Time at surgery during menstrual cycle and menopause affects pS2 but not cathepsin D levels in breast cancer

Many studies have addressed the clinical value of pS2 as a marker of hormone responsiveness and of cathepsin D (Cath D) as a prognostic factor in breast cancer. Because pS2 and Cath D are both oestrogen induced in human breast cancer cell lines, we studied the influence of the menstrual cycle phase and menopausal status at the time of surgery on the levels of these proteins in breast cancer. A population of 1750 patients with breast cancer, including 339 women in menstrual cycle, was analysed. Tumoral Cath D and pS2 were measured by radioimmunoassay. Serum oestradiol (E2), progesterone (Pg), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels at the day of surgery were used to define the hormonal phase in premenopausal women. There was a trend towards a higher mean pS2 level in the follicular phase compared with the luteal phase (17 ng mg−1and 11 ng mg−1respectively, P= 0.09). Mean pS2 was lower in menopausal patients than in women with cycle (8 ng mg−1and 14 ng mg−1respectively, P= 0.0001). No differences in mean Cath D level were observed between the different phases of the menstrual cycle, or between pre- and post-menopausal women. In the overall population, pS2 was slightly positively associated with E2 and Pg levels and negatively associated with FSH and LH, probably reflecting the link between pS2 and menopausal status. In premenopausal women, no association was found between pS2 and E2, Pg, FSH or LH levels. There were no correlations between Cath D level and circulating hormone levels in the overall population. However, in the subgroup of premenopausal women with ER-positive (ER+) tumours, E2 was slightly associated with both pS2 and Cath D, consistent with oestrogen induction of these proteins in ER+ breast cancer cell lines. There are changes in pS2 level in breast cancer throughout the menstrual cycle and menopause. This suggests that the choice of the pS2 cut-off level should take the hormonal status at the time of surgery into account. In contrast, the level of Cath D is unrelated to the menstrual cycle and menopausal status. 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Calix[n] imidazolium as a new class of positively charged homo-calix compounds

Macrocycles based on neutral calixarenes and calixpyrroles have been extensively explored for ion binding, molecular assembly and related applications. Given that only these two types of calix compounds and their analogs are available, the introduction of new forms of widely usable calix macrocycles is an outstanding challenge. Here we report the quadruply/quintuply charged imidazole-based homo-calix compounds, calix[4/5] imidazolium. The noncovalent (C-H)(+)/pi(+) -anion interactions of the imidazolium rings with anions inside and outside the cone are the stabilizing factors for crystal packing, resulting in self-assembled arrays of cone-shaped calix-imidazolium molecules. Calix[4] imidazolium senses fluoride selectively even in aqueous solutions. Calix[5] imidazolium recognizes neutral fullerenes through pi(+) -pi interactions and makes them soluble in water, which could be useful in fullerene chemistry. Not only derivatization and ring expansion of calix[n] imidazolium, but also their utilization in ionic liquids, carbene chemistry and nanographite/graphene exfoliation could be exploited.close10