Down-regulation of ROBO2 Expression in Prostate Cancers

Several lines of evidence exist that axon guidance genes are involved in cancer pathogenesis. Axon guidance genes ROBO1 and ROBO2 are candidate tumor suppressor genes (TSG). The aim of our study was to address whether ROBO1 and ROBO2 expressions are altered in prostate cancers (PCA). In this study, we analyzed ROBO1 and ROBO2 expressions in 107 PCAs. In the immunohistochemistry, loss of ROBO2 expression was identified in 66 % of PCAs and was significantly higher than that in normal cells (p < 0.001). By contrast, there was no significant difference of ROBO1 expression between normal and PCAs. Our results indicate that axon guidance protein ROBO2 is frequently lost in PCA and that ROBO2 might be involved in PCA pathogenesis as a candidate TSG

Single-cell and spatial sequencing application in pathology

Traditionally, diagnostic pathology uses histology representing structural alterations in a disease’s cells and tissues. In many cases, however, it is supplemented by other morphology-based methods such as immunohistochemistry and fluorescent in situ hybridization. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) is one of the strategies that may help tackle the heterogeneous cells in a disease, but it does not usually provide histologic information. Spatial sequencing is designed to assign cell types, subtypes, or states according to the mRNA expression on a histological section by RNA sequencing. It can provide mRNA expressions not only of diseased cells, such as cancer cells but also of stromal cells, such as immune cells, fibroblasts, and vascular cells. In this review, we studied current methods of spatial transcriptome sequencing based on their technical backgrounds, tissue preparation, and analytic procedures. With the pathology examples, useful recommendations for pathologists who are just getting started to use spatial sequencing analysis in research are provided here. In addition, leveraging spatial sequencing by integration with scRNA-seq is reviewed. With the advantages of simultaneous histologic and single-cell information, spatial sequencing may give a molecular basis for pathological diagnosis, improve our understanding of diseases, and have potential clinical applications in prognostics and diagnostic pathology

The relationship between temporomandibular joint disk displacement and mandibular asymmetry in skeletal Class III patients

Objective: To investigate the relationship between temporomandibular joint disk displacement (TMJ DD) and facial asymmetry in skeletal Class III patients. Materials and Methods: The subjects comprised 97 skeletal Class III adult patients seeking orthodontic treatment. In addition to the routine lateral and posteroanterior (PA) cephalograms, and regardless of the TMJ status, each subject consented to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate their TMJs. According to MRI readings, subjects were classified into four groups: group 1, bilateral normal disk position; group 2, bilateral DD with or without reduction; group 3, DD more advanced on the right side; and group 4, DD more advanced on the left side. PA and lateral cephalometric variables were analyzed to compare the four groups. Results: When the TMJ DD was more advanced on one side than on the other, the chin point usually deviated to the advanced side. When the TMJ DD status was equal or bilaterally normal, the amount of mandibular deviation was not significant. Conclusions: If a skeletal Class III patient has an asymmetric face, especially in the mandibular region, careful examination is necessary with regard to the status of the TMJ during orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. (Angle Orthod. 2011;81:624-631.)

Compositional assessment of carotenoid-biofortified rice using substantial equivalence

One important aspect in assessing the safety of genetically modified (GM) crops for human consumption is characterizing their nutrient composition. A β-carotene-biofortified rice was generated by inserting phytoene synthase (Psy) and carotene desaturase (Crtl) genes isolated from Capsicum and Pantoea into the genome of a conventional variety of rice (Nakdongbyeo). Nutrients (proximates, amino acids, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins), anti-nutritive components (trypsin inhibitors and phytic acid), and ferulic acid in GM rice were compared with those in the parent line Nakdongbyeo. Statistical comparisons to test for equivalence showed that all of the analyzed components in the GM plants were equivalent to those in its non-transgenic counterpart, and most nutritional components fell within the range of values reported for other commercial lines, indicating the safety of the GM plant.Key words: Genetically modified crop, β-Carotene, Transgenic rice, Nutrient, Substantial equivalence

The impact of prophylactic ureteral stenting during kidney transplantation on postoperative surgical outcomes

Background : The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of prophylactic ureteric stenting during kidney transplantation (KT). Methods : The authors retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent KT between June 2016 and June 2019. The prophylactic ureteral stenting group (double-J [DJ]) and no-stent group (no-DJ) were compared with respect to the clinical data and surgical outcomes. Results : A total of 42 patients underwent KT; 17 patients were classified into the DJ group and 25 patients into the no-DJ group. Antithymocyte globulin induction and donor- specific antibody positivity were significantly higher in the DJ group. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of symptomatic urinary tract infection (UTI). The time to postoperative UTI was significantly shorter in the DJ group than in the no-DJ group (33.5±7.8 vs. 105.3±71.6 days, P=0.013). The development of postoperative BK viremia was significantly higher in the no-DJ group (0.0% vs. 16.0%, P=0.035). Urologic complications were significantly higher in the no-DJ group (0.0% vs. 16.0%, P=0.035). In the no-DJ group, urologic complications occurred in four patients: ureteroneocystostomy stenosis in three patients and ureteroneocystostomy leakage in one patient. Percutaneous ureteral interventions were performed for all patients using percutaneous nephrostomy and reno-uretero-vesical stenting. However, there were no postoperative urologic complications in the DJ group. Conclusions: Prophylactic ureteric stenting during KT may be safe and feasible without significantly increasing the incidence of UTI and BK viremia. Additionally, prophylactic ureteric stenting may reduce urologic complications after KT

Intratumoral heterogeneity for inactivating frameshift mutation of CUX1 and SIRT1 genes in gastric and colorectal cancers

Both CUX1 and SIRT1 are considered tumor suppressor genes (TSGs), but it is not known whether CUX1 and SIRT1 alterations are different between high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) and microsatellite stable MSI (MSS) cancers. We identified frameshift mutations of CUX1 in 4 cases of colorectal cancer (CRC) and of SIRT1 in 1 case of gastric cancer (GC) and 3 cases of CRC. All of them were found in GC or CRC with MSI-H (3.5% of MSI-H for each gene), but neither in GC nor CRC with MSS. In addition, we analyzed intratumoral heterogeneity (ITH) of the CUX1 frameshift mutation and found that two CRCs (12.5%) harbored regional ITH of the frameshift mutation. Our data indicate that there exist frameshift mutations of CUX1 and SIRT1 genes as well as ITH of CUX1 frameshift mutation in MSI-H cancers, which together might play a role in tumorigenesis of GC and CRC with MSI-H