Formation of Monodispersed Polystyrene Particles by Spontaneous Emulsion Polymerization into Silica Particle Solutions without Surfactants

Nagasaki Symposium on Nano-Dynamics 2008 (NSND2008) 平成20年1月29日(火)於長崎大学 Poster Presentatio

Patient affect and caregiver burden in dementia

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies focusing on the burden of caregivers of dementia patients have been published. However, there have been few studies focusing on positive affect as an important factor affecting the caregiver burden, and only a few studies comparing the caregiver burden between different dementia diseases have been reported. METHODS: Three hundred and thirty-seven consecutive caregivers of people with dementia participated in this study. The caregiver burden was evaluated by the short version of the Japanese version of the Zarit Burden Interview. RESULTS: Positive affect scores had a significant relationship with the scores of the short version of the Zarit Burden Interview. Caregivers for patients with dementia with Lewy bodies or frontotemporal dementia suffered from a greater burden than those for patients with Alzheimer's disease dementia. CONCLUSIONS: The caregiver burden differed between people caring for patients with different dementia diseases. Positive affect of dementia patients has a significant relationship with caregiver burden, independently from neuropsychiatric symptoms of patients

An Anti-apoptotic Role of NF-κB in TNFα-induced Apoptosis in an Ameloblastoma Cell Line

AbstractNuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is involved in the promotion of cell survival in a variety of cell types. The present study focused on the role of NF-κB in TNFα-induced apoptosis in an ameloblastoma. Immunohistochemical staining revealed p65 NF-κB protein to be expressed in ameloblastoma tissues. Furthermore, immunoblotting and immunocytochemistry analyses showed that the stimulation of TNFα in an ameloblastoma cell line (AM-1) induced p65 NF-κB translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, indicating NF-κB activation. These findings were confirmed by an NF-κB luciferase reporter assay, which detected enhanced NF-κB transcription activity of AM-1 cells by TNFα stimulation. Moreover, pretreatment with SN50, a nuclear translocation inhibitor, prior to TNFα stimulation, effectively inhibited TNFα-induced NF-κB activation in AM-1 cells. In order to reveal the role of NF-κB activation during TNFα-induced apoptosis in AM-1 cells, an apoptosis assay was performed, and showed that the potential of TNFα in inducing apoptosis in AM-1 cells was significantly elevated by inhibiting the NF-κB activation. These results suggest that NF-κB plays an anti-apoptotic role in TNFα-induced apoptosis in AM-1 cells

Apoptotic function of tumor-associated antigen RCAS1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Receptor-binding cancer antigen expressed on SiSo cell (RCAS1) is derived from uterine adenocarcinoma and can induce apoptosis in lymphocytes, allowing tumor cells to escape from immune surveillance. RCAS1 is reportedly expressed in a membranous pattern on tumor cell or soluble one in serum of patients. The aim of this study was to investigate expression patterns of RCAS1 and the effect on apoptosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell lines. METHODS: In four kinds of OSCC cell lines (HSC-2, HSC-3, SQUU-A, and SQUU-B), RCAS1 mRNAs and proteins were determined by RT-PCR and immunocytochemistry. Membranous RCAS1 was determined by flow cytometry. Culture supernatants were analyzed for detection of soluble RCAS1 by dot blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Apoptotic ability of RCAS1 on the erythroid leukemia cell line K562 with the putative receptor was evaluated by flow cytometry in co-culture with highly metastatic SQUU-B, with knocked-down RCAS1 cells or in a no-cell contact condition. RESULTS: RCAS1 mRNA and proteins were expressed in all of OSCC cell lines. Membranous pattern were expressed in all cell lines, while soluble pattern was detected in all supernatants. RCAS1 mRNA, membranous and soluble RCAS1 were significantly seen in SQUU-B more than the other 3 cell lines (P < 0.05). K562 apoptosis was induced in co-culture with each of all cell lines, particularly with SQUU-B. Apoptosis was markedly reduced in co-culture with RCAS1 knockdown cells, but was induced in co-culture without cell contract of SQUU-B. CONLUSIONS: Our study suggests that RCAS1 has an apoptotic function via membranous/soluble expression pattern in OSCC cells. RCAS1 may thus affect tumor escape from immune surveillance in OSCC by inducing apoptosis

Anti-fibrotic efficacy of nintedanib in pulmonary fibrosis via the inhibition of fibrocyte activity

Background: Nintedanib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is specific for platelet-derived growth factor receptors (PDGFR), fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR), and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFR), has recently been approved for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Fibrocytes are bone marrow-derived progenitor cells that produce growth factors and contribute to fibrogenesis in the lungs. However, the effects of nintedanib on the functions of fibrocytes remain unclear. Methods: Human monocytes were isolated from the peripheral blood of healthy volunteers. The expression of growth factors and their receptors in fibrocytes was analyzed using ELISA and Western blotting. The effects of nintedanib on the ability of fibrocytes to stimulate lung fibroblasts were examined in terms of their proliferation. The direct effects of nintedanib on the differentiation and migration of fibrocytes were also assessed. We investigated whether nintedanib affected the accumulation of fibrocytes in mouse lungs treated with bleomycin. Results: Human fibrocytes produced PDGF, FGF2, and VEGF-A. Nintedanib and specific inhibitors for each growth factor receptor significantly inhibited the proliferation of lung fibroblasts stimulated by the supernatant of fibrocytes. Nintedanib inhibited the migration and differentiation of fibrocytes induced by growth factors in vitro. The number of fibrocytes in the bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis model was reduced by the administration of nintedanib, and this was associated with anti-fibrotic effects. Conclusions: These results support the role of fibrocytes as producers of and responders to growth factors, and suggest that the anti-fibrotic effects of nintedanib are at least partly mediated by suppression of fibrocyte function

Factors in glucocorticoid regimens associated with treatment response and relapses of IgG4-related disease: a multicentre study

Glucocorticoids (GC) are effective for treating IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD); however, relapse is often observed. We conducted a retrospective multicentre study to investigate risk factors in GC regimens associated with relapses of IgG4-RD. Data on 166 patients with definitive IgG4-RD diagnosis were collected from 12 institutions. Comprehensive surveillance of clinical backgrounds and GC regimens as well as multivariate analysis of factors associated with treatment responses and relapses was performed. To determine the initial maximal GC dose, the patients were stratified into three groups depending on the initial prednisolone (PSL) dosage: 0.7 mg/kg/day. The multivariate analysis extracted the disease duration and reduction speed of initial GC dose. Patients treated with initial GC 0.7 mg/kg/day of PSL showed higher relapse rates than those treated with 0.4–0.69 mg/kg/day. The relapse rates were significantly higher in patients with fast reduction of the initial dose (>0.4 mg/day) than in patients with slow reduction (<0.4 mg/day). To avoid relapse, 0.4–0.69 mg/kg/day of initial PSL with slow reduction speed (<0.4 mg/day) is needed in the early treatment of IgG4-RD