioloalveolar carcinoma was 27.5 months, and the median survival time for diffuse bronchioloalveolar carcinoma was 4.3 months (p = 0.0002). The median survival time for the curative resection group was 30.6 months, and the median survival time for the noncurative resection or nonresection group was 5.8 months (p = 0.0001). On the basis of this study we conclude that (1) the prevalence of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma is quite steady, (2) bronchioloalveolar carcinoma presents at an earlier age in women, (3) bronchioloalveolar carcinoma frequently presents with lymphatic spread or systemic metastasis at diagnosis, (4) most localized bronchioloalveolar carcinomas are resectable and the prognosis with this type is better than that of the diffuse type, and (5) long-term survival correlates closely with initial roentgenographic appearance, TNM stage, and completeness of surgical resection. (J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG 1995;110:374-81

Partially hydrolyzed guar gum supplement reduces high-fat diet increased blood lipids and oxidative stress and ameliorates FeCl3-induced acute arterial injury in hamsters

Increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and hyperlipidemia can promote arterial thrombus. We evaluated the potential of a partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG) as dietary fiber on lipid profiles and FeCl3-induced arterial thrombosis in the high fat-diet fed hamsters. Our in vitro results found that PHGG is efficient to scavenge O2-•, H2O2, and HOCl. High fat-diet increased plasma triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL, VLDL, methylguanidine and dityrosine level and accelerated FeCl3-induced arterial thrombosis formation (from 463 ± 51 to 303 ± 45 sec). Low dose PHGG supplement significantly decreased the total cholesterol, LDL, methylguanidine and dityrosine level and delayed the time for arterial thrombosis formation (528 ± 75 sec). High dose PHGG supplement decreased the level in triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL and VLDL and further delayed the time for arterial thrombus (671 ± 36 sec). The increased Bax protein and decreased Bcl-2 and HSP-70 protein expression was found in the carotid and femoral arteries of high fat-diet hamsters. Low and high dose of PHGG supplement decreased Bax expression and increased Bcl-2 and HSP-70 protein expression. We found that FeCl3 significantly enhanced intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and 4-hydroxynonenal expression in the endothelial site of damaged artery after 150-sec FeCl3 stimulation. PHGG supplement decreased the endothelial ICAM-1 and 4-hydroxynonenal expression after 150-sec FeCl3 stimulation. Based on these results, we conclude that PHGG supplement can increase antioxidant protein expression and thus decrease oxidative stress induced arterial injury

The ACR11 encodes a novel type of chloroplastic ACT domain repeat protein that is coordinately expressed with GLN2 in Arabidopsis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The ACT domain, named after bacterial aspartate kinase, chorismate mutase and TyrA (prephenate dehydrogenase), is a regulatory domain that serves as an amino acid-binding site in feedback-regulated amino acid metabolic enzymes. We have previously identified a novel type of ACT domain-containing protein family, the ACT domain repeat (ACR) protein family, in <it>Arabidopsis</it>. Members of the ACR family, ACR1 to ACR8, contain four copies of the ACT domain that extend throughout the entire polypeptide. Here, we describe the identification of four novel ACT domain-containing proteins, namely ACR9 to ACR12, in <it>Arabidopsis</it>. The ACR9 and ACR10 proteins contain three copies of the ACT domain, whereas the ACR11 and ACR12 proteins have a putative transit peptide followed by two copies of the ACT domain. The functions of these plant ACR proteins are largely unknown.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The ACR11 and ACR12 proteins are predicted to target to chloroplasts. We used protoplast transient expression assay to demonstrate that the <it>Arabidopsis </it>ACR11- and ACR12-green fluorescent fusion proteins are localized to the chloroplast. Analysis of an <it>ACR11 </it>promoter-β-glucuronidase (GUS) fusion in transgenic <it>Arabidopsis </it>revealed that the GUS activity was mainly detected in mature leaves and sepals. Interestingly, coexpression analysis revealed that the <it>GLN2</it>, which encodes a chloroplastic glutamine synthetase, has the highest mutual rank in the coexpressed gene network connected to <it>ACR11</it>. We used RNA gel blot analysis to confirm that the expression pattern of <it>ACR11 </it>is similar to that of <it>GLN2 </it>in various organs from 6-week-old <it>Arabidopsis</it>. Moreover, the expression of <it>ACR11 </it>and <it>GLN2 </it>is highly co-regulated by sucrose and light/dark treatments in 2-week-old <it>Arabidopsis </it>seedlings.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study reports the identification of four novel ACT domain repeat proteins, ACR9 to ACR12, in <it>Arabidopsis</it>. The ACR11 and ACR12 proteins are localized to the chloroplast, and the expression of <it>ACR11 </it>and <it>GLN2 </it>is highly coordinated. These results suggest that the <it>ACR11 </it>and <it>GLN2 </it>genes may belong to the same functional module. The <it>Arabidopsis </it>ACR11 protein may function as a regulatory protein that is related to glutamine metabolism or signaling in the chloroplast.</p

