Colo-Colonic Intussusception Caused by a Submucosal Lipoma: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Adult intussusception is a rare clinical presentation and often not considered clinically in the differential diagnosis of adult patients with vague abdominal complaints. A 44-year-old woman visited our emergency department with sudden onset of intermittent abdominal pain. Diagnostic imaging revealed an intussusception caused by a submucosal lipoma of the sigmoid. A laparotomy was performed and the diagnosis was proven by histological examination. Submucosal lipomas are usually asymptomatic but may cause bleeding, obstruction, intussusception, or abdominal pain and thus mimic a malignancy. Surgical excision is indicated for symptomatic cases

DNA Methylation of the ABO Promoter Underlies Loss of ABO Allelic Expression in a Significant Proportion of Leukemic Patients

Background: Loss of A, B and H antigens from the red blood cells of patients with myeloid malignancies is a frequent occurrence. Previously, we have reported alterations in ABH antigens on the red blood cells of 55% of patients with myeloid malignancies. Methodology/Principal Findings: To determine the underlying molecular mechanisms of this loss, we assessed ABO allelic expression in 21 patients with ABH antigen loss previously identified by flow cytometric analysis as well as an additional 7 patients detected with ABH antigen changes by serology. When assessing ABO mRNA allelic expression, 6/12 (50%) patients with ABH antigen loss detected by flow cytometry and 5/7 (71%) of the patients with ABH antigen loss detected by serology had a corresponding ABO mRNA allelic loss of expression. We examined the ABO locus for copy number and DNA methylation alterations in 21 patients, 11 with loss of expression of one or both ABO alleles, and 10 patients with no detectable allelic loss of ABO mRNA expression. No loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at the ABO locus was observed in these patients. However in 8/11 (73%) patients with loss of ABO allelic expression, the ABO promoter was methylated compared with 2/10 (20%) of patients with no ABO allelic expression loss (P = 0.03). Conclusions/Significance: We have found that loss of ABH antigens in patients with hematological malignancies is associated with a corresponding loss of ABO allelic expression in a significant proportion of patients. Loss of ABO allelic expression was strongly associated with DNA methylation of the ABO promoter.Tina Bianco-Miotto, Damian J. Hussey, Tanya K. Day, Denise S. O'Keefe and Alexander Dobrovi

The high affinity selectin glycan ligand C2-O-sLex and mRNA transcripts of the core 2 β-1,6-N-acetylglusaminyltransferase (C2GnT1) gene are highly expressed in human colorectal adenocarcinomas

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The metastasis of cancer cells and leukocyte extravasation into inflamed tissues share common features. Specialized carbohydrates modified with sialyl Lewis x (sLe^x) antigens on leukocyte membranes are ligands for selectin adhesion molecules on activated vascular endothelial cells at inflammatory sites. The activity of the enzyme core 2 β1,6 <it>N</it>-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (C2GnT1) in leukocytes greatly increases their ability to bind to endothelial selectins. C2GnT1 is essential for the synthesis of core 2-branched O-linked carbohydrates terminated with sLe^x(C2-O-sLe^x). Our goal was to determine the expression profiles of C2-O-sLe^xin the malignant progression and metastasis of colorectal adenocarcinomas. The well characterized CHO-131 monoclonal antibody (mAb) specifically recognizes C2-O-sLe^xpresent in human leukocytes and carcinoma cells. Using CHO-131 mAb, we investigated whether C2-O-sLe^xwas present in 113 human primary colorectal adenocarcinomas, 10 colorectal adenomas, 46 metastatic liver tumors, 28 normal colorectal tissues, and 5 normal liver tissues by immunohistochemistry. We also examined mRNA levels of the enzyme core 2 β1,6-<it>N</it>-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (C2GnT1) in 20 well, 15 moderately, and 2 poorly differentiated colorectal adenocarcinomas, and in 5 normal colorectal tissues by using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed high reactivity with CHO-131 mAb in approximately 70% of colorectal carcinomas and 87% of metastatic liver tumors but a lack of reactivity in colorectal adenomas and normal colonic and liver tissues. Positive reactivity with CHO-131 mAb was very prominent in neoplastic colorectal glands of well to moderately differentiated adenocarcinomas. The most intense staining with CHO-131 mAb was observed at the advancing edge of tumors with the deepest invasive components.</p> <p>Finally, we analyzed C2GnT1 mRNA levels in 37 colorectal adenocarcinomas and 5 normal colorectal tissues by RT-PCR. Significantly, we observed a greater than 15-fold increase in C2GnT1 mRNA levels in colorectal adenocarcinomas compared to normal colorectal tissues.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>C2-O-sLe^x, detected by the CHO-131 mAb, is a tumor associated antigen whose expression is highly upregulated in colorectal adenocarcinomas and metastatic liver tumors compared to normal tissues. C2-O-sLe^xis a potentially useful early predictor of metastasis.</p

