Significance of plasma chromogranin A determination in neuroendocrine tumour (NET) diagnosis.

The secretory nature of NETs implies the determination of the CgA concentration as a standard marker. The concentration of CgA in plasma correlates with the degree of histopathological differentiation, tumor stage, and is an essential prerequisite for therapy. A retrospective analysis of the results of the plasma CgA concentrations in relation to histopathological and clinical findings (type of NET according to the WHO classification, severity of disease based on the presence of metastases and clinical symptoms) as well as somatostatin receptor scintigraphy was performed in 41 patients with NET. The patients were treated in The Regional Oncology of Lublin from February 2005 to May 2008. Data from the literature and results of this study suggest the use of CgA in the diagnosis and prognosis of NET. Plasma CgA concentration analysed together with histopathological assessment of tumor and the clinical picture is a useful marker in the diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumours. High plasma CgA concentrations may indicate the presence of highly-differentiated NET (WDNEC), and also may indicate the presence of tumor metastasis. The highest CgA concentrations were observed in patients with neuroendocrine tumors associated with carcinoid symptoms and the presence of metastases to the liver

PIN6 is required for nectary auxin response and short stamen development

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98417/1/tpj12184-sup-0001-FigS1.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98417/2/tpj12184.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98417/3/tpj12184-sup-0004-FigS4.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98417/4/tpj12184-sup-0003-FigS3.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98417/5/tpj12184-sup-0002-FigS2.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98417/6/tpj12184-sup-0005-FigS5.pd

Identification of a sex-linked SNP marker in the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) using RAD sequencing

The salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer, 1837)) is a parasitic copepod that can, if untreated, cause considerable damage to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758) and incurs significant costs to the Atlantic salmon mariculture industry. Salmon lice are gonochoristic and normally show sex ratios close to 1:1. While this observation suggests that sex determination in salmon lice is genetic, with only minor environmental influences, the mechanism of sex determination in the salmon louse is unknown. This paper describes the identification of a sex-linked Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) marker, providing the first evidence for a genetic mechanism of sex determination in the salmon louse. Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) was used to isolate SNP markers in a laboratory-maintained salmon louse strain. A total of 85 million raw Illumina 100 base paired-end reads produced 281,838 unique RAD-tags across 24 unrelated individuals. RAD marker Lsa101901 showed complete association with phenotypic sex for all individuals analysed, being heterozygous in females and homozygous in males. Using an allele-specific PCR assay for genotyping, this SNP association pattern was further confirmed for three unrelated salmon louse strains, displaying complete association with phenotypic sex in a total of 96 genotyped individuals. The marker Lsa101901 was located in the coding region of the prohibitin-2 gene, which showed a sex-dependent differential expression, with mRNA levels determined by RT-qPCR about 1.8-fold higher in adult female than adult male salmon lice. This study's observations of a novel sex-linked SNP marker are consistent with sex determination in the salmon louse being genetic and following a female heterozygous system. Marker Lsa101901 provides a tool to determine the genetic sex of salmon lice, and could be useful in the development of control strategies

Cause of Death and Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Anticoagulated Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation : Data From ROCKET AF

M. Kaste on työryhmän ROCKET AF Steering Comm jäsen.Background-Atrial fibrillation is associated with higher mortality. Identification of causes of death and contemporary risk factors for all-cause mortality may guide interventions. Methods and Results-In the Rivaroxaban Once Daily Oral Direct Factor Xa Inhibition Compared with Vitamin K Antagonism for Prevention of Stroke and Embolism Trial in Atrial Fibrillation (ROCKET AF) study, patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation were randomized to rivaroxaban or dose-adjusted warfarin. Cox proportional hazards regression with backward elimination identified factors at randomization that were independently associated with all-cause mortality in the 14 171 participants in the intention-to-treat population. The median age was 73 years, and the mean CHADS(2) score was 3.5. Over 1.9 years of median follow-up, 1214 (8.6%) patients died. Kaplan-Meier mortality rates were 4.2% at 1 year and 8.9% at 2 years. The majority of classified deaths (1081) were cardiovascular (72%), whereas only 6% were nonhemorrhagic stroke or systemic embolism. No significant difference in all-cause mortality was observed between the rivaroxaban and warfarin arms (P=0.15). Heart failure (hazard ratio 1.51, 95% CI 1.33-1.70, P= 75 years (hazard ratio 1.69, 95% CI 1.51-1.90, P Conclusions-In a large population of patients anticoagulated for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, approximate to 7 in 10 deaths were cardiovascular, whereasPeer reviewe

KD5170, a novel mercaptoketone-based histone deacetylase inhibitor that exhibits broad spectrum antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo

Abstract Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have garnered significant attention as cancer drugs. These therapeutic agents have recently been clinically validated with the market approval of vorinostat (SAHA, Zolinza) for treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Like vorinostat, most of the small-molecule HDAC inhibitors in clinical development are hydroxamic acids, whose inhibitory activity stems from their ability to coordinate the catalytic Zn 2+ in the active site of HDACs. We sought to identify novel, nonhydroxamate-based HDAC inhibitors with potentially distinct pharmaceutical properties via an ultra-high throughput small molecule biochemical screen against the HDAC activity in a HeLa cell nuclear extract. An A-mercaptoketone series was identified and chemically optimized. The lead compound, KD5170, exhibits HDAC inhibitory activity with an IC 50 of 0.045 Mmol/L in the screening biochemical assay and an EC 50 of 0.025 Mmol/L in HeLa cell -based assays that monitor histone H3 acetylation. KD5170 also exhibits broad spectrum classe