Curcumin targets fibroblast-tumor cell interactions in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Co-culture of periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLs) and SCC-25 oral squamous carcinoma cells (OSCC) results in conversion of PDLs into carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and induces epithelial-to mesenchymal transition (EMT) of OSCC tumor cells. We hypothesized that Curcumin targets this dynamic mutual interaction between CAFs and tumor cells. Normal and 2muM Curcumin-treated co-culture were performed for 4 days, followed by analysis of tumor cell invasivity, mRNA/protein expression of EMT-markers and mediators, activity measure of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), and western blot analysis of signal transduction in tumor cells and fibroblasts. In Curcumin-treated co-culture, in tumor cells, the levels of nuclear factor kappaB (NFkappaBalpha) and early response kinase (ERK)-decreased, in fibroblasts, integrin alphav protein synthesis decreased compared to corresponding cells in normal co-culture. The signal modulatory changes induced by Curcumin caused decreased release of EMT-mediators in CAFs and reversal of EMT in tumor cells, which was associated with decreased invasion. These data confirm the palliative potential of Curcumin in clinical application

Tumor cell and carcinoma-associated fibroblast interaction regulates matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors in oral squamous cell carcinoma

AbstractCo-culture of periodontal ligament (PDL) fibroblasts and SCC-25 oral squamous carcinoma cells (OSCC), results in conversion of PDLs into carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Paracrin circuits between CAFs and OSCC cells were hypothesized to regulate the gene expression of matrix remodeling enzymes in their co-culture, which was performed for 7days, followed by analysis of the mRNA/protein expression and activity of metalloproteinases (MMPs), their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) and other relevant genes. Interleukin1-β, transforming growth factor-β1, fibronectin and αvβ6 integrin have shown to be involved in the regulation of the MMP and TIMP gene expression in co-culture of CAFs and tumor cells. In addition, these cells also cooperated in activation of MMP pro-enzymes. It is particularly interesting that the fibroblast-produced inactive MMP-2 has been activated by the tumor-cell-produced membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP). The crosstalk between cancer- and the surrounding fibroblast stromal-cells is essential for the fine tuning of cancer cells invasivity

Minimal Reporting Standards for Active Middle Ear Hearing Implants.

There is currently no standardized method for reporting audiological, surgical and subjective outcome measures in clinical trials with active middle ear implants (AMEIs). It is often difficult to compare studies due to data incompatibility and to perform meta-analyses across different centres is almost impossible. A committee of ENT and audiological experts from Germany, Austria and Switzerland decided to address this issue by developing new minimal standards for reporting the outcomes of AMEI clinical trials. The consensus presented here aims to provide a recommendation to enable better inter-study comparability

Personalized Medicine in Otolaryngology: Special Topic Otology

Globally, more than 1.5 billion people experience some degree of hearing loss [...

CLONING AND EXPRESSION OF PROTEINS FROM THERMUS THERMOPHILUS IN ESCHERICHIA COLI

Cloning and expression of genesfrom the extreme thermophilic bacterium Thermus thermophilus in the mesophilic Escherichia coli was investigated. Weidentified the structural genes (tuf1, tuf2) of the protein elongation factor Tu from Thermus thermophilus and determined the nucleotide sequenceof tuf1. The expression of tuf1 occurs in E. coli from its T. thermophilus own promoter. The organization of the T. thermophilus operon which contains tuf1 is similar to the homologous operonin E. coli. The codon usage-of the T. thermophilus genesis different from that in E. coli. Codons with a guanine in the third position are preferentially usedin this thermophilic organism. The codon usage is mostly determined by the necessity to stabilize the codon-anticodoninteraction at high temperature