Relevance of CYP3A5 Expression on the Clinical Outcome of Patients With Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background/Aim: This study aimed to elucidate the detailed characteristics of CYP3A5 expression and the association between CYP3A5 expression and clinical outcomes in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Patients and Methods: This study retrospectively enrolled 124 Japanese patients with RCC treated at the Okayama University Hospital. The commonest CYP3A5 gene polymorphism, CYP3A5*3, and expression levels of CYP3A5 mRNA and protein in each tissue were examined. Results: Expression of CYP3A5 mRNA and protein in RCC tissues was significantly down-regulated compared to that in adjacent normal tissues. High level of CYP3A5 mRNA expression significantly extended cancer-specific survival (p=0.004) and overall survival (p=0.002). The CYP3A5 mRNA expression level was identified as a significant independent prognostic factor for both cancer-specific survival and overall survival. Conclusion: CYP3A5 could serve as a potential marker for prognostication and treatment planning for patients with RCC

Suppression of Sproutys Has a Therapeutic Effect for a Mouse Model of Ischemia by Enhancing Angiogenesis

Sprouty proteins (Sproutys) inhibit receptor tyrosine kinase signaling and control various aspects of branching morphogenesis. In this study, we examined the physiological function of Sproutys in angiogenesis, using gene targeting and short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) knockdown strategies. Sprouty2 and Sprouty4 double knockout (KO) (DKO) mice were embryonic-lethal around E12.5 due to cardiovascular defects. The number of peripheral blood vessels, but not that of lymphatic vessels, was increased in Sprouty4 KO mice compared with wild-type (WT) mice. Sprouty4 KO mice were more resistant to hind limb ischemia and soft tissue ischemia than WT mice were, because Sprouty4 deficiency causes accelerated neovascularization. Moreover, suppression of Sprouty2 and Sprouty4 expression in vivo by shRNA targeting accelerated angiogenesis and has a therapeutic effect in a mouse model of hind limb ischemia. These data suggest that Sproutys are physiologically important negative regulators of angiogenesis in vivo and novel therapeutic targets for treating peripheral ischemic diseases

Inverting the thermal radiative contrast of vanadium dioxide by metasurfaces based on localized gap-plasmons

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is a promising phase-change material (PCM) in controlling radiative heat transfer because of the large permittivity contrast between the phases and the moderate metal-insulator transition temperature of 340 K. Widely adopted bare VO2 films on a dielectric substrate permit more radiative heat in the insulating state compared to that in the metallic state. In this paper, we present PCM-insulator-metal metasurfaces that invert the thermal radiative contrast, which means that the radiative heat flux is more promoted in the metallic state. The metasurfaces exhibit similar but broader resonance compared to conventional metal-insulator-metal metamaterials based on localized gap-plasmons when VO2 is in the metallic state. The broad resonance facilitates to maximize the radiative thermal exchange and is explained by the damping of the gap-plasmon mode dominated by the optical loss of VO2. The measured electromagnetic response of the fabricated metasurfaces agrees well with numerical simulations, and it also demonstrates that the resonant wavelength is tuned by the temperature. High emission or absorption contrast at a specific temperature is numerically obtained by geometrical optimization albeit lossy amorphous silicon or alumina is employed as the insulating layer to satisfy the fabrication requirement. We believe that the presented metasurface design contributes to intelligent thermal management systems with flexibility

Are the Symptoms of an NSAID-Induced Ulcer Truly Milder Than Those of an Ordinary Ulcer?

Objective. The percentage of patients with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and low-dose aspirin- (LDA-) induced ulcers who complain of gastrointestinal symptoms has generally been considered to be low. The aim of this study was to examine and compare the symptoms and quality of life (QOL) at peptic ulcer onset. Methods. This study involved 200 patients who were confirmed by endoscopy to be in the acute stage of gastroduodenal ulcer (A1-H1). Patients completed a self-administered questionnaire (Global Overall Symptom score and SF-8) at ulcer onset, and data were compared between NSAIDs/LDA ulcers and non-NSAIDs/LDA ulcers. Results. The upper gastrointestinal symptoms score was significantly lower for patients using LDA only (20.5 ± 9.4 in the nonusing group, 19.6 ± 8.6 in the NSAIDs-only group, 16.7 ± 11.6 in the LDA-only group, and 18.5 ± 7.2 in the NSAIDs/LDA group, P<0.05). The QOL score (physical summary) was significantly lower in the NSAID group (42.1 ± 9.9) than in the nonusing group (47.6 ± 7.6) (P<0.05). Patients’ characteristics showed no significant differences among the groups, with the exception of age. Conclusion. The severity of upper abdominal symptoms at peptic ulcer onset was similar between NSAID users and nonusers