Evaluating antitumor activity of Escherichia coli purine nucleoside phosphorylase against head and neck patient-derived xenografts.

Background: Purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) gene transfer represents a promising approach to treatment of head and neck malignancies. We tested recombinant adenovirus already in phase I/II clinical testing and leading-edge patient-derived xenografts (PDX) as a means to optimize this therapeutic strategy.

Methods: Our experiments investigated purine base cytotoxicity, PNP enzyme activity following treatment of malignant tissue, tumor mass regression, viral receptor studies, and transduction by tropism-modified adenovirus.

Successful Surgical Treatment of a Giant Left Coronary Artery Aneurysm with Fistula.

Coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) is an aortic catastrophe with low prevalence. Giant CAA is even more uncommon, requiring surgical intervention. Giant CAA usually originates from the proximal segments of the right coronary and the anterior descending arteries.

The IL13α 2R paves the way for anti-glioma nanotherapy.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most aggressive (grade IV) gliomas characterized by a high rate of recurrence, resistance to therapy and a grim survival prognosis. The long-awaited improvement in GBM patients' survival rates essentially depends on advances in the development of new therapeutic approaches. Recent preclinical studies show that nanoscale materials could greatly contribute to the improvement of diagnosis and management of brain cancers.

Cyclin D2 Overexpression Enhances the Efficacy of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes for Myocardial Repair in a Swine Model of Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Human induced pluripotent stem cells with normal (wild-type) or upregulated (overexpressed) levels of CCND2 (cyclin D2) expression were differentiated into cardiomyocytes (CCND2CMs or CCND2CMs, respectively) and injected into infarcted pig hearts.

Methods: Acute myocardial infarction was induced by a 60-minute occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Immediately after reperfusion, CCND2CMs or CCND2CMs (3×10 cells each) or an equivalent volume of the delivery vehicle was injected around the infarct border zone area.

Individualized Surgical Reconstruction of the Right Ventricle Outflow Tract in Double Outlet Right Ventricle With Mirror Image-Dextrocardia.

The purpose of this study was to report our experience in the surgical reconstruction of the right ventricular outflow tract in double outlet right ventricle with a major coronary artery crossing the right ventricular outflow tract in the presence of mirror image-dextrocardia. From January 2005 to December 2019, 19 double outlet right ventricle patients (median age 4 years) with mirror image-dextrocardia and a major coronary artery crossing the right ventricular outflow tract received surgical repair. An autologous pericardial patch was used to enlarge the right ventricular outflow tract in four patients without pulmonary stenosis and three patients with mild pulmonary stenosis.