mRNA expression profile of multidrug resistance genes in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia : low expression levels associated with a higher risk of toxic death

Increased activity of multidrug resistance (MDR) genes has been associated with treatment failure in acute leukemias, although with controversial reports. The objective of the present study was to assess the expression profile of the genes related to MDR: ABCB1, ABCC1, ABCC3, ABCG2, and LRP/MVP in terms of the clinical and biological variable and the survival of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The levels of mRNA expression of the drug resistance genes ABCB1, ABCC1, ABCC3, ABCG2, and LRP/MVP were analyzed by quantitative real‐time PCR using the median values as cut‐off points, in consecutive samples from 140 children with ALL at diagnosis. Expression levels of the ABCG2 gene in the patient group as a whole (P = 0.05) and of the ABCG2 and ABCC1 genes in patients classified as being at high risk were associated with higher rates of 5‐year event‐free survival (EFS) (P = 0.04 and P = 0.01). Expression levels of the ABCG2 gene below the median were associated with a greater chance of death related to treatment toxicity for the patient group as a whole (P = 0.009) and expression levels below the median of the ABCG2 and ABCC1 genes were associated with a greater chance of death due to treatment toxicity for the high‐risk group (P = 0.02 and P = 0.03, respectively). The present data suggest a low participation of the drug efflux genes in treatment failure in patients with childhood ALL. However, the low expression of some of these genes may be associated with a higher death risk related to treatment toxicity. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;53:996–1004. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc5369961004FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP2001/13206‐9; 2002/03182‐8; 2005/50731‐

Qualidade da bebida de café de frutos cereja submetidos a diferentes manejos pós-colheita Quality of coffee drink from fruits submitted to different post-harvest management practices

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a qualidade da bebida de café obtida de frutos cereja submetidos a diferentes práticas de manejo pós-colheita, considerando-se infecções iniciadas na planta e persistentes durante o tempo de exposição às fontes infectantes. Admitiu-se que os grãos de cereja recolhidos na planta têm máximo potencial de qualidade da bebida, avaliada por meio de testes rápidos e análise sensorial. Foram adotados oito tratamentos, formados pela combinação de quatro manejos pós-colheita e frutos de café com e sem desinfecção por cloreto de benzalcônio. A qualidade da bebida de grãos de frutos cereja não foi prejudicada pelo manejo pós-colheita, mesmo sob exposição às infecções por até 12 horas após a derriça. Os testes rápidos não se correlacionaram com a análise sensorial da bebida, e o teste da condutividade elétrica foi mais sensível que o da lixiviação de potássio. Ambos indicaram alterações nos grãos de frutos expostos às infecções após seis horas da colheita. A desinfecção superficial dos frutos foi eficiente até a primeira hora após a imersão, diminuindo o número de frutos infectados por Cladosporium sp., Penicillum sp. e Alternaria sp.<br>The objective of this work was to evaluate the quality of the coffee drink from fruits with different post-harvest management practices, considering the initial plant disease infection and during the coffee fruit exposition period. The following basic assumptions were defined: the harvested grain from the plant has higher coffee fruit drink potential quality, and the quality can be evaluated using fast tests and sensorial analysis. Eight treatments were established based on the post-harvest management with and without benzalcone chloride disinfection. The coffee fruit drink quality was not affected by the post-harvest management, including the treatment with 12 hours grain exposition after harvest. The fast tests were not correlated with the coffee drink sensorial analysis. The electric conductivity test was more sensitive than the potassium lixiviation test, and the grain modification occurred after six hours of fruit exposition. The efficiency of fruit superficial disinfection was verified during the first hour after immersion, decreasing the number of fruits infected by Cladosporium sp., Penicillum sp. and Alternaria sp