Connexin 43 mediated gap junctional communication enhances breast tumor cell diapedesis in culture

INTRODUCTION: Metastasis involves the emigration of tumor cells through the vascular endothelium, a process also known as diapedesis. The molecular mechanisms regulating tumor cell diapedesis are poorly understood, but may involve heterocellular gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) between tumor cells and endothelial cells. METHOD: To test this hypothesis we expressed connexin 43 (Cx43) in GJIC-deficient mammary epithelial tumor cells (HBL100) and examined their ability to form gap junctions, establish heterocellular GJIC and migrate through monolayers of human microvascular endothelial cells (HMVEC) grown on matrigel-coated coverslips. RESULTS: HBL100 cells expressing Cx43 formed functional heterocellular gap junctions with HMVEC monolayers within 30 minutes. In addition, immunocytochemistry revealed Cx43 localized to contact sites between Cx43 expressing tumor cells and endothelial cells. Quantitative analysis of diapedesis revealed a two-fold increase in diapedesis of Cx43 expressing cells compared to empty vector control cells. The expression of a functionally inactive Cx43 chimeric protein in HBL100 cells failed to increase migration efficiency, suggesting that the observed up-regulation of diapedesis in Cx43 expressing cells required heterocellular GJIC. This finding is further supported by the observation that blocking homocellular and heterocellular GJIC with carbenoxolone in co-cultures also reduced diapedesis of Cx43 expressing HBL100 tumor cells. CONCLUSION: Collectively, our results suggest that heterocellular GJIC between breast tumor cells and endothelial cells may be an important regulatory step during metastasis

Spectroscopic studies, antimicrobial activities and crystal structures of N-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzalidene) 1-aminonaphthalene

Dulger, Basaran/0000-0002-3184-2652; Dulger, Basaran/0000-0002-3184-2652; Unver, Huseyin/0000-0003-3968-4385WOS: 000227082800012Schiff base N-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzalidene)1-aminonaphthalene has been synthesized from the reaction of 2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzaldehyde with 1-aminonaphthalene. The compound were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR and UV-visible techniques. The UV-visible spectra of the Schiff base were studied in polar and nonpolar solvents in acidic and basic media. The structure of the compound has been examined cyrstallographically. There are two independent molecules in the asymmetric unit. It crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(l)/c, with unit cell parameters: a=14,602(2), b=5,800(1), c= 16,899(1) Angstrom, V= 1394.4(2) Angstrom(3) D-x=1.321 g cm(-3) and Z = 4. The crystal structure was solved by direct methods and refined by full-matrix least squares to a find R = 0.041 of for 1179 observed reflections. The title compound's antimicrobial activities also have been studied. The antimicrobial activities of the ligand has been screened in vitro against the organisms Escherichia coli ATCC 11230, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Klebsiella pneumoniae UC57, Micrococcus luteus La 2971, Proteus vulgaris ATCC 8427, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Mycobacterium smegmatis CCM 2067, Bacillus cereus ATCC 7064 and Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 15313, the yeast cultures Candida albicans ATCC 1023 1, Kluyveromyces fragilis NRRL 2415, Rhodotorula rubra DSM 70403, Debaryomyces hansenii DSM 70238 and Hanseniaspora guilliemodii DSM 3432. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Comparison of four different suture materials in soft tissues of rats

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this in vivo study was to histopathologically evaluate the inflammatory reaction incited by Vicryl in rats and compare this material with various suture materials that are widely used in the clinic. SUBJECTS AN

The association between serum Dickkopf-1 levels and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Serum Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) is elevated in many malignancies and is an important indicator of malignant potential. However, its significance in esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) has not yet been clarified. We hypothesized a role for DKK-1 in patients with ESCC. The study consisted of 90 ESCC patients and 85 healthy controls. After diagnosis, the level of DKK-1 was measured in the serum samples by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the levels of DKK-1 were much higher in the ESCC patients than in the healthy control group (p < 0.0001). For serum DKK-1, the sensitivity and specificity of the assay were 70 and 80%, respectively. The preoperative serum DKK-1 level was elevated in the ESCC patients. Although serum DKK-1 is not a specific biomarker for ESCC, it might be a useful marker for the diagnosis and treatment of ESCC

The evaluation of anxiety and salivary cortisol levels in patients with oral lichen planus

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine any association between anxiety and salivary cortisol levels in oral lichen planus (OLP) patients by the case-control method