Enhancement of metastatic ability by ectopic expression of ST6GalNAcI on a gastric cancer cell line in a mouse model

ST6GalNAcI is a sialyltransferase responsible for the synthesis of sialyl Tn (sTn) antigen which is expressed in a variety of adenocarcinomas including gastric cancer especially in advanced cases, but the roles of ST6GalNAcI and sTn in cancer progression are largely unknown. We generated sTn-expressing human gastric cancer cells by ectopic expression of ST6GalNAcI to evaluate metastatic ability of these cells and prognostic effect of ST6GalNAcI and sTn in a mouse model, and identified sTn carrier proteins to gain insight into the function of ST6GalNAcI and sTn in gastric cancer progression. A green fluorescent protein-tagged human gastric cancer cell line was transfected with ST6GalNAcI to produce sTn-expressing cells, which were transplanted into nude mice. STn-positive gastric cancer cells showed higher intraperitoneal metastatic ability in comparison with sTn-negative control, resulting in shortened survival time of the mice, which was mitigated by anti-sTn antibody administration. Then, sTn-carrying proteins were immunoprecipitated from culture supernatants and lysates of these cells, and identified MUC1 and CD44 as major sTn carriers. It was confirmed that MUC1 carries sTn also in human advanced gastric cancer tissues. Identification of sTn carrier proteins will help understand mechanisms of metastatic phenotype acquisition of gastric cancer cells by ST6GalNAcI and sTn

Sialyl Lewis X Expression and Lymphatic Microvessel Density in Primary Tumors of Node-negative Colorectal Cancer Patients Predict Disease Recurrence

Up to 30% of curatively resected colorectal cancer patients with tumor-negative lymph nodes, show disease recurrence. We assessed whether these high-risk patients can be identified by examining primary tumors for the following blood and lymphatic vasculature markers: A) sialyl Lewis X (sLeX), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C and VEGF-D expression; B) blood and lymphatic microvessel density (BMVD/LMVD); and C) the presence of blood and lymphatic vessel invasion. Thirty-six cases (disease recurrence within 5 years) and 72 controls (no disease recurrence for at least 5 years) were selected in a case-control design. Tumor sections were stained by antibodies CSLEX1 (sLeX), anti-VEGF-C, anti-VEGF-D, anti-CD31 (BMVD) or D2–40 (LMVD) to determine the parameters as mentioned above. A multivariate analysis showed sLeX expression and high LMVD (odds ratio 5.1, 95% confidence interval 1.3–20.0 and odds ratio 3.1, 95% confidence interval 1.0–10.0, respectively) to be independent factors predicting disease recurrence. Expression of sLeX correlated with liver metastases (P = 0.015). A high LMVD was related to regional intra-abdominal or intrapelvic metastases in lymph nodes and distant metastases other than in the liver and lungs such as peritoneum, bones, brain and adrenal glands (P = 0.004). A high BMVD in the invasive front correlated with lung metastases (P = 0.018). We show that high-risk node-negative colorectal cancer patients can be identified by primary tumor assessment for sLeX expression and LMVD. Our results are consistent with the notion that both lymphatic and hematogenous metastasis play a role in colorectal cancer

Tumour-associated carbohydrate antigens in breast cancer

Glycosylation changes that occur in cancer often lead to the expression of tumour-associated carbohydrate antigens. In breast cancer, these antigens are usually associated with a poor prognosis and a reduced overall survival. Cellular models have shown the implication of these antigens in cell adhesion, migration, proliferation and tumour growth. The present review summarizes our current knowledge of glycosylation changes (structures, biosynthesis and occurrence) in breast cancer cell lines and primary tumours, and the consequences on disease progression and aggressiveness. The therapeutic strategies attempted to target tumour-associated carbohydrate antigens in breast cancer are also discussed

Preparation of Hydrogen Permeable Membrane Using Nanoparticles Electrophoresis Technique

Hydrogen perm-selective membranes composed of Pd nanoparticles were investigated. The nanoparticles were prepared by ultrasonic reduction from PdII ions, and then deposited on a substrate disc with electrophoresis technique. These electrophoretic membranes have shown high performance of perm-selectivity for H2 with separation factor α = 3.85, under room temperature