Carcinoid tumour behind bronchiectasis

This report describes a female patient with bronchiectasis, presented to our department with recurrent hemoptysis. Bronchoscopy revealed nothing else but blood arising from the upper lobe bronchus. High resolution computing tomography of the lung (HRCT) revealed bronchiectasis of the upper lobe. A right upper lobectomy was performed. Behind bronchiectasis multiple nodular lesions, 5-10 mm were observed. Histological and immunohistochemical examination revealed findings consistent with peripheral typical bronchial carcinoids

TReND in Africa: Toward a Truly Global (Neuro)science Community.

TReND is a volunteer-scientist run charity dedicated to promoting research and education on the African continent. Focusing on neuroscience, we discuss approaches to address some of the factors that currently stifle Africa's scientific development and our experience in implementing them

Comparative survival analysis of breast cancer microarray studies identifies important prognostic genetic pathways

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An estimated 12% of females in the United States will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. Although, there are advances in treatment options including surgery and chemotherapy, breast cancer is still the second most lethal cancer in women. Thus, there is a clear need for better methods to predict prognosis for each breast cancer patient. With the advent of large genetic databases and the reduction in cost for the experiments, researchers are faced with choosing from a large pool of potential prognostic markers from numerous breast cancer gene expression profile studies.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Five microarray datasets related to breast cancer were examined using gene set analysis and the cancers were categorized into different subtypes using a scoring system based on genetic pathway activity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have observed that significant genes in the individual studies show little reproducibility across the datasets. From our comparative analysis, using gene pathways with clinical variables is more reliable across studies and shows promise in assessing a patient's prognosis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study concludes that, in light of clinical variables, there are significant gene pathways in common across the datasets. Specifically, several pathways can further significantly stratify patients for survival. These candidate pathways should help to develop a panel of significant biomarkers for the prognosis of breast cancer patients in a clinical setting.</p

From proteomic mapping to invasion‐metastasis‐cascade systemic biomarkering and targeted drugging of mutant braf‐dependent human cutaneous melanomagenesis

Melanoma is classified among the most notoriously aggressive human cancers. Despite the recent progress, due to its propensity for metastasis and resistance to therapy, novel biomarkers and oncogenic molecular drivers need to be promptly identified for metastatic melanoma. Hence, by employing nano liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry deep proteomics technology, advanced bioinformatics algorithms, immunofluorescence, western blotting, wound healing protocols, molecular modeling programs, and MTT assays, we comparatively examined the respective proteomic contents of WM115 primary (n = 3955 proteins) and WM266‐4 metastatic (n = 6681 proteins) melanoma cells. It proved that WM115 and WM266‐4 cells have engaged hybrid epithelialto‐mesenchymal transition/mesenchymal‐to‐epithelial transition states, with TGF‐β controlling their motility in vitro. They are characterized by different signatures of SOX‐dependent neural crestlike stemness and distinct architectures of the cytoskeleton network. Multiple signaling pathways have already been activated from the primary melanoma stage, whereas HIF1α, the major hypoxiainducible factor, can be exclusively observed in metastatic melanoma cells. Invasion‐metastasis cascade‐specific sub‐routines of activated Caspase‐3‐triggered apoptosis and LC3B‐II‐dependent constitutive autophagy were also unveiled. Importantly, WM115 and WM266‐4 cells exhibited diverse drug response profiles, with epirubicin holding considerable promise as a beneficial drug for metastatic melanoma clinical management. It is the proteome navigation that enables systemic biomarkering and targeted drugging to open new therapeutic windows for advanced disease. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

TReND in Africa: Toward a Truly Global (Neuro)science Community

TReND is a volunteer-scientist run charity dedicated to promoting research and education on the African continent. Focusing on neuroscience, we discuss approaches to address some of the factors that currently stifle Africa's scientific development and our experience in implementing them