Brief of Feminists for Life of America, Professional Women\u27s Network, Birthright, Inc., Legal Action for Women, as Amici Curiae in Support of Respondents and Cross Petitioners - Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 112 S. Ct. 2791 (1992)

Amici, representing women from all walks of life, are compelled by experience and conviction to advocate strongly that this Court reverse the vulnerable position of women caused by the lack of information given to women contemplating abortion. Amici respectfully urged this Court to affirm the ruling of the Court below, supporting the efforts of the women citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to cause that government to exercise its police power to protect their health and safety by compelling the dissemination of the information necessary to make a fully informed decision

Temperature management during cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy

In addition to attaining complete or near complete cytoreduction, the instillation of select heated chemotherapeutic agents into the abdominal cavity has offered a chance for cure or longer survival inpatients with peritoneal surface malignancies. While the heating of chemotherapeutic agents enhances cytotoxicity, the resulting systemic hyperthermia has been associated with an increased risk of severe hyperthermia and its associated complications. Factors that have been associated with an increased risk of severe hyperthermia include intraoperative blood transfusions and longer perfusion duration. However, the development of severe hyperthermia still remains largely unpredictable. Thus, at several institutions, cooling protocols are employed during cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC). Cooling protocols for CRS-HIPEC are not standardized and may be associated with episodes of severe hyperthermia or alternatively hypothermia. In theory, excessive cooling could result in a decreased effectiveness of the intraperitoneal chemotherapeutic agents. This presumption has been supported by a recent study of 214 adults undergoing CRS-HIPEC, where failure to attain a temperature of 38° C at the end of chemo-perfusion was associated with worse survival. Although not statistically significant, failure to maintain a temperature of 38° C for at least 30 minutes was associated with worse survival. Although studies are limited in this regard, the importance of maintaining a steady state of temperature during the hyperthermic phase of intraperitoneal chemotherapy administration cannot be disregarded. The following article describes the processes and physiological mechanisms responsible for hyperthermia during CRS-HIPEC. The challenges associated with temperature management during CRS-HIPEC and methods to avoid severe hypothermia and hyperthermia are also described

Appendiceal Adenocarcinoma PDX Models Have Improved Tumor Growth in an Orthotopic Tumor Environment

https://openworks.mdanderson.org/sumexp23/1085/thumbnail.jp

Utility of plasma tumor marker levels in management of patients with appendiceal adenocarcinoma

View full abstracthttps://openworks.mdanderson.org/leading-edge/1049/thumbnail.jp

Identification and relative quantification of tyrosine nitration in a model peptide using two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy

Nitration of tyrosine in proteins and peptides is a post-translational modification that occurs under conditions of oxidative stress. It is implicated in a variety of medical conditions, including neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. However, monitoring tyrosine nitration and understanding its role in modifying biological function remains a major challenge. In this work, we investigate the use of electron-vibration-vibration (EVV) two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) spectroscopy for the study of tyrosine nitration in model peptides. We demonstrate the ability of EVV 2DIR spectroscopy to differentiate between the neutral and deprotonated states of 3-nitrotyrosine, and we characterize their spectral signatures using information obtained from quantum chemistry calculations and simulated EVV 2DIR spectra. To test the sensitivity of the technique, we use mixed-peptide samples containing various levels of tyrosine nitration, and we use mass spectrometry to independently verify the level of nitration. We conclude that EVV 2DIR spectroscopy is able to provide detailed spectroscopic information on peptide side-chain modifications and to detect nitration levels down to 1%. We further propose that lower nitration levels could be detected by introducing a resonant Raman probe step to increase the detection sensitivity of EVV 2DIR spectroscopy. (Graph Presented)

GLI2-Mediated Melanoma Invasion and Metastasis

Background The transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway, which has both tumor suppressor and pro-oncogenic activities, is often constitutively active in melanoma and is a marker of poor prognosis. Recently, we identified GLI2, a mediator of the hedgehog pathway, as a transcriptional target of TGF-β signaling. Methods We used real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and western blotting to determine GLI2 expression in human melanoma cell lines and subsequently classified them as GLI2high or as GLI2low according to their relative GLI2 mRNA and protein expression levels. GLI2 expression was reduced in a GLI2high cell line with lentiviral expression of short hairpin RNA targeting GLI2. We assessed the role of GLI2 in melanoma cell invasiveness in Matrigel assays. We measured secretion of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 by gelatin zymography and expression of E-cadherin by western blotting and RT-PCR. The role of GLI2 in development of bone metastases was determined following intracardiac injection of melanoma cells in immunocompromised mice (n = 5-13). Human melanoma samples (n = 79) at various stages of disease progression were analyzed for GLI2 and E-cadherin expression by immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, or RT-PCR. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results Among melanoma cell lines, increased GLI2 expression was associated with loss of E-cadherin expression and with increased capacity to invade Matrigel and to form bone metastases in mice (mean osteolytic tumor area: GLI2high vs GLI2low, 2.81 vs 0.93 mm2, difference = 1.88 mm2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.16 to 2.60, P < .001). Reduction of GLI2 expression in melanoma cells that had expressed high levels of GLI2 substantially inhibited both basal and TGF-β-induced cell migration, invasion (mean number of Matrigel invading cells: shGLI2 vs shCtrl (control), 52.6 vs 100, difference = 47.4, 95% CI = 37.0 to 57.8, P = .024; for shGLI2 + TGF-β vs shCtrl + TGF-β, 31.0 vs 161.9, difference = −130.9, 95% CI = −96.2 to −165.5, P = .002), and MMP secretion in vitro and the development of experimental bone metastases in mice. Within human melanoma lesions, GLI2 expression was heterogeneous, associated with tumor regions in which E-cadherin was lost and increased in the most aggressive tumors. Conclusion GLI2 was directly involved in driving melanoma invasion and metastasis in this preclinical stud