Effetto dell’assunzione di caffè sul flusso ematico e sullo stress materno durante il terzo trimestre della gravidanza

Obiettivo: studiare gli effetti della ingestione, da parte della madre, di una dose ordinaria di caffè sullo stress materno e sulla circolazione materna e fetale durante il terzo trimestre della gravidanza. Metodi: abbiamo eseguito la flussimetria Doppler in 10 donne nel 3° trimestre della gestazione, prima e dopo che avevano bevuto una tazza di caffè. Campioni di saliva sono stati raccolti, dalle 10 gestanti e da 14 donne di controllo non gravide, subito prima l’assunzione del caffè e 30 minuti dopo. Nella saliva sono stati determinati i livelli di cortisolo e i titoli di cromogranina A.Risultati: l’assunzione di caffè non influenza il flusso ematico materno e fetale. Nelle gravide, i livelli di cortisolo nella saliva erano significativamente ridotti dopo l’ingestione del caffè, mentre la concentrazione di cromogranina A non era significativamente diversa prima e dopo. Conclusione: i ridotti livelli salivari di cortisolo indicano che l’assunzione del caffè riduce lo stress materno durante la gravidanz

S100B protein expression in the amnion and amniotic fluid in pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia.

Our aim was to investigate the expression of S100B protein in the amnion and to assess the amniotic fluid concentration in pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia. Samples were obtained from women who developed pre-eclampsia (n = 7), pre-eclampsia with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) (n = 4), normotensive IUGR (n = 7) and gestational hypertension (n = 4) during pregnancy and healthy controls who delivered at term (n = 35). To determine the difference in the expression of S100B in the amnion, we performed immunohistochemistry, western blot analysis and RT-PCR. Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), we assessed the S100B concentration in amniotic fluid. The S100B mRNA expression in the amnion of pre-eclamptic patients and patients with pre-eclampsia with IUGR was significantly higher than that in the control. The amniotic fluid S100B protein concentration of the pre-eclampsia and normotensive IUGR cases was significantly higher than that of the control. This study shows that amnion could be a source responsible for the increased concentration of S100B in amniotic fluid. In pre-eclampsia, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated by oxidative stress. Some pathological conditions that develop during pregnancy and are related to hypoxic stress can affect the elevation of S100B concentration in the amnion

A case of simultaneous breast cancer and ovarian cancer based on a hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome

We experienced a relatively rare case of synchronous breast and ovarian cancer in a patient with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC). Here, we report the usefulness of laparoscopic examination to determine the subsequent treatment strategy in cases of suspected concurrent multiple carcinomas. Our patient was diagnosed with breast cancer following detection of a right breast mass. She was diagnosed with HBOC as she was found to be harboring a germline pathogenic variant of breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1). Preoperative images suggested the presence of neoplastic masses in the abdominal cavity, and the possibility of metastatic peritoneal dissemination of breast cancer or concurrent overlapping of gynecological malignancies was considered. We decided to employ laparoscopic examination, and if simultaneous overlapping of cancers was suspected, we planned to further evaluate whether primary debulking surgery (PDS) for gynecological cancer was possible or not. Laparoscopy revealed the presence of ovarian cancer with neoplastic lesions on the bilateral ovaries and disseminations in the pelvic and abdominal cavities. The total predictive index was 0; therefore, PDS was considered feasible. We performed a total mastectomy, followed by laparotomy, and optimal surgery was achieved. The final diagnosis was simultaneous stage IIB invasive ductal breast carcinoma and stage IIIC high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma. In this case of suspected concurrent multiple carcinomas, laparoscopy was beneficial for decision-making regarding subsequent surgical treatment. We believe that the use of laparoscopy will enable simultaneous surgery for breast cancer and ovarian cancer to become one of the treatment strategies in the future

C3H/HeNSlc mouse with low phospholipid transfer protein expression showed dyslipidemia

Abstract High serum levels of triglycerides (TG) and low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) increase the risk of coronary heart disease in humans. Herein, we first reported that the C3H/HeNSlc (C3H-S) mouse, a C3H/HeN-derived substrain, is a novel model for dyslipidemia. C3H-S showed hypertriglyceridemia and low total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, and phospholipid (PL) concentrations. To identify the gene locus causing dyslipidemia in C3H-S, we performed genetic analysis. In F2 intercrosses between C3H-S mice and strains with normal serum lipids, the locus associated with serum lipids was identified as 163–168 Mb on chromosome 2. The phospholipid transfer protein (Pltp) gene was a candidate gene within this locus. Pltp expression and serum PLTP activity were markedly lower in C3H-S mice. Pltp expression was negatively correlated with serum TG and positively correlated with serum TC and HDL-C in F2 mice. Genome sequencing analysis revealed that an endogenous retrovirus (ERV) sequence called intracisternal A particle was inserted into intron 12 of Pltp in C3H-S. These results suggest that ERV insertion within Pltp causes aberrant splicing, leading to reduced Pltp expression in C3H-S. This study demonstrated the contribution of C3H-S to our understanding of the relationship between TG, TC, and PL metabolism via PLTP