Novel Codon-optimization Genes Encoded in Chlorella for Triacylglycerol Accumulation

AbstractMicroalgae have been recognized as one of the potential resources for biodiesel production based on its fast growth or its high total lipid content depending on species. Expression of Kennedy pathway genes, which encodes GPAT, LPAAT, PAP, and DGAT for increasing the metabolic flux towards the TAG storage in Chlorella sp. from 20 to 46 wt% and total lipid accumulation from 35 to 60wt.% corresponding to each specific gene combination under autotrophy, compare to the wild type (vector only). The highest TAG content was found in cells expressing a quadruple-gene construct (GPAT-LPAAT-PAP-DGAT) in the Kennedy pathway, corresponding to 46wt.% of TAG and 60wt.% of total lipid content. This work provides the optimization of TAG production in Chlorella sp. can be achieved by manipulating the selected genes, in turns making commercially producing biodiesel practical

Developing and Validating Service Innovation Readiness

Services have emerged as major economic activities in Taiwan in recent years, since more than 70% of GDP in Taiwan is generated by service sectors. Nevertheless, knowledge of service innovation remained under-explored. To address this research gap, this study proposed the concept of “Service Innovation Readiness” based on expert interviews of five service industries (Department Stores and Retail, Financial, Biotechnology and Medicine, Tourism, and Information Services) and a review of existing literature. Given this, we propose a multi-dimensional construct of Service Innovation Readiness (SIR) consisting of five factors: Strategic Investment, Risk Tolerance, Innovative Champion, IT Experience, and Inter-Organizational Collaboration. To validate the framework of SIR, a survey was conducted in the five service sectors and the final sample consisted of 312 valid cases. The results grant support to the framework, showing that SIR is a multi-dimensional construct. The positive relationship between SIR and service performance provides further evidence to support the predictive validity of the construct measurement. Conclusion and implications are included

Cucurbitacin E inhibits the Yes‑associated protein signaling pathway and suppresses brain metastasis of human non‑small cell lung cancer in a murine model.

Human non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is associated with an extremely poor prognosis especially for the 40% of patients who develop brain metastasis, and few treatment strategies exist. Cucurbitacin E (CuE), an oxygenated tetracyclic triterpenoid isolated from plants particularly of the family Cucurbitaceae, has shown anti‑tumorigenic properties in several types of cancer, yet the mechanism remains unclear. Yes‑associated protein (YAP), a main mediator of the Hippo signaling pathway, promotes tumorigenesis, drug resistance and metastasis in human NSCLC. The present study was designed to ascertain whether CuE inhibits YAP and its downstream gene expression in the human NSCLC cell lines H2030‑BrM3 (K‑rasG12C mutation) and PC9‑BrM3 (EGFRΔexon19 mutation), which have high potential for brain metastasis. The efficacy of CuE in suppressing brain metastasis of H2030‑BrM3 cells in a murine model was also investigated. It was found that after CuE treatment in H2030‑BrM3 and PC9‑BrM3 cells, YAP protein expression was decreased, and YAP signaling GTIIC reporter activity and expression of the downstream genes CTGF and CYR61 were significantly (P&lt;0.01) decreased. CuE treatment also reduced the migration and invasion abilities of the H2030‑BrM3 and PC9‑BrM3 cells. Finally, our in vivo study showed that CuE treatment (0.2 mg/kg) suppressed H2030‑BrM3 cell brain metastasis and that mice treated with CuE survived longer than the control mice treated with 10% DMSO (P=0.02). The present study is the first to demonstrate that CuE treatment inhibits YAP and the signaling downstream gene expression in human NSCLC in vitro, and suppresses brain metastasis of NSCLC in a murine model. More studies to verify the promising efficacy of CuE in inhibiting brain metastasis of NSCLC and various other cancers may be warranted

The Inhibitory Effect of Ellagic Acid on Cell Growth of Ovarian Carcinoma Cells

Ellagic acid (EA) is able to inhibit the growth of several cancer cells; however, its effect on human ovarian carcinoma cells has not yet been investigated. Ovarian carcinoma ES-2 and PA-1 cells were treated with EA (10~100 μM) and assessed for viability, cell cycle, apoptosis, anoikis, autophagy, and chemosensitivity to doxorubicin and their molecular mechanisms. EA inhibited cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner by arresting both cell lines at the G1 phase of the cell cycle, which were from elevating p53 and Cip1/p21 and decreasing cyclin D1 and E levels. EA also induced caspase-3-mediated apoptosis by increasing the Bax : Bcl-2 ratio and restored anoikis in both cell lines. The enhancement of apoptosis and/or inhibition of autophagy in these cells by EA assisted the chemotherapy efficacy. The results indicated that EA is a potential novel chemoprevention and treatment assistant agent for human ovarian carcinoma