Primary Hyperparathyroidism in Patients with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1: Experience by a Single Surgical Team in Japan

Nineteen patients were surgically treated for hyperparathyroidism associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 syndrome. Fourteen patients (74%) had removal of three or more parathyroid glands at the first operation, and five (26%) by removal of 2 1/2 or fewer glands. Two patients had recurrent hypercalcemia during the mean follow-up period of 65 months. One had a recurrence 10 years after subtotal parathyroidectomy. Reexploration in this patient revealed enlargement of the remaining tissue in the neck and an enlarged supernumerary gland in the aorticopulmonary window. The other patient had persistent hypercalcemia after removal of two hyperplastic parathyroid glands until after another 1 1/2 more glands were removed. After reoperation the patient was normocalcemic for 10 years before hypercalcemia was again noticed. The patient subsequently died from renal carcinoma metastases, which might have been the cause of the hypercalcemia before death

Immunohistochemical Demonstration of Membrane-bound Prostaglandin E2 Synthase-1 in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase-1 (mPGES-1) is an inducible enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of prostaglandin (PG) H2 to PGE2 in downstream of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Recent studies have obtained in vitro evidence that PGE2 participates in carcinogenesis, angiogenesis, and induction of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), which plays a crucial role in cancer invasion. However, implications for mPGES-1 in thyroid carcinomas remain to be determined. To address this issue, we performed an immunohistochemical analysis for mPGES-1, COX-2 and MMP-9 in 20 papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients. mPGES-1 immunoreactivity was localized in the cytoplasm of carcinoma cells in 19 cases, with an intensity that tended to be distinct at the interface between the tumor and the surrounding non-neoplastic tissue. Staining was more intense in regions with papillary arrangement, while it was less intense in regions with trabecular or solid arrangement. In many cases, immunohistochemical localization of COX-2 and MMP-9 resemble that of mPGES-1. Taken together, our results suggest the involvement of mPGES-1 in proliferation and differentiation of PTC as well as local invasion of PTC

Rb Regulates DNA Damage Response and Cellular Senescence through E2F-Dependent Suppression of N-Ras Isoprenylation

Oncogene-induced cellular senescence is well documented, but little is known about how infinite cell proliferation induced by loss of tumor suppressor genes is antagonized by cellular functions. Rb heterozygous mice generate Rb-deficient C cell adenomas that progress to adenocarcinomas following biallelic loss of N-ras. Here, we demonstrate that pRb inactivation induces aberrant expression of farnesyl diphosphate synthase, many prenyltransferases, and their upstream regulators sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs) in an E2F-dependent manner, leading to enhanced isoprenylation and activation of N-Ras. Consequently, elevated N-Ras activity induces DNA damage response and p130-dependent cellular senescence in Rb-deficient cells. Furthermore, Rb heterozygous mice additionally lacking any of Ink4a, Arf, or Suv39h1 generated C cell adenocarcinomas, suggesting that cellular senescence antagonizes Rb-deficient carcinogenesis. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

悪性褐色細胞腫患者の生存と化学療法の効果

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Ⅲ.Chemistry

島根大学金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科 環境科学Editor : Tazaki, Kazue |田崎, 和

Early-stage antibody kinetics after the third dose of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination measured by a point-of-care fingertip whole blood testing

Amid the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic, we aimed to demonstrate the accuracy of the fingertip whole blood sampling test (FWT) in measuring the antibody titer and uncovering its dynamics shortly after booster vaccination. Mokobio SARS-CoV-2 IgM & IgG Quantum Dot immunoassay (Mokobio Biotechnology R&D Center Inc., MD, USA) was used as a point-of-care FWT in 226 health care workers (HCWs) who had received two doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) at least 8 months prior. Each participant tested their antibody titers before and after the third-dose booster up to 14-days. The effect of the booster was observed as early as the fourth day after vaccination, which exceeded the detection limit (>30,000 U/mL) by 2.3% on the fifth day, 12.2% on the sixth day, and 22.5% after the seventh day. Significant positive correlations were observed between the pre- and post-vaccination (the seventh and eighth days) antibody titers (correlation coefficient, 0.405; p<0.001). FWT is useful for examining antibody titers as a point-of-care test. Rapid response of antibody titer started as early as the fourth day post-vaccination, while the presence of weak responders to BNT162b2 vaccine was indicated

A novel indole compound MA-35 attenuates renal fibrosis by inhibiting both TNF-α and TGF-β1 pathways

Renal fibrosis is closely related to chronic inflammation and is under the control of epigenetic regulations. Because the signaling of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) play key roles in progression of renal fibrosis, dual blockade of TGF-β1 and TNF-α is desired as its therapeutic approach. Here we screened small molecules showing anti-TNF-α activity in the compound library of indole derivatives. 11 out of 41 indole derivatives inhibited the TNF-α effect. Among them, Mitochonic Acid 35 (MA-35), 5-(3, 5-dimethoxybenzyloxy)-3-indoleacetic acid, showed the potent effect. The anti-TNF-α activity was mediated by inhibiting IκB kinase phosphorylation, which attenuated the LPS/GaIN-induced hepatic inflammation in the mice. Additionally, MA-35 concurrently showed an anti-TGF-β1 effect by inhibiting Smad3 phosphorylation, resulting in the downregulation of TGF-β1-induced fibrotic gene expression. In unilateral ureter obstructed mouse kidney, which is a renal fibrosis model, MA-35 attenuated renal inflammation and fibrosis with the downregulation of inflammatory cytokines and fibrotic gene expressions. Furthermore, MA-35 inhibited TGF-β1-induced H3K4me1 histone modification of the fibrotic gene promoter, leading to a decrease in the fibrotic gene expression. MA-35 affects multiple signaling pathways involved in the fibrosis and may recover epigenetic modification; therefore, it could possibly be a novel therapeutic drug for fibrosis